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10:37 PM: And now - the one thing we can do just as well as we can play hockey - ROCK THE HOUSE!!! Nickelback, Avril Lavigne...and who knows who else? We saw Neil Young do his "Long May You Run" anthem while they extinguished the flame...

This has been such an awesome 17 days...hard to believe it's all over...but I know in this country, we'll all be talking about it for generations...especially the hockey tournament...I was hearing references to 1972, 1987...I myself in this very blog made comparisons to 1991...and of course, the last Gold medal for Canada's hockey men, 2002 in Salt Lake City...but even that pales in comparison to what went down in Vancouver 2010...

Looking ahead - after what seems like an eternity, the NHL will reconvene on Tuesday...and believe it or not, the Trading Deadline is on Wednesday...I don't know how they're going to top the game today, but it'll be fun watching them try...

10:26 PM: They always talk about how everyone pokes fun at Canada and Canadians, and we take it all in stride - well the theme of the Closing Ceremonies is evident - show the world that we really do have a sense of humor. That fourth arm of the cauldron in BC Place that wouldn't engage during the opening ceremonies? - they finally got it to work, and Catriona Le May Doan, better late than never, finally got to light her side of the flame...

After the official closing speeches, people from William Shatner, Catherine O'Hara, Michael J. Fox and Michael Buble are showing off that sense of humor...Buble sang a version of "The Maple Leaf Forever" that'll knock your socks off...

And now, continuing the light hearted theme, they have gigantic inflatable moose and beavers flying around...

6:24 PM: What an awesome finish to these games...Team Canada, after receiving their medals - did the Olympic version of the Stanley Cup celebration - they carried a large Canadian Flag around the rink...and then...the Kodak moment...

5:55 PM: They always say the best players have their defining moments...they always find a way...well, after Sidney Crosby had been criticized over the last few games for not producing, he had the game on his stick late in the 3rd and missed, well - he made up for it - Crosby has scored the winning goal, 7:40 into OT - and Canada gets the Gold!!!!

What you're hearing outside right now is an entire nation's collective sigh of relief!!!

And again, there's no disputing it - it's our game - and we are the best at it - period!!!!

5:29 PM: 24.4 seconds - that's all that was left on the clock...that close to a Gold Medal celebration - but we'll have to wait a little longer...Zach Parise got the tying goal, with the American goalie pulled...and we are going to OT...

4:46 PM: 20 more minutes to go...as a nation holds their collective breath...

4:28 PM: Ryan Kesler's deflection of a Patrick Kane shot has the Americans on the board...2-1...7:04 remaining in the 2nd...

4:21 PM: Corey Perry has Canada up 2-0...approaching the 1/2way mark of the game...

3:56 PM: 1-0 Canada after 20 minutes of the Gold Medal Game at Canada Hockey Place - Jonathan Toews with the ever important first goal - he has been one of the most consistent players for Canada in this tournament...

It was a disappointing finish for Canada in the 50km Cross Country Ski marathon, where our top Canadian skier Devon Kershaw finished 5th, a mere 1.6 seconds away from a Gold medal...but right now, nobody cares...

Tickets in the upper bowl of this game were rumored to be going for $1700-2000 EACH...

12:33 AM: Finland, just like their women counterparts, win the Bronze medal in Men's hockey after a 5-3 win against Slovakia - who must be wondering what more they could have done to be standing on the podium - they actually led 3-1 after 40 minutes on the strength of a shorthanded goal by Pavol Demitra, but then penalties were their inevitable undoing - starting with a four minute double minor, and no less than twice shorthanded by two men...the Finnish Rally was on...Olli Jokinen had himself a game - scoring the tying goal at full strength, and the winning goal on the power play...and then, much like last night, a last minute Hail Mary flurry to try and tie the game...but it was Valtteri Filppula getting the empty netter, with Marian Gaborik too gassed to catch up...just amazing to me that Gaborik could even play - you could tell he is not anywhere close to 100%...

Slovakia will naturally hang their heads in disappointment, but when the dust settles, they'll realize they have nothing to be ashamed about...too bad they don't award a medal for honorable mention...because they would deserve it for sure...look out for these guys in years to come...

But of course, the big game to end all big games, I don't think I need to tell you, is tomorrow...if it all turns out as we're all hoping it will, we could get the exact same hockey podiums for the men and the women - and I know for a fact that has never happened...

Most importantly - if we win Gold in hockey, Canada will break a Winter Olympic Gold Medal record...we now sit at 13 after taking 3 Gold today, including Curling...this ties the record set by the former Soviet Union...but trust me, record or no record, we'll trade all 13 of them in for the one Gold medal that matters most in this country...

3:11 PM: I can't believe the media is still reporting this, but here's Hayley Wickenheiser's response to all the hoopla surrounding Team Canada's on ice celebration after winning Gold against the U.S.:

"All I have to say is get real. Get real because you know, we were enjoying the moment. It probably was not the right thing to be on the ice doing that, but in the moment you get caught up and things happen. And trust me, there's lots worse things that go on at the Olympics, so everybody just take a big breath and chill out because it's not a big deal."

No, it's not, is it?!...and just for the record, the ladies maintain, the cigars were merely props - nobody on the team smokes...

Just reading through some more of the forum comments, and somebody criticized the ladies for being unladylike...excuse me!? They're playing a game that has been dominated by men for so many years (and playing it very well I might add)...get a grip...it's obvious to me the person who wrote that comment has never been to a dance bar on a Friday or Saturday night...

It's like I said yesterday...if our Men win Gold on home soil, look out!!! Then there will be a party to end all parties...

2:57 AM: So as many of you know already, I have this huge collection of DVDs...and a very respective "hockey corner" as I like to call it...everything from the "Miracle" movie, Mystery Alaska, The Cutting Edge, Sudden Death, Les Boys, the Don Cherry videos, a whole whack of stuff...people give me hockey related stuff on birthdays, Christmas...and sometimes I'll even find a gem or two in the Walmart bargain bin...all it has to do is mention the mere word Hockey, and it's mine...I even have a copy of that "Making The Cut" series DVD that came out...I'm on the lookout for a "Battle Of The Blades" DVD, if and when one ever becomes available...I'm even tempted to order that Olympic DVD from CTV, that is if there isn't a separate Team Canada DVD that comes out...one disc I'll probably put in this weekend is Gold Rush 2002...all about the Salt Lake City Gold medal...

