It's been quite some time since an Edmonton Oilers defenseman filled the net at a clip similar to Oscar Klefbom.

The 23-year-old unloaded his 11th of the season past Florida Panthers netminder James Reimer on Wednesday night and in doing so has now put himself on pace to have one of the most productive seasons by an Oilers defenseman in almost a decade.

At his current pace, Klefbom should conclude the year with 14 goals, which would be the highest total for an Oilers defenseman since Sheldon Souray posted 23 during the 2008-09 season.

In fact, over the last 17 seasons only eight defensemen have finished the season with as many or more goals than Klefbom currently has.

At his current pace, Klefbom would finish with the third-highest such total since the 1999-2000 season.

The Oilers have certainly set out to be tougher on the back end this season, but added offense from their blueliners will always be a welcomed sight and Klefbom is doing his part.

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Could David Poile be a trade deadline shopper?

While the Nashville Predators general manager expects the tight standings to lead to a quiet deadline, that doesn't mean Nashville won't try to make some noise.

The Predators hold the West's top wild card slot, a single point ahead of the Calgary Flames. The Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets are chasing, both within two points of a playoff position.

Poile noted he'd like to add another top-six forward to his squad, describing his ideal target as "somebody who could add some pizzazz to our lineup," reports The Tennessean.

But the price tag to bring in such a piece may not be something Poile is willing to entertain.

"Mostly what a team sees in a return from us in terms of value is probably one of our top four defensemen. That doesn't work right now," Poile added. "We've traded out defensemen, whether it's Seth Jones last year or (Shea) Weber for (P.K.) Subban. I'm less than excited to get into that.

"Right now, I would be trying to trade a forward for a forward or a draft pick for a forward, that type of thing."

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It took a while, but Kris Russell finally has his first goal as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

The 29-year-old finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl late in the third period for his first since signing with the Oilers in October and first since Feb. 11, 2016.

More importantly, the goal held up as the game-winner, extending the Oilers' winning streak in Florida to eight games, while giving the club a two-point cushion on the Anaheim Ducks.

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3.9 seconds.

That was all that remained in the second period of Wednesday's contest between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers when Panthers forward Jonathan Marchessault beat Oilers netminder Cam Talbot with a late tying goal.

Marchessault broke into Edmonton's zone after grabbing a pretty feed from blue-liner Keith Yandle to tally his 18th goal on the season.

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Now that's precision.

Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom showed off his incredible accuracy on Wednesday night, firing a shot through the narrowest hole between Radko Gudas' legs and over the catching glove of Michal Neuvirth.

The goal was Backstrom's 18th of the season and puts him in a tie with Mark Scheifele for fourth in league scoring with 62 points.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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You haven't heard this often. The Edmonton Oilers have a scoring problem.

While the Oilers sit 12th with 2.80 goals per game, those tallies have come from the same source too often. Edmonton has seen 62 of its 172 goals come from Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Patrick Maroon. All three have reached the 20-goal plateau and have combined for more than one-third of the Oilers' goals.

That means the rest of the roster has accounted for just 110 goals, or about six goals per player. Edmonton needs more scoring from its top skaters, where the likes of forwards Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Milan Lucic - all carrying $6-million cap hits and signed to multi-year contracts - are the most guilty.

With 12 goals on the season, Eberle is on pace to finish with just 16 markers after averaging 26 goals over each of the past three campaigns. The Oilers are undoubtedly expecting more from a player signed to such a hefty contract.

Down the middle, Nugent-Hopkins has seen a dip in usage, relegated to third-line duty, but his production has seen a far steeper decline. Nugent-Hopkins is scoring 0.48 points per game, his worse pace since breaking into the league in 2011. His previous low-mark was his sophomore campaign, a lockout-shortened season where Nugent-Hopkins finished with 24 points in 40 games.

Meanwhile, the Oilers' big-ticket recruit in Lucic has disappointed in the season's later stages. Through the season's first two months, Lucic tallied 17 points in 24 games, but since December, that production has fallen to 15 points in 36 outings. The Oilers can't afford for the hulking winger to decline in the first season of a seven-year pact.

On pace to qualify for the postseason for the first time in a decade, the Oilers' secondary scorers will need to step up if the team hopes to make any noise after finally qualifying for spring hockey.

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It's unlikely the Vegas Golden Knights will be active before the March 1 trade deadline.

The team can begin making deals - not involving current roster players - as soon as the final payment is submitted to the league, but, as owner Bill Foley explains, getting the final paperwork in on time will be a daunting task.

"We’ve been shooting for the 28th," Foley said, according to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Originally, the final payment wasn’t due until April 5. But then we moved it up to early March so (general manager) George (McPhee) can attend the general manager meetings in Florida the first week of March. Now, we’re trying to move it up even earlier to be involved in the trade deadline and I’m not sure we’re going to be able to make it.

