A word of warning to the Devils, Kings and Panthers, the teams next up on the Caps' schedule: Alex Ovechkin is heating up again.
The Caps star had been relatively quiet before the weekend (well, at least in non-exhibition games), scoring just four goals in the Caps' last nine games, losing the lead in the Richard Trophy race to Philadelphia's Jeff Carter.
Well, his slump is now officially over, as he had a weekend to remember, scoring five goals in just three periods against Detroit and Ottawa to surge to a four-goal edge over Carter in the NHL's scoring race - even after he admitted he was "sleepy" with the rare back-to-back afternoon home games.
As the NHL All-Star Break continues, keep up with FanHouse's coverage of hockey's unofficial midway point.
One of my favorite hockey-related shows on NHL Network is Voices. As a hockey broadcaster myself, it is neat to watch how the best in the business prepare to go on the air, and how they interact with the best athletes on the planet.
Watching Voices made me start wondering who the best really were. With that in mind, I took advantage of a Center Ice subscription and an active remote, watching every team's local broadcast as many times as I could stomach.
I can't remember the last time that a one-game ban created this much of a ruckus. All over the hockey world people are weighing in and, at least out of Detroit, anger is the general feeling. Those notions are simply ludicrous and false.
Here's one last video we didn't manage to get to yesterday. It's a clip of Washington's Alex Ovechkin sneaking a peak at a pair of young ladies dancing in the stands at the Bell Centre on Sunday, until, of course, the young Russian realizes that the camera had shifted its focus to him. As is his wont, he played along and laughed it off.
Every Monday morning The Ice Sheet will take a close look at everything that's happened in the NHL since Friday night at 5:00 PM -- or if need be, anything else the author wants to bleat about. To read them all, click here.
When all was said and done following the Eastern Conference's 12-11 overtime victory in the 47th NHL All-Star Game, it was Montreal's Alex Kovalev -- a player who probably didn't deserve to be on the ice given his play this season -- who walked away with a brand new Honda and the game's award for the Most Valuable Player. But in the aftermath of the weekend's festivities, there was little doubt that Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin was the biggest winner.
Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals put on a great show at the NHL SuperSkills Competition in Montreal Saturday. Can he repeat that during the All-Star Game itself?
Amid discussion and debate over whether we should even bother, the NHL All-Star Game is set for Sunday evening. No Datsyuk. No Lidstrom. No Crosby. Instead, we get a slew of really good hockey players who allegedly want to be there. If you're looking for a tight-checking, physical game, you may want to look elsewhere. Instead, the best players in the world will show off their skills.
A recent promo for NBC's NHL Game of the Week breathlessly proclaimed that Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby was the game's biggest star. While I've always disagreed with that notion -- after all, Crosby might not be the best player on his own team -- something tells me that few will dare call him that anymore after Alex Ovechkin's performance in the Breakaway Challenge at the NHL SuperSkills Competition Saturday night in Montreal.
By now, you've had a chance to read Eric McErlain and Kevin Schultz looking for fixes regarding the NHL All-Star Game. One thing I think everyone agrees on is that the game has problems and should be fixed.
Except me. After all, it seems everyone the fans and others selected to take part in the game is backing out for whatever reason. If the players themselves don't care enough to show up, and the fans who aren't attending don't care enough to watch, why even bother? I say the league scraps the game altogether.
Earlier on Friday, we brought you the absurd report that Gary Bettman, in his own ridiculous way, was attempting to save the NHL All-Star game by threatening to suspend players for declining to take part in the festivities. Apparently, Bettman means business as the league has decided to suspend Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom for the Red Wings game against Columbus on January 27.
Ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as Bud Selig's decision to use the Major League Baseball All-Star game to decide home field advantage in the World Series. It's an exhibition game, people.
Could the "Cold War" between two of the top talents in the NHL be over? Part of me hopes not, but if the words and images coming out of Montreal are any indication, Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin are going out of their way to give every indication that they've buried the hatchet -- and not in each other's backs either.
A word of warning to the Devils, Kings and Panthers, the teams next up on the Caps' schedule: Alex Ovechkin is heating up again.
As the 
Amazingly, one of the biggest stories that came out of the All-Star Game was about the players who weren't there. Everything else was over-shadowed by the one-game suspensions of 
Alexander Ovechkin
A recent promo for NBC's NHL Game of the Week breathlessly proclaimed that Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby was the game's biggest star. While I've always disagreed with that notion -- after all, Crosby might not be the best player on his own team -- something tells me that few will dare call him that anymore after 
By now, you've had a chance to read Eric McErlain and Kevin Schultz 