For the life of me, I can't recall where I got this one, but I believe it was either Christmas before last or one of those bargain bin deals...I'm leaning more towards Christmas or a birthday because I don't remember buying this - it's a highlight DVD of the 1991 Canada Cup...I had never watched it, until now - I was fascinated by the similarities between that tournament and the one that's unfolding now...

Now, understand, aside from the Stanley Cup, I didn't get really into hockey until about 1993...put simply, if Edmonton wasn't involved, I wasn't interested. In 1991, I wouldn't have actually had a chance to see the Canada Cup because I was in Bermuda (yet, oddly enough could get Oilers or Bruins broadcasts, go figure)...I remember hearing about it in later years as it evolved to the World Cup...anyway, just fascinating...

It showed the fall of the former Soviet Union and Red Army machine, as well as the former Czechoslovakia, which would split into two separate countries not long after this tournament...either way, neither team qualified for the playoff round...which was a Canada Cup first...usually at least one of them would move on the the playoff round.

What's interesting is in 1991, Finland played USA - the Finns were at the time an upstart team that had never so much as played a Canada or World Cup playoff game, forget winning a medal - but this time around things were way different - until they met the Americans...you know where I'm going with this, right? Final score was USA 7 Finland 3...

On the other end, Canada had to play Sweden...I'll give you one guess who the hero of that game was...they played the game at the old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto - and playing his last game ever in that rink was former Leaf, the great Borje Salming. Canada won that game 4-1.

Now, where today we play a one game final, back then it was a best of 3 final - Canada-USA...the Americans were rallying behind and gaining inspiration from Bob Johnston, who at the time was very ill and in hospital, an illness that prevented him from coaching the squad - unfortunately he died not long after this tournament ended. For you hockey trivia buffs and historians alike, you'll remember this like it was yesterday. The first game of this best of 3 final was the one where Gary Suter laid out Wayne Gretzky with "the check heard round the world"...the Great One would not return to play the rest of this tournament, but it was guys like Mark Messier, Dirk Graham, and Steve Larmer who stepped it up for Canada...it was Larmer who actually scored the winning goal in Game 2 on a shorthanded break...the goalies? Mike Richter for the U.S., and Bill Ranford for Canada...as we know, they would meet again in 1996 in the newly minted World Cup...

My point behind all of this - people remember and for whatever reason refer to the 1996 World Cup as the start of the Canada-USA rivalry - Wrong. While it may have heated up then, it was actually the 1991 Canada Cup that got the ball rolling...and it's been rolling ever since...at every level - under 18, under 20, Canada Cup, World Cup, even in Women's hockey...

Anyhow, just thought I would share that - I thought it was a fascinating look at one of Canada's many triumphs...and fitting considering where we're going on Sunday...

11:44 PM: I was talking to uLAr today when the Americans were up 6-0 against Finland, and he made a point on how so far they've been the only team with a goaltender that can steal them a game (well, you could argue that Jaroslav Halak has been pretty good too for Slovakia)...well, now we can give Roberto Luongo some credit...he made a scintillating save in the dying seconds of this one on his Vancouver team mate Pavol Demitra, with the Slovak goalie pulled...otherwise, we'd be heading to OT...

So Canada wins a(nother) nail biter - 3-2, the final score - bring on the U.S.A. on Sunday!!!

Finland and Slovakia play for Bronze tomorrow...will Men's Hockey have the same podium as Women's Hockey?! Tune in to find out...

While we were watching this game - Canada won their 10th Gold medal of these games, in 500m Short track men's speed skating...and moved into 3rd place in the medal standings...we're now top of the Gold medal standings...

11:29 PM: Lubomir Visnovsky has the Slovaks on the board - as Canada was about to take a penalty...it's 3-1...

10:50 PM: Ryan Getzlaf, who we didn't know up until the last minute if he would even play in this tournament - has scored on the power play to make it 3-0 for Canada...from his knees no less...man I love seeing players do that...never quit on the play kids...ever...

And what a sequence by Slovakia moments ago - Roberto Luongo stopped them all...as the Lu chants rain down from the crowd...

10:01 PM: It's Morrow's goal...another deflection...Canada is executing the game plan perfectly...with Andre the Giant (Zdeno Chara) back there on D for Slovakia, they might not have a choice but to score deflection goals...we'll take it!!

9:59 PM: The ever important 1st goal, scored by Canada - Shea Weber with the shot, and Patrick Marleau with the under crossbar deflection - they reviewed it, and ruled it a goal - but it was close!!

9:15 PM: Disappointment for Canada's women's curling team - they allowed Sweden to steal one in extra ends and last rock of the Gold Medal Game - Canada wins Silver...Anette Norberg wins Gold for the 2nd straight Olympics...I guess since Sweden won't get a medal in Hockey we can let them have this one...

Kevin Martin along with his Canadian men with brooms play tomorrow against Norway...with Gold on the line again...if you haven't watched any of the Curling yet, at the very least you need to get a load of Norway's pants...

6:29 PM: Much is being made over Team Canada's women's hockey team celebration on the ice after winning Gold...the IOC now says they will not investigate - at issue is their decision, some would say ill advised, to bring champagne and beer onto the ice surface while still in uniform, instead of confining the celebration to the dressing room...furthermore, Marie-Philip Poulin is only 18, which makes her under the legal drinking age in B.C., mind you, only for a few more weeks when she'll turn 19...ouch!!! As someone on one of the many forums put it - "Old enough to win a medal, but not old enough for a sip of cheer?!...what B.S.!!!". Agreed!!

The IOC better be ready for the celebration that will happen if Canada's men win Gold...there will probably be a lot more than beer, champagne and cigars to contend with...and not just in Vancouver...

With all of the events still to come on the final weekend of the games, I'm actually surprised that this is actually a news story...they're going so far as to call it a scandal...are you kidding me?!?!? Question I have is, will CTV include it in their commemorative DVD?

For now, I raise my glass to Hayley Wickenheiser and the entire Canadian women's hockey team...

5:58 PM: Tim Thomas got to play the final 1/2 of the 3rd period, but couldn't get the shutout as Antti Miettinen scored, but it was a case of too little, too late - the Americans escape with a 6-1 shellacking and will play for Gold, the Finns, will play for Bronze...

