The waiver wire doesn't always produce a rich harvest, but Paul Byron is certainly proving to be a considerable exception.

The Montreal Canadiens center scored his 20th goal of the season in Sunday's win over Ottawa, making general manager Marc Bergevin look like a genius for scooping him off waivers and locking him up to a contract extension.

Byron was waived by the Calgary Flames prior to the 2015-16 regular season in order to carry three goalies on the roster, namely Jonas Hiller, Joni Ortio, and Karri Ramo, none of whom are still around.

Montreal was the only team to put in a claim, and were pleased enough with his contributions to sign him to a three-year extension last February.

Drafted 179th overall by Buffalo in 2007, Byron was used sparingly by the Flames during his time in Calgary, but his persistence - spurred by the advice of an AHL coach - is now paying dividends.

No one would have asked, "Where would the Canadiens be without Paul Byron?" back in the preseason, but his 20 goals rank second only to Max Pacioretty, and he has 17 assists to boot.

Deployed both on the power play and penalty kill, Byron is indeed proving to be an unsung hero in Montreal.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Blake Wheeler's officially a member of the 500 club.

With two assists Sunday, the Jets captain now has 500 career points, joining Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and David Krejci as players from the 2004 draft class who have hit the mark. (Andrew Ladd, whom Wheeler replaced as Jets captain, will soon join them; he's at 493 career points.)

Wheeler was selected fifth overall by the then-Phoenix Coyotes, but never played a game with the club. He signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent in 2008, but it's in Winnipeg that his career blossomed. He was acquired by the then-Atlanta Thrashers in a February 2011 trade, along with Mark Stuart, in a deal that sent Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik to Boston.

And it's safe to say both teams are happy with how the trade worked out. Wheeler traveled north to Winnipeg when the Jets were reborn for the 2011-12 season, and the Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup. Peverley scored four goals - including two game-winners - and added eight assists in 25 playoff games, won 53 percent of his faceoffs, and played over 16 minutes a night on the run. He did his part and earned his ring.

Wheeler took off in his first full campaign in Winnipeg in his age 25 season, playing over 19 minutes a night and becoming a focal point of the Jets' offense. He's kept it up, and is today one of the more underrated stars in the NHL.

* 2016-17 stats don't include Sunday's statistics.

Wheeler's only become more consistent as he's aged. He's scored 20 or more goals in each of his last four seasons, and finished with 19 in 48 games in lockout-shortened 2012-13.

The only issue for Wheeler during his time in Winnipeg is the fact he's played just four postseason games with the club. He'll try to add to that total next year.

All in all, though, both teams certainly have no regrets with how things ended up. And that's nice, for a change, right?

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

MONTREAL - Carey Price made 30 saves for his 33rd win of the season and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Sunday night to sweep the home-and-home series.

Tomas Plekanec, Jordie Benn, Paul Byron and Nathan Beaulieu scored for the Canadiens, who lead the Atlantic Division by four points over the Senators, who still have one game in hand.

Tom Pyatt scored a first-period goal for the Senators. Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots.

The Canadiens also beat the Senators in Ottawa on Saturday, winning 4-3 in a shootout. Price made 28 saves in that game, while Anderson stopped 29 shots in defeat.

With Montreal leading 2-1 in the third period Sunday, Byron made it a two-goal lead for the Canadiens when he went five-hole on Anderson at 3:30, opting to shoot while on a 2-on-1 with Plekanec.

The goal was Byron's 20th of the season. He also added an assist on Montreal's first goal of the game.

Beaulieu made in 4-1, on the power play, scoring with a slap shot from the blue line with Anderson screened by Artturi Lehkonen at 5:08.

Montreal is now 8-4-2 in the second game of a back-to-back. The Senators are 6-4-1.

Sunday's game had big playoff implications, and the energy on the ice and atmosphere in the stands were definitely playoff-like. Montreal came out flying, only needing 28 seconds to get the sell-out crowd off its feet.

Plekanec scored his first goal since Jan. 24 when Andrei Markov's shot from the point bounced off Anderson's chest and fell right to the veteran center in the crease for his eighth of the season.

The lead was short-lived as Pyatt scored the equalizer at 4:36 of the first when his shot from close range deflected off Benn's stick and skipped over Price's outstretched pad.

Benn made up for the mistake later in the same period when his shot from the point deflected off Viktor Stalberg's stick to beat Anderson glove side at 17:45.

NOTES: Price only faced six shots in the second period, but needed to be at his best when Kyle Turris fired a one-timer. The Canadiens goalie sprang to his right and did the splits to get his toe on the puck. ... Montreal's Alexei Emelin was back in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch in Ottawa. ... The Canadiens are 10-4-0 under Claude Julien. ... Torrey Mitchell played his 600th NHL game.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Johnny Hockey, indeed.

Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau wowed the home crowd Sunday with this breakaway move on Ben Bishop and the Los Angeles Kings.

The play was kick-started by a perfect pass from Sean Monahan, who frequently collaborates with Gaudreau.

The goal was Gaudreau's 16th of the season, and quite possibly the prettiest.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Calgary Flames rookie forward Matthew Tkachuk may soon hear from the NHL after a blatant elbow to the head of Los Angeles' Drew Doughty.

No penalty was called for the elbow itself - which occurred late in the first period - although Tkachuk drew two minutes for roughing during the ensuing scrum.

Here's a closer, slowed-down look:

Doughty went to the locker room for observation, but was able to return for the second period.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Things fell apart rather quickly for the Colorado Avalanche after amassing a 3-1 lead over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday, and by quickly, we mean "blink and you missed it."

It all started with Jonathan Toews' 19th goal of the season, which was deemed good after a lengthy offside review. While Toews scored by deflecting the puck in front of the net, the zone entry did not appear to be on the level.

The NHL, however, saw it differently.

That opened the floodgates, as Richard Panik and Artemi Panarin each scored within the next 34 seconds to give Chicago the lead.

Toews added his 20th shortly thereafter to cap an offensive outburst of four goals in 3:02 en route to an eventual 6-3 win for the Blackhawks.

It's been that kind of season for the Avs.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Nothing new to see here - just Carey Price being Carey Price.

The Montreal Canadiens' all-world netminder - starting his second game in as many nights - showed no signs of fatigue on this play, springing across the crease to make an incredible toe save on Ottawa's Kyle Turris.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bruce Boudreau's on a five-game regulation losing streak for the first time in his coaching career, and his postgame scrum Sunday perfectly summed up how he was feeling.

The Minnesota Wild erased a 4-0 deficit, scoring four in the second period to tie the game, but eventually fell 5-4. Boudreau wanted nothing of a question about his club's "resiliency" in almost pulling off a miracle comeback:

"That's all, I'm done."

And another career first for Boudreau:

Minnesota's 2-8 in March. Better now than in April, right?

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Hips don't lie.

In Claude Giroux's case, an inability to bounce back quickly from offseason hip surgery has taken a toll at times this season, the Philadelphia Flyers captain admitted prior to Sunday's game against the Hurricanes.

"When you try to make plays you used to make and can't really make them, it is frustrating and confusing," Giroux said, according to Marc Narducci of Philly.com. "When you start getting the confidence back, you know you can make those plays you just go out there and make it happen."

Giroux added, "Even if you don't feel good out there, you have to find the right way to be strong mentally."

Giroux's numbers are indeed down - his 14 goals and 37 assists through 70 games have him on pace for production levels unseen since early in his career.

The good news is that he's been able to play every game for the Flyers this season, and a healthy summer with regular workouts will be key to the team's chances of bouncing back with a more successful 2017-18.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid and Cam Talbot have the Edmonton Oilers on the cusp of the playoffs.

And while the world is now well aware of the absurd talent McDavid possesses, as the 20-year-old eyes his first of many Art Ross and Hart trophies, it can be argued that Talbot's been as crucial to the Oilers' success as No. 97.

Related: Talbot continues climb among Oilers' all-time netminding greats

By now, you know the facts: No goalie has played more games, faced more shots, and made more saves than Talbot. And you can forget about fatigue - Talbot's save percentage is an exceptional .929 in March.

Talbot's not worried about the workload. It's the culmination of his hard work, his journey to becoming a No. 1, and of the habits he picked up along the way.

"I've always had a pretty good work ethic and I got to sit behind one of the best in the world and watch his work ethic for two years," Talbot told NHL.com's Tim Campbell, reflecting on his two seasons as Henrik Lundqvist's backup with the New York Rangers.

After providing excellent relief in 34 starts in 2015-16 when Lundqvist was hurt, Talbot got his chance. He was traded to the Oilers for three draft picks in late June 2015, and, in his late 20s, he knew it was now or never. When the time came, he planned to be ready. And he was. He is.

Now, with a top-10 save percentage in the league, Talbot is willing to look back, albeit briefly.

"I did a good job preparing myself," he said.

Talbot signed a three-year extension last January, and he certainly hasn't let the security of $12.5 million affect how hard he works, or his game.

"You can never be too sure," he said. "You want to be confident in yourself. But I still had something to prove to myself, and to this organization when they traded for me. I think I've done a pretty good job of that."

If you disagree, you're wrong. Simple as that.

Talbot has never started a playoff game. That'll change this spring. In two limited postseason relief appearances in 2014, the 29-year-old stopped 11 of 13 shots. Here's another safe bet: That .846 save percentage is going up.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.