The New York Rangers have ascended to the top of the league's standings despite playing without franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for the past 20 games. Cam Talbot has posted a scintillating 13-2-3 mark in that stretch and is expected to get the nod when the Rangers vie for their sixth consecutive victory against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Talbot has yielded three goals during his personal four-game winning streak for the Rangers.

Scott Hartnell looks to extend his goal-scoring surge to five contests when the Columbus Blue Jackets open a three-game road trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. After tallying twice in a 4-3 victory over Carolina on March 10, Hartnell continued his fortunate run and reached the 20-goal plateau for the eighth time in his career in Columbus' 5-4 shootout win over Edmonton on Friday.

Los Angeles is trying to avoid becoming the eighth Stanley Cup champion to miss the playoffs the following season, but a 13-4-1 record in its last 18 games heading into Wednesday's contest against the Ducks in Anaheim is an indication the Kings aren't ready to give up their crown. "I think we've played as well as we can since the All-Star break, and hopefully we can continue to," Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter told reporters after Monday's 1-0 victory over Arizona.