Canada-Slovakia - 9:30 EST start...and I've got the beer all ready...Canadian, all the way...just let the IOC try and stop me...I even have one of those tall Olympic glasses they sold at Petro Canada...fits a Tallboy perfectly...in fact, I bought all four...they're very well made...especially the mug with the handle...

Oh am I pumped for this game...and I'll be even more so on Sunday if we win...

4:37 PM: Nicklas Backstrom let in the 2 earlier goals, but was near perfect in the 2nd period - the Finns go into the final frame still down 6-0, though...

3:42 PM: Looks like the Americans are playing the "anything you can do I can do better" game...of course, by now everybody knows Canada beat Russia 7-3 the other night...well, after one period of the Semi Final game between USA and Finland - it's 6-0 for the Americans...I had to check it twice...

Ryan Malone, Zach Parise, Erik Johnson, Patrick Kane, then Patrick Kane again on a new goaltender - and Paul Stastny...

So much for Kiprusoff refusing to play for the Finns unless he got the starting job...careful what you wish for...

Canada HAS to win tonight...because that is a challenge if ever I saw one...haven't seen who is playing in goal for the Finns yet, but how did Kipper get lit up so badly!?!? OUCH!!!

1:15 PM: Another day, another 87 cents, after taxes...and wouldn't you know it, my T4 arrived this week...

Some sad news to report from Vancouver - Actor Andrew Koenig - who you may remember from the show "Growing Pains", was found dead in a remote area of Stanley Park after what is being called an apparent suicide. He had been reported missing since Feb 14, and his parents had made pleas to the world through the media for him to contact them. Koenig, who played "Boner" on the show, battled depression throughout his life. The message family and friends want to spread today is if you know somebody battling depression, try and convince them to get help. Twitter is alive today with numerous celebrities passing along their sympathies, and all of them seemed to echo these sentiments - everyone from co-star Alyssa Milano and William Shatner...

9:19 PM: I can't help but get chills every time they lift the flag and play the anthem - and that "I Believe" song?! Forget about it...almost brings a tear to my eyes...

I wonder how Prime Minister Stephen Harper managed to get a seat next to Wayne Gretzky? Nice of Gretzky's wife to sing along with the rest of the place - don't think we didn't notice that you don't know the words Janet!! Thought I saw Gretzky giving it to her after...clearly he was not impressed over something...

And now...the Gold Medal...nice touch, they brought out Finland and presented all the medals now instead of separately...

8:38 PM: Canada 2 USA 0 - What does it say about our great game when the Americans outscore their opposition 40-4 in the tournament, and still lose!?!? Team USA let in as many goals in this game as they let in the entire tournament.

18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin, from Beauceville, Quebec, scored the only goal Canada would need, and then added another - and goaltender Shannon Szabados made 28 saves for the shutout...many of them of the tough variety...

Collectively the team scored 48 goals, and only allowed 2 - this breaks the record set by Canada at the last Olympics...that's 48 goals in FIVE GAMES...unbelievable...

Team USA could never seem to get it going, especially after failing to score on not one, but two, 5 on 3 opportunities...

So, it's Triple Gold for Canada's women's hockey team...as the Men's hockey team looks on from the rafters...soak it up boys!!!

There's a guy in the crowd with one of those siren hats, he's been at every game holding up a sign - today it was "GOLD CANADA GOLD"...I have to wonder how much he spent on hockey tickets...

4:57 PM: So, Sweden managed to make it interesting, but Finland prevails in OT to give their women's hockey team the bronze medal...3-2 the final score there...

Danijela Rundqvist scored to tie the game 2-2, sending it to OT, but it was Karoliina Rantameaki, 2:23 into the extra frame...

3:27 PM: Finland leads Sweden 2-1 after 40 minutes of the Women's Hockey bronze medal game - Michelle Karvinen with the go ahead goal - her first Olympic goal could be a potential game and bronze medal winner...

Sweden, Gold and Silver medal winners at the 2006 Olympics, may leave Vancouver with nothing to show for their hockey efforts...they have 20 minutes to end the threat...

We learned today Canada will be guaranteed at least 17 medals, potentially 9 of them Gold...Women's hockey will get a medal tonight, and women's curling will get at worst a silver - Canada's Cheryl Bernard, a virtual unknown before this Olympic Curling tournament started, beat Switzerland in the Semi-final game to earn a matchup with Sweden with a Gold medal on the line tomorrow...Canada's men led by Kevin Martin are playing Sweden right now in their semi-final...

10:47 AM: The defending Gold Medal Men's Hockey Olympic champions are going home without a medal this time. Sweden lost 4-3 to Slovakia...paving the way to the country's best showing at the Olympics since professional hockey players started taking part. They will move on to face Canada in Friday's semi-final. This Slovak team has some snipers - Pavol Demitra, who had 2 goals, including the game winner, Marian Gaborik, who I'm surprised is actually playing, and of course, Marian Hossa. Andrej Sekeres has been pretty good in this tournament as well, he had a goal in the game.

Joannie Rochette will also have a shot at the podium in figure skating, as she sits in 3rd going into tonight's final...

12:15 AM: USA will play Finland - after a game that played out eerily similar to the game earlier between the Americans and the Swiss - Nik Hagman with the 1-0 goal, Valtteri Filppula with an empty netter...Miikka Kiprusoff - outstanding - where has that goaltending been for the Calgary Flames this year (of course, you might ask the same question about Jarome Iginla with respect to his scoring prowess in this tournament for Canada)!?! Martin Havlat - as Ray Ferraro put it - has been a ghost in this tournament...Jaromir Jagr, on the other hand...he's still got some game in him, doesn't he?!

Sweden-Slovakia...just underway...by the time we all wake up tomorrow morning we'll find out who won...

12:04 AM: Finland took until the 13th minute of the 3rd period to score - but they hold the 1-0 lead...with now just over four minutes to go...

The Czechs took what turned out to be a costly delay of game, puck over the glass penalty...to add insult to injury, Pavel Kubina lost his helmet and went behind the net to get it, and watched the puck get deflected in by Nik Hagman...

10:32 PM: The Czechs are not doing themselves any favors getting into penalty trouble...Finland's 4th power play coming up...still scoreless...

10:18 PM: Scoreless in the 1st between Finland and the Czech Republic - 12:34 left...

