A frame-by-frame account of the Mike Green/Bobby Ryan MMA match from last night. Funny stuff.

Adam Larsson, the young Swedish defenseman, is having a fantastic rookie season in the SEL. He is playing north of 20 minutes a game, and is only six points back of Robert Nilsson for the scoring record among players under 18 (Larsson just turned 17 in November).

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Beastly ramblings today – make sure to click “read more!”

Troy Brouwer is making the most of his promotion to the power play – he scored twice last night, including the winner in over time. Has 30 goal upside playing that role on Chicago.

Erik Johnson was a late scratch from the Blues game with an upper body injury, per Andy Strickland.

Mikael Backlund played almost double the ice time from the night previous, scoring a goal along the way. The Flames still found a way to lose on the shootout (now their ninth straight loss). Backlund still only saw one shift (40 seconds) on the power play, though. He led all Flames with four shots on goal.

If you are for whatever reason holding on to Steve Mason (four GA on 18 shots last night) in a one year league, let go. It is like the scene in the Titantic when Jack is floating in the water (although I still sware there was room for one more on that door she was floating on). Let go.

Johan Hedberg has some magic up his sleeve (or in his jersey) with this save. A must watch.

Breaking news from TSN – Jamal Mayers and Garnet Exelby want to be traded! Wow… stop the presses! I can see teams lining up with those seventh round picks, drooling at the chance to land a decent fourth line winger and a defenseman who has no business on NHL ice.

I find it unfathomable how Philly isn’t near the top of the East. Knuble was a big loss, but their only other loses were Lupul and some depth players. Emery and Biron are essentially a wash. Shows much of hockey is a mental thing, as that team has the skill level to compete with any NHL club (aside from the Capitals, maybe).

The battle of futility… I mean the battle of Alberta, will commence this Saturday. The winless-in-nine Flames are set to do battle with the winless-in-12 Oilers, who dropped another game last night. Patrick “Charmin soft” O’Sullivan was a healthy scratch.

Josh Harding is far and away the star of the NHL last night. He shut out the Avalanche, all while battling a hip injury that was obviously nagging at him the entire game.

Marek Zidlicky, who is going to be sought after at the deadline, had an assist on the Havlat goal (the only tally in the game). Zidlicky’s fantasy value will shoot up if he ends up going to a team with a strong power play. He is elite in certain situations, and awful in others. It is all about fitting players in to their respective roles.

The Blue Jackets played like a team that has quit on their coach last night. Embarassing effort at home.

Eric Staal continues his Cy Young run as captain of the Hurricanes. He now has eight goals and zero assists in five games since being given the “C.”

As long as Staal is hot, Jussi Jokinen is a fantastic fantasy asset to own. Jokinen is the ultimate complementary forward – he is streaky and he doesn’t create offense on his own, but he is very crafty and works well with Staal. Carolina won’t be in the basement for long if they keep playing this well. Cam Ward is quickly earning back his fantasy value.

Atlanta fought back from 3-1 down to beat the Flyers. Claude Giroux scored a beauty, which you can watch at the end of the ramblings.

The Sens won their eight straight, and Jason Spezza has goals in five straight. Your opportunity to buy low on him is probably over at this point.

As I often talk about, ice time with young players is usually the stepping stone to production. Erik Karlsson has played over 19 minutes in seven of the last 10 Ottawa games, including last night.

Drew Doughty, who still isn’t legal to drink in the States, is on pace for 15 goals, 62 points, and is currently plus-15.

After going through an offensive rut in November and December, Anze appears to be back. He scored twice last night and how has 11 points in his past 10 games.

A keeper league d-man to keep tabs on – Kyle Cumiskey. He has six goals in only 35 games, and is starting to become a regular in the Avalanche top four. He is one of the most fluid skaters I have ever seen, and once he gets more comfortable pinching and joining the rush, he could become a 15+ goal defenseman.

Shawn Horcoff, with a $5.5 million cap hit and an actual salary close to $7 million, is on pace for 32 points. The exact same number as former Oiler Kyle Brodziak, who had a helper last night.

Sticking with the overpaid Oilers, Tom Gilbert, he of the $4 million contract, has two goals and is on pace for less than 20 points this season.

Brian Elliott was splendid again, stopping all but one of the 31 Pittsburgh shots. Ride out the hot streak if you own him.

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Talk about a successful coaching change! Since Ottawa has switched goaltender coaches, they are 8-0, outscoring the opposition 27-8 over that span.

I have never been a fan of Wojtek Wolski. He played a perimiter game in the past, and simply didn’t bring a consistent enough effort to be a difference maker at the NHL level. After a blazing hot start to the season, he has only one goal (an empty netter) in his last 14. He is still putting up assists, but he is still not there yet with his game-to-game consistency.

Wolski reminds me a bit of Vinny Lecavalier. Obviously not as skilled, but always got by with combination of reach and skill at lower levels, and it wasn’t until Vinny started playing hard every single game (introducing a new element of physical play to his game) that he took off as a superstar. I am not sure if Wolski will ever have a physical component to his game, but he simply needs to compete harder. If he ever figures it out, his upside is sky high.

Douglas Murray hitting Dustin Byfuglien in a collision of approximately 500 pounds:

Although I am not officially a part of the Band-Aid Boy Executive Committee, I am hereby tossing a vote in for Freddie Modin for a promotion from being merely certified to a full blown, card carrying member! Check out the list here. Recommendations are always welcome!

With a potential sale going on behind the scenes, Lecavalier’s future with the Lightning is uncertain, according to the Hockey News. Gee, ya don’t say?

14 Olympians are suiting up in the Chicago/San Jose game.

Sens vs. Pens on TV – Ottawa doesn’t have much talent but they sure are well coached. They aren’t giving the Pens much in terms of space out there. Peter Regin has impressed me as well – he has the skill level to be a scoring line player, although he probably needs better linemates than the likes of Nick Foligno and Mike Fisher to reach his upside (60 points).

Further to that point – Ottawa obviously has talent – every NHL team does. I just don’t think they have as much talent as their record indicates. Hard work and a good gameplan have been the difference in most of their wins.

That is not to say Foligno and Fisher aren’t good players, in fact Foligno has been very strong lately. Just not high end offensive talent. Foligno had a goal and an assist last night, and he now has six points in his past six contests.

It was a night of beauties! Mark Giordano, who may be on his way to making the 2009-10 Prime Cuts team selected by me at the end of the season, makes Phoenix look silly here:

Scott Niedermayer would make a great rental for any contending team, but he really doesn’t want to leave Anaheim. His play on ice this season has been uninspired at times, which leads me to believe that this is going to be his final season. Hopefully for Canada’s sake he can turn it around in a few weeks.

Video evidence of said “eating alive” done by Ovechkin:

It will be interesting to see how the Sedins do on this upcomming road trip. Their production is better at home ice, but they have also feasted on the Eastern Conference. The first leg (eight games) of the 14 game trip is not too difficult on paper, with Ottawa being the toughest. Look for Andrew Raycroft to get at least one start, as Luongo has started in what seems like 50 consecutive games.

Evgeni Nabokov’s sweet new Russian mask.

One of my favourite goals of all-time – figured some may enjoy a classic!

Claude Giroux showing why so many of us around here love his upside: