The Goal

From NHL.com

By now you must have seen the goal. If for some reason you missed it -- no TV, no Internet or family catastrophe would be the only acceptable reasons -- please grab a cup of Joe, fire up your video player and watch in awe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_OaHMY2hQU

Prepare for drooling. It's another breathtaking performance from the game's greatest showman.

Alex Ovechkin's marvelous display of skill, creativity, strength and power produced arguably the goal of the season 10:07 into Washington's 4-3 shootout win against Montreal Wednesday night, and instantly shot up the list of his most brilliant goals to date.

He used his backhand to bank the puck off the boards in front of the penalty boxes and get around defenseman Roman Hamrlik. Ovechkin then skated through the left circle and kept powering through after being hooked off his skates by Kyle Chipchura. While sliding into the crease, Ovechkin unbelievably managed to poke the puck past the right pad of stunned goalie Carey Price for his League-best 42nd goal of the season.

AHL team bus crashes, seriously injuring 5

From CBC Sports

A bus crash involving the AHL's Albany River Rats has left four players - including two Canadians - and one staff member in hospital with serious injuries, said the team's vice-president of marketing, Jonathan Scherzer, on Thursday.

Quebec players Nicholas Blanchard, 21, of Granby, and Jonathan Paiement, 23, of Montreal, are in hospital.

Also injured are Joe Jensen of Plymouth, Minn., Casey Borer, 23, of Minneapolis, Minn., and the team's colour commentator, John Hennessy.

The injuries, according to a release issued by the team's NHL affiliate, the Carolina Hurricanes, are considered serious but "non life threatening."

River Rats general manager and head coach Jeff Daniels said everyone was able to get out of the bus on their own, but many were cut and bloodied and some had broken bones and concussions. Some players could miss significant time, but Daniels said the injuries weren't career-threatening.

Daniels was born in Oshawa, Ont., and the team's assistant coach, Geordie Kinnear, is from Simcoe, Ont.

Albany's game Friday night against Bridgeport has been cancelled.
The accident took place near Becket, Mass., about 80 kilometres from Albany, N.Y., at about 3:20 a.m. ET Thursday and resulted in the bus rolling on its side before coming to rest across the left travel lane and median.

Massachusetts State Police Sgt. David Mahan said weather may have been a factor in the accident, which followed a 3-2 River Rats shootout loss to the hometown Lowell Devils.
17 Canadians on the team

The rest of the team was discharged from hospital and returned to Albany by bus just after 11 a.m. Thursday, Scherzer said. The roster includes 17 Canadians from all parts of the country.
"You know, they're shocked," he said. "Just trying to get their heads around it. Our players are not doing any media today, our coach did talk to the media, only locally.
"It's just been a lot of people checking in with care and concern, and we appreciate that," he added.

Daniels said most of the 28 players and staff were trying to sleep when the bus driver lost control. Daniels said he woke to a rumbling sound and realized the bus was sliding.
"Then guys were flying over the seats and we were on our side," he said.
Twenty-nine people were taken to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, some for precautionary reasons.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the players involved and their families.

The race for the Calder Memorial Trophy

This year there is a lot to be excited about for hockey fans. There are more teams than ever in a position to make a very strong playoff run. And those teams have some of the most exciting rookies we have seen in a few years. In previous years the rookie of the year award was either between two players or it has been a landslide for one unstoppable rookie. It was a toss up between Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in 2006. And it was almost certain that Evgeni Malkin would take it home in 2007. And from the get go last year, all eyes were on the 1'st overall draft pick Patrick Kane. But this year it is different. There are so many talented young players in the running for the Calder Memorial Trophy it is very hard to choose a favourite.

In my opinion it is between 5 players at this point. And oddly enough, the first overall draft pick Steven Stamkos is not among them. The players that I believe are in the race are
(G) Steve Mason - Columbus Blue Jackets
7 Shutouts, 21 Wins, .925 Sv%, 2.06 GA
(R) Kris Versteeg - Chicago Blackhawks
Leads all rookies with 41 points
(R) Bobby Ryan - Anaheim Ducks
Lead all rookies with 18 goals
(C) Patrik Berglund - San Jose Sharks
Tied for second amongst rookies with 35 points
(R) Blake Wheeler - Boston Bruins
Leads the entire NHL with a +33 rating

If the season were to end today, I would guess that Steve Mason would be the winner. The 20 year old Oakville native leads the NHL with 7 shutouts and is 9'th overall with 21 wins. The Blue Jackets have a strong chance at making the post season for the first time in franchise history and he is the reason. If a rookie has this kind of an impact on his team, he deserves the recognitions and respect of the Calder Memorial Trophy. The last goalie to win the Calder was Andrew Raycroft in 2004 and before that, Evgeni Nabokov won the award in 2001.

The voting is conducted at the end of the regular season by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10-7-5-3-1 points system. Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs. You can cast your vote for rookie of the year in our poll.

Leafs are the odd man out.... of the playoffs.

The 2008-09 hockey season could could have been a very special year for hockey fans. I can't even remember the last year that all six of the original teams made the playoffs. At this stage in the game, teams will either become "buyers" and try to recruit seasoned players to assist them on their playoff run, or become "sellers" and trade away the players on their roster with big salaries to try and get higher draft picks and young prospect players for the next season. The Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadians are all "buyers" this year. They are in decent spots to make a strong run for the conference finals and quite possibly, the Stanley Cup.

The Toronto Maple Leafs however, are 12 points out of the last playoff spot in the eastern conference (currently held by the Buffalo Sabres) and will certainly become "sellers". Players like Antropov , Blake , Kaberle , Kubina and Ponikarovsky are all trade worthy assets that could be leaving the team. The players on the Toronto Maple Leafs are no doubt concerned where they (and their families) will be moved to come March 4`th.

"It's not easy -- I'm sure that's in the back of my mind, all the [trade] stuff, and it's affecting me," Antropov said in Denver on Jan. 29. "It obviously is doing something to my game, even though I realize I have no control over it. Whatever Brian [Burke] decides, I'll have to live with, and I've just got to find a way to somehow play through it."

This mindset is causing the Leafs to perform worse and worse as the season moves on. They have lost 12 of their last 16 games and are falling in the Standings. They currently sit in 26`th place overall with 50 points. Only 1 point ahead of Tampa Bay, and 2 points ahead of Ottawa. If the Leafs do end up finishing in 28`th place, they will have a chance at picking up the first overall pick who is most likely going to be Canadian forward John Tavares or the Sweedish defenceman Vicor Hedman. Either one of these players will greatly improve the Leafs in 2010 and give them a chance to make it past 82 games. They desperately need their GM Brian Burke and head coach Ron WIlson to lead this team because the all the leaf fans out there deserve a post season!