Big, big day for Canada - they post a 7-3 score against Russia to give them a shot for a medal when just a few short days ago we were all wondering if we'd even get by Germany; Clara Hughes gets a Bronze in her last Olympics in the 5000m Women's speed skating; a DQ for South Korea bumps Canada up to Silver in Women's short track speed skating; and moments ago, Women's 2 man bobsleigh is Gold and Silver - both for Canada...all of a sudden we're at 15 medals...and we'll add another tomorrow night in Women's hockey...color to be determined...

9:50 PM: After all that - the Crosby-Ovechkin match up, was not even a factor...Final score - Canada 7 Russia 3...

9:41 PM: Listen to this crowd!!! I'm hearing "We Want Sweden!", "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye"...and I think I even heard "Whoomp! There It Is!!!'...I tell you, you really appreciate surround sound when the game is on the line...

9:29 PM: I don't know if the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes meet up any more this season, but Anton Volchenkov better be careful what he starts here - he took Eric Staal into the end boards on a play that could have been called interference at the very least...no penalty...Staal is none the worse for wear, and Ryan Getzlaf got Volchenkov later, but you don't want something like this spilling over when the NHL resumes...

Russia finally got caught for too many men, after about the 3rd time they were guilty of it...

10:30 remaining...the message to Team Canada from the coaching staff at the 2nd intermission is simple...don't let up...

9:01 PM: 7-3 at the 2nd intermission...Sergei Gonchar has the 3rd Russian goal...Canada took a few undisciplined penalties in the 2nd, one of them a too many men on the ice penalty...Russia did the same thing minutes later but didn't get caught...they better watch it in the 3rd...

8:45 PM: Just past the halfway point of the game - and it's 7-2 Canada...Corey Perry has 2 goals, Shea Weber another one...Maxim Afinogenov has the 2nd Russian goal...Evgeni Nabokov gets the rest of the night off...Ilya Bryzgalov is in net now...doesn't seem to help...they don't have an answer for a suddenly sizzling Canadian offence...

8:20 PM: First intermission - and it's a 4-1 lead for Canada - Brenden Morrow with the latest goal...all the lines are buzzing...

8:02 PM: Rick Nash had given Canada a 3-0 lead within seconds of the Boyle goal, but Russia's Dmitri Kalinin has just scored to bust the shutout bid...and maybe avert a potential blowout...after the Nash goal Russia used their Timeout...

7:55 PM: 2-0 Canada...Ryan Getzlaf with the early goal...and Dan Boyle has just scored...about 7:51 left in the 1st period...the crowd is going nuts...

6:03 PM: So, the game ended about 45 minutes ago - and it was a 2-0 USA win - Parise with an empty netter, Ryan Miller with the Shutout...this team is getting scarier by the minute...I know Brian Burke has said many times he's trying to rekindle the miracle on ice, and so far, the team is making an excellent case...but for now, let's not even go there...

Give credit to Switzerland - they had themselves a tournament to remember...maybe Jonas Hiller will get to play for the national team again at the World Championships, provided Anaheim doesn't make the playoffs...I can't see that team being much different, given Hiller is the only NHL player on the roster...

So we now know the USA will play the winner of Finland-Czech Republic...the bracket system is weird...USA-Switzerland was in the bracket above Canada-Russia, but then they do a crossover for the semis...I had forgotten about that...not looking too far ahead, but in a way it would be fitting to have to play USA for the Gold medal instead of for the right to play for Gold...

Imminent faceoff at 7:30 EST...about an hour and 1/2...time to go shovel some snow...we got dumped on today...

4:58 PM: The US of A lead 1-0 with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd period...who else? Zach Parise...but, the Swiss will not go quietly...

3:38 PM: 0-0 tie after 1 period of the 1st Quarterfinal game of the day between USA and Switzerland - the Americans outshot the Swiss 18-4...best scoring chances came in the dying minutes of the period - a chance from Phil Kessel, and another one from Zach Parise...

Back to work...more to come on this game at 5:30...as for Canada-Russia, it's T minus 4 hours...and counting...

11:22 AM: Looks like Latvia made life very difficult for the Czechs last night - almost pulling off the unthinkable - taking a 2-2 tie into OT before eventually losing 3-2...David Krejci with the eventual OT winner...talk about backs against the wall...

Norway almost did the same against Slovakia - but Slovakia prevailed 4-3 - GWG scored by Miroslav Satan - this one was overshadowed by an ugly incident involving Ole Kristian Tollefsen, who was ejected from the game after sending Lubos Bartecko off the ice on a stretcher with an elbow to the jaw which knocked him out cold...had Norway won, Tollefsen would have been suspended for one game...you may recall Bartecko played five NHL seasons with St. Louis and Atlanta before returning to Europe in 2003...currently he plays for Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League...he suffered a concussion and a head laceration, but by all accounts he should be fine...

"Dirty hit. Dirty hit," Slovak captain Zdeno Chara said. "Blows to the head, we're trying to eliminate, and that was - for sure - one of the dirtiest hits."

So today is shaping up to be a very interesting Quarterfinal Wednesday...USA vs Switzerland at 3PM, Canada vs Russia at 7:30 PM, Finland vs Czech Republic at 10:00 PM, and Sweden vs Slovakia at midnight...thankfully tonight is the end of the midnight late shows...all times Eastern...winners advance to the Semis on Friday...although we don't want to look too far ahead, should Canada advance, they'll get another crack at the Americans or the Swiss...on the other side of things, flip a coin for Finland and the Czechs, while Sweden should be able to beat the Slovaks...but we've seen bigger upsets in the past...

Of course, the big story today will be the Crosby-Ovechkin show...Chapter 11...or so...everyone has made reference to how a handful of players on this team were part of that outstanding Grand Forks, North Dakota junior tournament during the lockout...if Yzerman had gone with Dion Phaneuf over, say, Chris Pronger, I'd like their chances a lot more...not to say I don't think they can't win, but my lasting memory of that Gold medal game from 2005 is Crosby with the centre ice hit on Ovechkin, and a "double Dion" hit that charged up the crowd and the team...that Russian team didn't have a chance after that...Canada will have to do the same thing in this game - set an early tone, especially in front of a home crowd, but unlike in Torino in 2006, they'll have to make sure they don't get into penalty trouble...

However, I do like Luongo better than Nabokov...goaltending is often the difference in these games...the dynamic will be different though, yes we have the San Jose line against their top goaltender, but we'll not only have the Ovechkin-Crosby matchup, we'll have the Crosby-Geno matchup...