"The money’s not the problem. We have the money. It’s signing off on everything and I don’t know if we’re going to make it or not. There’s a stack of documents I have to sign to get this done that is unbelievable."

In the mean time, Foley confirmed that McPhee has been having talks with fellow GMs and, due to the potential inability to be involved in transactions at the deadline, the GM meetings are what the team is more interested in.

"George has had informal conversations with several teams but I don’t think George is not going to be too anxious to do a transaction and give up our flexibility in selecting players," Foley said. "It’s going to have to be an improvement over what we otherwise would have.

"But we want him at the GM meetings because that’s where policy changes get made and we want a seat at the table when that happens."

Even if Foley and company were to get the final payment in before the deadline, as NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly also noted to Carp, there's very little the team can do trade-wise.

"The trade deadline is virtually irrelevant to the Vegas franchise at this point because they won’t be able to make trades involving real players under contract," Daly said. "They have no player assets to offer and they can’t acquire any in the form of real players. So every trade and transaction Las Vegas would be able to make before the trade deadline, they will be able to make after the trade deadline."

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If Nick Paul is expecting a recall to the NHL anytime soon, he best not wait by the phone.

Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion described Paul on Wednesday as the team's "biggest disappointment," according to Chris Stevenson of NHL.com. "If (Nick) Paul wants to be an NHL player, he has to be way better than how he's played this year."

Paul has not played with the Senators this season after dressing for 24 contests in 2015-16. He has recorded 23 points in 50 games with Binghamton (AHL) this season, but six skaters, including defenseman Chris Rumble, have scored as many or more points than the 21-year-old winger.

Canadian hockey fans will recall Paul from his performance at the 2014-15 world juniors, when he pocketed three goals in seven games en route to Canada's gold medal finish. Surely the Senators were expecting that type of return from what remains as the most significant piece from the deal that sent former captain Jason Spezza to the Dallas Stars in 2014.

With Ottawa hit with a string of injury concerns - forwards Bobby Ryan, Mark Stone, and Mike Hoffman are all on the shelf - now is the opportune time for Paul to find his scoring touch and make his long-awaited return to the Senators' lineup.

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Here's the thing about this season's rookie crop: It's bloody amazing.

Auston Matthews. Patrik Laine. Mitch Marner. William Nylander. Zach Werenski. Matthew Tkachuk. Sebastian Aho. Hell, Matt Murray - Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray! - is officially a rookie, too.

But it's Laine and Matthews who stand apart. And, after watching the Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs play their second nine-goal overtime thriller of the season - with the top two picks in last year's draft combining for five points, and Laine becoming the first freshman to reach 30 goals - it's easy to understand why. Yeah, they're rookies, but it's clear Laine and Matthews are otherworldly talents, franchise talents, and it won't be long before they're in the conversation about the best and most talented players the NHL has to offer.

Laine or Matthews? Matthews or Laine?

Winnipeg and Toronto supporters have been screaming over each other since the preseason about who's better between Matthews and Laine. Since the draft, actually.

Laine's the better sniper, that much is clear - his release is unparalleled. Matthews appears to be the better playmaker, who dominates possession, who can create something out of nothing.

And it has to be mentioned: Laine's doing what he's doing playing with Mark Scheifele - arguably the most underrated superstar in hockey - and Nikolaj Ehlers. Matthews is doing what he's doing playing with Connor Brown and Zach Hyman.

For Jets and Maple Leafs supporters, it's impossible to be non-partisan. And that's fine - that's what sports fandom is all about.

Split it

The truth is, between Laine and Matthews, there's no wrong choice. Both are completely acceptable answers to numerous questions:

• Who deserves to win the Calder Trophy?
• Who would you build a franchise around?
• Who has the higher ceiling?
• Who is more exciting to watch?

It comes down to geography, for the most part, and personal preference. So, in the spirit of two incredible rookies, one-two picks living up to the hype and more, how about co-Calder Trophy winners?

Face it, everybody wins.

Well, everyone except Murray. But he'll be fine, he's already won the ultimate hardware, the only NHL trophy that truly, at the end of the day, matters. The one Laine and Matthews would trade the Calder for in a split second.

(Photos courtesy: USA Today Sports)

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The New York Islanders will be without Casey Cizikas for the next month.

The 25-year-old will miss four weeks with an upper-body injury, a source told Arthur Staple of Newsday.

Cizikas suffered the injury during Tuesday's contest against the Detroit Red Wings and was forced from the game. Cizikas has had an underwhelming year offensively, after agreeing to a four-year, $16.75-million contract extension last June, contributing just seven goals and 23 points in 53 games.

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