You can't blame Taylor Hall for sometimes wondering whether he's the problem, even though he knows he's not.

Hall recognizes the irony ahead of his first-ever game against the Edmonton Oilers, and it is rich. His old team, which never made the postseason in Hall's six seasons, is in playoff position. His new team, the New Jersey Devils, is all but dead in the Metropolitan Division, sits six points back of a wild-card spot, and owns the Eastern Conference's worst goal differential (minus-25).

It's the story of Hall's career.

The hockey spotlight will be on Hall on Saturday night, when the Devils host the Oilers in Newark for the first time since a shocking June 29 trade sent the 25-year-old to New Jersey and Adam Larsson to Edmonton.

"Definitely going to be a strange feeling playing the orange and blue," Hall said Friday after New Jersey dropped a 4-2 decision to Toronto, writes NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

Hall was honest after he was dealt, saying it was hard for him to accept he was traded, and he was critical of the Oilers and the light he was cast in. But he approached the changes he was forced to make in his life as a new beginning. Only problem is, his time in New Jersey feels - hockey-wise - a lot like it was in Edmonton.

"I wanted to prove (Edmonton) wrong in more of a team sense than anything, more of, 'How much can I do to help my team?' I'm obviously disappointed in that factor," Hall said of the Devils' struggles. "We're one game below .500. We're not in a playoff spot and Edmonton is. I don't think that falls all on my shoulders, but certainly I think I have another level to get to and I think I will."

Injuries have limited Hall this season, causing him to miss 10 games. He has nine goals and 16 assists - tops on the Devils - in 30 games.

Drafted first overall in 2010, Hall scored 132 goals and had 328 points in 381 games with the Oilers.

"It's going to be a super strange atmosphere for me, but the quicker I put that aside and just focus on playing hockey and focus on my contribution to the team, I think that's the best way to go," he said.

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There are times in a hockey game when a goaltender should just cover up the puck, and as Mike Smith found out the hard way Friday night, this was one of those times.

The Arizona Coyotes goaltender gifted the Anaheim Ducks with an easy game-winner in overtime when he insisted on making a pass attempt with no teammates in the immediate vicinity, and with a pair of opponents lurking in front.

It went right to Ducks forward Ondrej Kase, who made no mistake, giving Anaheim a 3-2 victory with about 35 seconds left in the extra frame.

Smith made 32 saves on the night, but none of them mattered after that costly turnover.

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With the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild's historic winning streaks now over, it's the Vancouver Canucks riding the biggest wave.

Vancouver won its sixth consecutive game, and now hold a wild-card position in the Western Conference after doubling up the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Friday night.

Ryan Miller was spectacular in the win, making 44 saves, as the Canucks were responsible for just 22 percent of the total on-target shots in the contest. It was the largest shot deficit Vancouver has overcome for a win in club history, according to the team's Public Relations.

Vancouver has outshot its opponent just once during the six-game ride, edging the Arizona Coyotes by a 24-22 margin in a 3-0 victory Wednesday.

Courtesy of hockeystats.ca, this is how the Canucks' win versus the Flames looked in chart form:

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Michael Matheson's mind was still on the tragic events at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport after Friday's win over the Nashville Predators.

Matheson commented on his decision to honor the victims and first responders affected by the attack by writing the airport's acronym on his skates, and encouraging his teammates to do the same.

Via Jameson Olive of FloridaPanthers.com:

"I was sitting in my apartment when I heard about the news. It's pretty crazy when you think of what happened. I just felt like I wanted to do something to recognize the people that were affected by what happened and obviously the people that stepped in and probably saved a lot of lives.

"I think we're a pretty strong community. I've only been here for a little over a half year now and I think that everyone is South Florida is a tight-knit community. It's tough to see something like that happen anywhere, but especially five minutes away from where I live."

The Panthers held a moment of silence to honor those affected by the tragedy prior to the game.

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The Florida Panthers had to dress account executive Bobby Segin on Friday after Roberto Luongo went down in warmup.

Fortunately for the Panthers, Segin wasn't thrust into action, as James Reimer made all 28 saves in a win over the Nashville Predators. And more importantly, the Panthers starter isn't expected to miss significant time.

Panthers coach Tom Rowe told reporters after the 2-1 win that Luongo is day to day with an apparent upper-body injury.

Center Nick Bjugstad was also banged up Friday. Rowe didn't have a definite report on his status.

By the way, Segin spent three years manning the net at UConn. Where was he two seasons ago when goaltending coach Robb Tallas was almost forced out of retirement?

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There are score effects, and then there's the Toronto Maple Leafs with a multi-goal lead.

After a four-goal outburst in the opening frame, the Maple Leafs coasted into a top-three seed in the Atlantic Division on Friday in New Jersey. They mustered just 14 shots in the game, five in the final 40 minutes, and none in the third, but held on to a 4-2 win over the Devils.

Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown, Auston Matthews, and Tyler Bozak provided the goals less than six minutes apart in the first.

Nevertheless, Toronto improves to 6-0-1 over the last two weeks, the franchise taking points from seven straight games for the first time in almost three years.

The Maple Leafs are also now 6-0-2 in their last eight games on the road.

Bumping the Boston Bruins, the postseason seeds in the Atlantic are occupied by the three Canadian teams in the conference. Neither the Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators - or any Canadian team, for that matter - qualified for the tournament last season.

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The Nashville Predators will keep Matt Irwin around for another season.

The defenseman has signed a one-year, $650,000 contract extension that will keep him in Nashville through the 2017-18 season, the club announced Friday.

Irwin's appeared in 32 games this season, and chipped in offensively with eight points. He's also had a positive effect on on-ice shot attempts in a depth role, ranking second among Predators defensemen in most metrics.

He's seen an uptick in ice time in the absence of P.K. Subban.

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Gift-wrapped.

Connor Brown scored his ninth of the season with his team short-handed Friday night when New Jersey Devils netminder Cory Schneider tried to stickhandle the puck as the penalty killer zeroed in on the blue paint.

Schneider's nightmarish start ended when the Leafs scored a third marker 87 seconds later.

Toronto scored four goals on seven shots to begin the game, with its fourth beating backup Keith Kinkaid.

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