It was actually Manuel Klinge for Germany - too little too late...8-2...looks like that will be a final score...

Bring on the Russians!!!! Almost fitting, really - as much as we were anticipating it as the Gold medal game, we get a rematch of the 2006 Olympic quarterfinals instead...and quite frankly Mr. Ovechkin, as much as I love watching you play - it's payback time!!!

Czech Republic and Latvia get going in about 45 mins...and the late show has Slovakia up against Norway...there isn't any chance of an upset there, is there?!

9:39 PM: It'll mean nothing for the result of this game, but it'll mean everything for Rick Nash's confidence - finally, Nash gets his first Olympic goal...8-1 Canada...3:24 remaining...

9:29 PM: Maybe this will wake the team up moving forward...Scott Niedermayer - the native of Cranbrook BC, team captain...heavily criticized going into this game...he scores on a breakaway...7-1...

9:22 PM: They're calling them "the black and blue line"...Jonathan Toews, Brenden Morrow, and Mike Richards...Richards scores the goal - it's 6-1...

12 mins left...they should play this out with Coldplay's "The Scientist"..."nobody said it was eaaaaassy...."

9:14 PM: Sidney Crosby...5-1...Canada - seems Eric Staal is the catalyst on that line - I dare say Babcock won't be separating them anytime soon...

Is it just me, or is this game the best thing that could have happened to Canada in this tournament? I guess we'll find out...

Moments ago, Rick Nash was taken down and awarded a penalty shot - in International play, you can put out whomever you want to take the shot - Mike Babcock elected to go with Crosby, who failed to score...perhaps they should have let Nash take the shot...had he scored on it, who knows what it might have done for his confidence, and the entire team?! Food for thought...

8:40 PM: Iginla - again...4-0...now the Rick Nash-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry line needs to get going...

Somebody explain to me exactly why Chris Pronger is on this team!? Didn't Team Canada learn their lesson with Todd Bertuzzi?

People who haven't seen the Vancouver Canucks play on a regular basis have been dumbfounded as to why the crowd is booing Roberto Luongo - those are not Boos, they're chanting "Luuuuuuuuu"...

8:31 PM: The Crosby-Staal-Iginla experiment is working so far - Jarome Iginla makes it 3-0...

8:29 PM: It's 2-0 for Canada on a goal by Shea Weber - the first defenseman to score in these Olympics - Weber shot the puck so hard it went right through the mesh of the net and out the back - play continued for about another minute afterwards, but the video replay clearly shows it was a good goal...we'll take it...

7:54 PM: Perhaps a little team mate familiarity again - against Team USA, Martin Brodeur was well known by Brian Rafalski, Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner - well Thomas Greiss plays for San Jose - and it's Joe Thornton with the first goal - Duncan Keith did all the work with the dump in to the board, and Dany Heatley fed Thornton like he's done so many times this year...1-0 Canada...

7:33 PM: The game nobody in Canada wanted to see is on...Germany has never beaten Canada...ever...in Olympic action, Canada is 11-0...doesn't mean anything right now...

Roberto Luongo indeed gets the start in goal...I guess Bob McKenzie seems to forget Luongo had to play against the Czechs in the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2004...he said Luongo has never been in this position before...how soon we all forget...

Thomas Greiss in goal for the Germans...Uwe Krupp is their head coach...just saw defenseman Sven Butenschon skating around...remember him? Better known D-men - Christian Erhoff and Denis Seidenberg...the Germans are not a bad team...Marcel Goc and Marco Sturm are on forward...

One thing you've probably noticed about teams from overseas countries - they've all brought eight defensemen with them...

Game on...Sidney Crosby will play with Eric Staal to try and generate some offense...

6:11 PM: Switzerland went to a shootout against Belarus, and won...Jonas Hiller made the final save on Sergei Kostitsyn for the win - the Swiss will play against the United States in the quarterfinal...

Another Gold for Canada today - Ashleigh McIvor, in Women's Ski Cross (which is really cool if you haven't seen it before - it makes its Olympic debut at these games)...that's six gold, four silver and one bronze for Canada...as we remain in the top five...

Aside from the Canada-Germany hockey game - tonight it's more skating - Ladies' Short program...Canada's Joannie Rochette has high hopes for a medal, along with a heavy heart...her mother, Therese Rochette, unfortunately passed away over the weekend after suffering a heart attack...but, as they say...the show must go on...

11:05 AM: I'm always inspired by stories showing the human spirit and the willingness to give to others. Just watched an excellent piece on CTV about Joe Juneau - many people that have done well for themselves will buy property somewhere warm and spend their years after work chilling out and enjoying life...but not Joe. Since retiring from the NHL, he has settled up north in Nunavik and runs his own hockey school - where only the best behaved kids get invited...I'm sure they'll be posting the piece at www.ctvolympics.ca later today...of course, Juneau is also involved with Team Canada's hockey program...

They're replaying the Virtue & Moir skate for those who didn't stay up late enough to see it...I'm telling you, it's a thing of beauty...I'm feeling like a proud Canadian right now...like most of us are...

12:34 AM: They're celebrating in London, Ontario; Ilderton, Ontario and all across this nation - Virtue & Moir - Gold Medalists in the Ice Dance figure skating competition - final score of 221.57 crushed the competition - their closest rivals and best friends Meryl Davis & Charlie White of the United States won Silver with a combined final score of 215.74...both pairs train at the same Michigan rink and share the same skating coaches...

11:43 PM: I'm not usually the biggest fan of figure skating, but at the risk of sounding gay, I have to say - that final free dance skate from Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir was probably the most beautiful thing I've seen on ice...aside from maybe the Stanley Cup...

10:45 PM: So Canada's ladies are guaranteed at least silver in the women's hockey tournament - a 5-0 win against Finland...it could have very easily been 10-0...that goalie for Finland was outstanding...

The United States, with nine points out of nine and a plus-9 goal differential, topped the seeding chart followed by Sweden (nine points, plus-7), Russia (seven points, plus-7), Finland (six points, plus-6), Czech Republic (six points, plus-3), Canada (five points, plus-7), Slovakia (five points, plus-5), Switzerland (three points, minus-2), Belarus (three points, minus-4), Norway (one point, minus-14), Germany (no points, minus-9) and Latvia (no points, minus-15).

