Cam Talbot says he took responsibility for his actions after frustration got the better of him Tuesday night.

The Edmonton Oilers goaltender remained in the dressing room down the stretch in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Talbot got the hook on Chicago's fourth goal of the night. That marker, scored by Patrick Kane, was the third goal Talbot allowed in a span of just over two minutes.

"(It was) a highly emotional game (and) I was frustrated with how things went in the third period," Talbot told reporters, including TSN's Ryan Rishaug, on Wednesday. "I was in the wrong to stay in the room. I told (that to) the guys after the game and they all had my back. They understood I was frustrated and I did apologize to them after(ward)."

Talbot added that he met with his teammates Wednesday morning and head coach Ken Hitchcock tabbed him as the team's starter for Thursday night's game against the Minnesota Wild.

It's been a difficult season for Talbot, who's lost playing time to Mikko Koskinen due to inconsistency.

"It's been tough," Talbot said. "You go through some good stretches and then a few more bad stretches this year than I've had probably in my career. So I'm just trying to go out there every day, make the saves I'm supposed to make, come to the rink every day, and be professional."

The 31-year-old netminder is in the final year of his contract, which carries a $4.17-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

He's 9-14-3 with a .892 save percentage and a 3.39 goals-against average in 29 games.

The Oilers signed Koskinen to a three-year contract extension last month.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.

In this episode, John's joined by Eric Engels of Sportsnet and the Boston Globe's Matt Porter to discuss a variety of Atlantic Division topics:

• Marc Bergevin's revival in Montreal
• Bounce-backs galore: Domi, Drouin, Price
• Kotkaniemi tracking towards 1C status
• Should Boston break up their top line?
• Covering Zdeno Chara day to day

... and more!

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee during Tuesday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, the team announced.

The 35-year-old is expected to undergo surgery on Friday.

It's a devastating blow for Minnesota. Koivu averages the third-most ice time among Wild forwards, ranks tied for second on the club with 12 power-play points, and is tied for the team lead in takeaways with 35. In 48 games, he's tallied eight goals and 29 points.

The Wild hold a three-point advantage over the Vancouver Canucks for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien will play Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens after missing 15 games with a lower-body injury, he told reporters Wednesday.

The Jets went 10-4-1 without the blue-liner in the lineup. Byfuglien's return comes at a crucial time, as Josh Morrissey's status is up in the air after he left Tuesday's game following a blocked shot.

Byfuglien was on pace for a career year before going down with the injury, collecting 29 points in 32 games.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Nashville Predators acquired winger Cody McLeod from the New York Rangers on Wednesday in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2020, the team announced.

It's Nashville's second deal of the day after adding center Brian Boyle from the New Jersey Devils for a second-round pick earlier in the afternoon.

Before joining the Rangers, McLeod spent parts of two seasons with the Predators, suiting up in 54 combined games during 2016-17 and 2017-18.

In 31 games this season, the 34-year-old McLeod has recorded one goal and 60 penalty minutes while averaging less than seven minutes of ice time per contest. He'll give the Predators more forward depth with Austin Watson suspended indefinitely.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The New Jersey Devils traded forward Brian Boyle to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday in exchange for a second-round pick in 2019.

Boyle, 34, is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $2.55 million. He's registered 13 goals and six assists in 47 games with the Devils this season.

Boyle has spent most of the campaign playing on the wing for New Jersey but could slide back to the middle and fulfill a fourth-line center role in Nashville.

The towering 6-foot-6 Boyle has been used as a net-front presence on the power play this season, where he's collected six goals. The Predators could experiment with him in the same role on a unit that ranks 30th in the NHL.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Philadelphia Flyers have placed forward Jori Lehtera on waivers, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Wednesday.

Lehtera was accused of buying eight grams of cocaine from a distribution ring in his native Finland over the summer. He's one of 22 people charged in the case.

The 31-year-old hasn't suited up for the Flyers since Jan. 19 and had recorded just three points in 27 games this season. His contract expires at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, owning a cap hit of $4.7 million.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Florida Panthers' chances of trading for Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky before the Feb. 25 deadline are "slim," a source told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

The Panthers did inquire about the netminder, but the asking price was too high considering Bobrovsky is a pending unrestricted free agent and could be acquired without losing assets, LeBrun added.

On Monday, it was reported that the Panthers were interested in trading for Bobrovksy and were enticing him with an eight-year extension. If Bobrovsky waits until July 1 to sign a contract, he can only receive a maximum of seven years.

A summer acquisition of the netminder may be easier for the Panthers, as the club still has James Reimer and Roberto Luongo under contract until 2021 and 2022, respectively, with a combined cap hit of $7.93 million.

Bobrovsky, 30, has two Vezina Trophies to his name, but is in the midst of one of his worst seasons. He currently owns a .901 save percentage and a 3.01 goals-against average over 37 games.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Mitch Marner's agent, Darren Ferris, is backtracking on his comments that the Toronto Maple Leafs are lowballing his client.

A story by Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star surfaced late Tuesday in the hours after Auston Matthews signed a five-year contract extension, and it was lined with quotes indicating the two sides are far apart in contract discussions. On Wednesday, Ferris said the quotes were from the summer.

"I know some things in today's article that were taken out of context," Ferris told TSN 1050 Toronto. "It was more from the summer and early goings which is normal negotiations with contracts, everyone starts off low, and then you get to a common ground. It's just an unfortunate thing that this article had to come out yesterday.

"We ended up discussions on a positive note, we were closer on numbers and it was moving in the right direction. We're not far off, I can tell you that," he said.

However, Feschuk provided some clarity of his own.

In early January, Ferris doubled down on his stance that Marner won't negotiate his next contract in-season. Marner is the last of Toronto's "Big Three" restricted free agents to sign before the 2019-20 campaign. William Nylander inked a deal in December after a lengthy dispute, while Matthews' contract came together in seemingly quick order and was finalized Tuesday.

Marner currently leads all Leafs and ranks eighth in the NHL with 63 points in 52 games. With Matthews now locked up, Toronto has just over $71.9 million in committed salary next season with a projected league-wide cap of $83 million.

"I have no doubt by the end of the season everything will work out, and Mitch will be, as (general manager) Kyle (Dubas) said, a Leaf for a long time," Ferris said.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Nashville Predators have inquired with the Columbus Blue Jackets regarding star forward Artemi Panarin, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Panarin is a pending unrestricted free agent and has let the Blue Jackets know that he won't discuss his future with the team until the end of the season.

The Blue Jackets are currently three points up on the Buffalo Sabres for the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot. They could hang on to Panarin for a playoff run, but would then risk losing him for nothing in the summer.

Nashville is one of the few contending teams able to comfortably afford Panarin's $6-million cap hit this season.

The Predators trail the Winnipeg Jets by three points for top spot in the Central Division. Panarin's 60 points would lead the Predators by a margin of 15, and the highly-skilled forward could provide a spark to the club's 30th-ranked power play.

Copyright © 2019 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.