So, regardless of group standings, the top four teams receive a bye to the quarterfinals...with Canada finishing the round robin in 6th, they are relegated to the qualification round. If Canada could have ever got to OT last night they would have avoided playing Germany, and as it turned out, Finland would have had to play an extra game...

Anyhow, USA, Sweden, Russia and Finland all rest until Wednesday...most likely Russia's game, if they play Canada, would be at 7:30 EST, but that has yet to be determined...the games will be 3PM, 7:30, 10, and midnight again...

Tomorrow, at 3PM EST, Switerland plays Belarus - winner plays the Americans. At 7:30PM EST, Canada plays Germany, winner plays Russia. At 10PM EST, the Czech Republic plays Latvia, winner plays Finland, and at midnight EST, Slovakia plays Norway, with the winner having to face Sweden...losers are all eliminated, winners play Wednesday...all teams advancing to the semi-finals will have a shot at a medal. Semi finals are Friday, either at 3PM, or 9:30PM. Bronze medal game goes Saturday at 10PM, loser finishes 4th, and Gold medal game goes Sunday at 3:15PM, loser of that game gets Silver...all times are eastern - subtract 3 hours if you're in Vancouver...2 hours in Alberta, 1 hour in Saskatchewan/Manitoba...etc...etc...add one hour NB/NS, and 1 1/2 hours if you're in Newfoundland...

For the ladies, tonight at 9 PM it's Canada-Finland in the semi-finals - if they win it's Canada-USA in the Gold Medal game...USA thumped Sweden 9-1...

Thursday at 2PM EST it's the Bronze medal game between USA and whoever wins Canada-Finland, and the Gold Medal game goes at 6:30 PM...

My head is spinning...but surely we should be good for at least ONE hockey medal, right?

3:55 PM: Well, needless to say - everyone's freaking out over Hockey Canada's loss to the Americans last night...

I posted this on my Facebook last night, and had a similar tweet on Twitter as you can see up above:

"As John Candy once proclaimed as he played the Jamaican Bobsled team's coach in the movie Cool Runnings: "You Choked!" U.S.A. 5 Canada 3...bring on Germany in the Qualification round - as for the Americans, see you in the medal round!!!"

To which an uncle of mine had this to say to me privately (not the Detroit fan, another uncle (this one is a Habs fan) - ;-)...):

"Canada didn't choke. If they put the right goalie in net the outcome would have been different.... What was Brodeur thinking!?!? "

"It wasn't what Brodeur was thinking, it was a matter of his New Jersey Devils teammates knowing his vulnerabilities...sure, we got 45 shots on Miller, but where was the pressure they put on him during the last five minutes during the other 55 minutes?! It's one thing to get 45 shots on goal, but they weren't all quality scoring chances. Pierre McGuire kept saying time and time again, down low shots are NOT going to beat Ryan Miller...and with Lindy Ruff as their assistant coach, they should have KNOWN that...

Always easy to blame the goalie...but where was the rest of the TEAM??? There are 20 guys on the bench, and at best 6 of them had a good game... "

So, the 6 players I was referring to?: Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, Dany Heatley, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty...honorable mention to Shea Weber, who shot the puck like a cannon, but couldn't get any accuracy on the shot, and Joe Thornton who had a few chances but couldn't bury them...

This is the kind of day it has been...so we're more than likely (unfairly, I might add) going to see Roberto Luongo tomorrow night...but, we need to win, whatever it takes...that's the Canadian way...

BTW, I haven't mentioned the results of Sweden-Finland - I didn't stay up to watch it, but Sweden remains virtually perfect at these Olympics after posting another Shutout in a 3-0 victory over Finland...winning their pool and advancing to the quarterfinals. Finland's Joni Pitkanen is suspended for 1 game after being assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct after a head shot to Sweden's Patric Hornqvist - see how easy that is Colin Campbell!? Despite losing the game last night, Finland will also advance to the Quarterfinals by virtue of goal differential...

11:36 PM: Well, looks like there's hope for another Canadian gold medal tomorrow night in the figure skating freestyle dance - the 3rd and final component of the pairs Ice Dance figure skating program - Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir achieved a personal best score to sit in 1st in the overall standings, almost a full 3 points ahead of the US and Russia...if Canada or USA win the Gold it would be a first for either country in the event...

We did win one medal today - Kristina Groves of Ottawa got her second silver in speed skating - this time in the 1500m...

As for the slopes...so much for home advantage - with the exception of the moguls, it has been nothing short of a disaster for Canada's ski team...

Looks like we should be on the podium for Curling...both the men and women are undefeated so far...the 9-2 score you see on the ticker for Canada over the USA? Women's Curling...

The Canadian Olympic Committee, is positive the final week of the Olympics will be better than the first for Canada - they projected 10 medals after the first week, we have 9...and possibly 10 by tomorrow night...the sports we excel at will all be decided this week...hockey, curling, speed skating...the organizers are still confident we can "Own The Podium"...

9:57 PM: Well, it almost worked...great pressure by Canada, goalie pulled, but it was Ryan Kesler, who plays for the Vancouver Canucks, getting the most intense empty netter you'll ever see...USA wins 5-3...Ryan Miller the difference in this one...

The Americans get a bye to the quarterfinals, and Canada gets to play Germany on Tuesday in the qualification round...assuming they win that one, they are expected to get Russia in quarterfinal action on Wednesday...OUCH!!!

9:48 PM: USA 4 Canada 3 - 3:09 to go - both teams have traded power play goals...Jamie Langenbrunner for the US, Sidney Crosby for Canada...

9:07 PM: 2nd Intermission - USA leads Canada 3-2 after Chris Drury scored with Brodeur down on the play and 3 defensemen trying to get it out of the zone...it's been end to end so far - chances at both ends, but Canada still leads on the shot clock - 31-19...

One more period to at least get it into overtime...like Russia earlier, Canada needs a win to clinch their pool...

8:39 PM: Dany Heatley with his fourth of the tournament - but it was Jonathan Toews doing all the work down low - he is having a great game - it's tied 2-2...and the crowd is alive...

8:26 PM: Not a great start by Canada against USA - it's 2-1 for the Americans...Eric Staal has Canada's goal, and Brian Rafalski has both goals for Team USA...they're at the first intermission...it's not from a lack of trying - Canada outshot the Americans 19-6, but trail on the scoreboard...

Rafalski, of course, is a former team mate of Martin Brodeur's, so perhaps he knows a weakness...Ryan Miller, on the other hand, has been outstanding so far...

They keep making reference to the fact tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the 1980 Miracle On Ice...the Americans are wearing vintage jerseys to honor the memory, and are obviously hoping they can make history repeat itself...

5:20 PM: Pavel Datsyuk got the empty netter and Russia wins 4-2 - winning their pool, and getting a bye to Quarterfinal Wednesday...

5:09 PM: Milan Michalek pulls the Czechs within 1 goal with 5:09 left - 3-2...the Russians HAVE to win this in regulation to avoid having to play in the elimination round...meaning it would be 2 wins to the Gold medal game instead of 3...

Neither goalie has been particularly good...Tomas Vokoun or Evgeni Nabokov...

4:49 PM: Wow!! You would think by now Jaromir Jagr would know better than to go up the middle neutral zone with his head down...

Just early going in the 3rd period between Russia and Czech Republic. It was 2-1 Russia, when Alex Ovechkin of all people caught Jagr napping and absolutely levelled him, setting up a lane for Semin, beautiful pass to Evgeni Malkin - his second of the game - 3-1 Russia...

About 15 mins left in the first game of "Super Sunday"...anticipation continues to grow for the main event - Canada-USA...7:30 EST...be there or be square!!

All the games today will decide who wins their respective pools and who ends up playing who in the next round...winner between Canada-USA gets a Bye to the Quarterfinals...same for the game on now and Sweden-Finland...

Just when it looked like Canada would be shut out of medals on Day 8, we came through big time in Skeleton - now you think Hockey players have guts? Watch one of these Skeleton riders - no protection but a helmet, and going down a bobsled/luge track on a small sled...not once, but four times!!! John Montgomery was a mere .07 seconds better than rival Martins Dukurs of Lavia...winning Gold for Canada...

After what was a day of disappointment in both the Men's Super G slalom ski race, and the Women's skeleton race, where favorite Mellisa Hollingsworth placed forth, just missing the podium, Montgomery came through...Canada's medal count is now 8...

On the ice it was a 4-2 win for Sweden over Belarus - a game way closer than the score indicates - same for Czech Republic over Latvia, 5-2 the final there...Jaromir Jagr still shows why he was once considered the best player in the world...in fact, he still has the skills...

They're calling it Super Sunday coming up - Canada-USA, Czech Republic-Russia, and Sweden-Finland...bring...it...on!!!

10:52 AM: With Hockey being king all across this nation of ours, it's sometimes laughable how fans and media alike hit the panic button after our team had an "OK" game...wake up folks - Canada played well enough to win - and give Switzerland credit - they played well enough to win too - there's a reason why they've qualified for two straight Olympics, they came to play - and they play our style of game almost to perfection. This is NOT an easy tournament, nobody is going to have an easy ride to the podium...for me, even though I know the intensity is about to reach the boiling point, this was the best game of the tournament so far...how boring would it be if we blew out every team by an 8-0 score? Just ask fans of Canada's women's team...no disrespect intended...

Just seeing that Russia lost to Slovakia - that game too went to a shootout...Habs fans will be happy with this - Jaroslav Halak stopped Alex Ovechkin in the shootout, not once, but twice. It was Pavol Demitra with the eventual game winner. Despite the OT loss, Russia still leads their pool...but yet again, if we were to have an over/under on Ovechkin and set it at 5, again we're under...

It's not looking like anybody's going to go a perfect 3-0 in regulation...at least not yet...

Today - Sweden takes on Belarus...the Czech Republic goes against Latvia, and Finland goes against Germany...even though Sweden are the defending Gold champions, you know they will have 2002 in the back of their minds...even though this game only counts for seeding purposes...

12:29 AM: A revelation in men's figure skating - or maybe just Karma after Evgeni Plushenko's comments about his own sport - the Russian Gold favorite was edged out by a single point, by the USA's Evan Lysacek...so Plushenko settles for Silver, Japan's Daisuke Takahashi takes the Bronze.

In case you missed it - Plushenko had this to say about not implementing a quad jump in their program: "without a quad, it's not men's skating"...

10:02 PM: A nail biting finish to say the least - we went to overtime, and a shootout, and Sidney Crosby, in extra shooters, gets the GWG for Canada - 3-2 the final. Crosby did not have a great game by his standards - getting the winner makes up for it.

They're using a 3 point system in these Olympics - 3 points for a win in regulation, 2 points for OT or shootout win, and 1 point for an OT or shootout loss - assuming any team wins all 3 of their round robin games in regulation, this could impact where Canada places...

Bring on the Americans...they won 6-1 today over Norway...it was 6-0 for USA's women over Finland...

9:28 PM: There are about 17,000 fans in Vancouver on their cell phones calling the cops right now - Jonas Hiller just robbed Ryan Getzlaf who had the game winner on his stick...7:32 remaining...

8:54 PM: We're tied 2-2 at the 2nd Intermission - the puck went in off Patrick Marleau's skate...Patrick von Gutten took the shot...

8:39 PM: Canada kills it off...and Shea Weber just about killed Dany Heatley with a howitzer...

8:24 PM: Four years ago, a big bone of contention for Team Canada against Switzerland was their inability to score on the power play...not this time - Patrick Marleau gets one...2-0 Canada...to this point, Canada is 1 for 5...in 2006, they were 0 for 12...Switzerland might want to try and be more disciplined...already a too many men on the ice, and they just took a delay of game penalty...

Sidney Crosby has been stonewalled (at least) twice so far by Jonas Hiller...not from a lack of trying...he is, however, trying to be a little too cute...shoot the puck Sid!!

Martin Brodeur must love the fact that there is no trapezoid...he can play the puck behind the net...he seems to be playing a more traditional style as opposed to his usual butterfly...

7:49 PM: If you needed any (more) evidence as to why San Jose and Chicago are #1 and #2 in the West - watch the highlights of the 1st goal of this one - Duncan Keith with the dump in, Jonathan Toews, TIC, Patrick Marleau, TAC, Dany Heatley, TOE...1-0, Canada...

Switzerland is very aggressive defensively...but they will not get the shutout on this night...

7:35 PM: The panel on CTV are ranking the Swiss 2-0 win over Canada in the 2006 Olympics as the biggest upset since NHL players started taking part...keep in mind some of the games that game is ranked against - it was ranked higher than Belarus over Sweden in the 2002 quarterfinal, and bigger than the Czech Republic over Canada in 1998 (which, for my money will always be the biggest upset in Olympic hockey history - when you consider the team Canada had at the time)...

We're underway with the Rematch...and just for the record, Paul DiPietro is NOT on this team, nor is Martin Gerber...

12:35 PM: I must say, one video game I enjoy playing that I never thought I would is the Shaun White Snowboarding game for PSP - I realize it exists for the higher end PS3 and Wii, but when you're hardly home except to work, the portability is awesome - well, Mr. White won his second straight Olympic Gold for team USA in the men's snowboarding half pipe competition, and his team mate Scott Lago, took Bronze. Probably means a sequel is in the works?!!?

Later this evening, Team Canada and Team Switzerland get it on in Canada's 2nd game of the round robin Hockey tournament...one name you haven't heard in awhile in these parts - Hnat Dominichelli - a former teammate of Jarome Iginla's, dating back to Bantam...they'll be facing off against each other in this game...

So, yesterday - the Canadian Women continued to roll on the ice - blasting Sweden (again - remember the Gold Medal game in 2006?) by a score of 13-1. Although they aren't coming out and saying it, it seems Hayley Wickenheiser and company are using a line from the Karate Kid - "Mercy Is For The Weak"...

Jaromir Jagr made his long awaited return to North American Ice last night, as he scored once and assisted on another, as the Czech Republic beat arch-rival Slovakia by a score of 3-1. As much as I used to goof on him, he can still bring it. A return to the NHL will most likely depend on how well he does in this tournament...

Teemu Selanne, playing in his last Olympics for Finland, tied an Olympics record for points with 36, as he assisted on Olli Jokinen's opening goal...the Finns cruised to a 5-1 win over Belarus...

And defending Gold medal champs Sweden won their first game of the round robin, shutting out Germany by a score of 2-0...Matti Ohlund and Loui Eriksson with the goals, Henrik Lundqvist with the shutout...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

So far, no real surprises to report...but stay tuned, this tournament is about to heat up in a hurry...

12:52 PM: Today, in Men's Group C action, Finland plays Belarus, and Sweden plays Germany - the Germans should have a stronger team this time...

The late game (12 midnight Eastern) has the Czech Republic against Slovakia...

In Women's action - Canada is up against Sweden at 5:30 EST, and Slovakia plays Switzerland at 10:00 EST...

If you would have set the Ovechkin over/under at 5, the result would have been (surprisingly enough), under...2 goals for the Capitals Captain...

11:51 PM: I don't feel so bad about this season's Edmonton Oilers' woes anymore - in the NBA - the New Jersey Nets made news tonight as they won just their 5th game of the season tonight - beating the Charlotte Bobcats by a final score of 103-94. That's 5 wins in 53 games...5-48...good enough for last overall in the NBA this season...they're 37 1/2 games behind first place Cleveland in the Eastern Conference....

Although, after the fast start the Oilers enjoyed, they haven't fared much better, but at least they're double digits in the win column...not that either team has any hope in hell of making the playoffs at this point, but I'm just saying...

Speaking of Vince Carter...his other former team, the Toronto Raptors, by comparison - they're 29-23, and 3 points behind Boston for 4th in the East...seems Toronto might actually surprise a few people this year...I don't think they're up there with Cleveland and Orlando (Carter's current team), but they just might be a dark horse if they get the right matchup...

Small hockey move that I missed amidst all the hubbub surrounding the Olympics - Jamie Lundmark was picked up off waivers, by Toronto...the parade of former Calgary Flames to the Big Smoke continues...

And Jonathan Cheechoo, on the other hand, cleared waivers and now finds himself scoring goals for Binghamton...who knew all he needed was a conditioning assignment?

So Russia-Latvia is a midnight EST start...for a round robin game, I think I'll skip this one...I'll report the score in the morning...I wonder what the Alex Ovechkin over/under is?

9:58 PM: Corey Perry - 7-0...Jarome Iginla - Hat Trick...8-0...game, set, and match...Canada gets off to a perfect start...but let's be fair - it's Norway...long way to go yet...

The game I'm looking forward to - Sunday...Canada vs U.S.A....on Thursday it's Switzerland...Jonas Hiller is the Swiss Goalie...Martin Brodeur is expected to get the start...

Until then, keep the coffee perculating and the beer cold...now that I've had to get my fridge fixed I can actually do the latter...(don't ask)...I thought they only had relay switches in cars...evidently not...

9:28 PM: It's probably safe to say with under 12 minutes remaining that Canada will start their 2010 Olympic tournament with a bang - Ryan Getzlaf - 4-0, and a goalie change for the Norwegians (P�l Grotnes was pulled in favor of Andre Lysenst�en...but it wouldn't matter)...Dany Heatley, his second of the game and tournament - 5-0...Jarome Iginla, his second of the game and tournament - Iginla, Rick Nash put on a passing clinic before putting it home...6-0...

8:58 PM: We're 2 periods into Canada's Olympic Men's hockey tournament - and Canada is leading 3-0 over Norway...it's the most dangerous lead in hockey in the NHL - will it be at the Olympics?

After a scoreless "feeling out" 1st period, the Canadian squad got going quickly in the 2nd - Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley and Mike Richards the goal scorers - Sidney Crosby has an assist. Roberto Luongo is perfect so far...

Only two players you'll recognize from Team Norway - Patrick Thoresen, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen...Tollefsen hasn't played yet, he's expected to join his team tomorrow...

Earlier today USA beat Switzerland by a score of 3-1...Bobby Ryan, David Backes and Ryan Malone...

Russia and Latvia still to come...yikes!!! I think we're going to have our first double digit score...Andrei Markov is expected to play...

So, Canada got their first gold medal on home soil on Sunday night when Alex Bilodeau took the Men's moguls competition. Of note - a Canadian representing team Australia was on the podium there.

Today, they won their second gold on home soil - Maelle Ricker finished first in the women's snowboard cross final.

The goal from Dany Heatley moves him into 2nd all-time in Canadian International Scoring with 77 points...he just passed Eric Lindros...of course, we all know who is 1st overall...

With all the debate in this country over the last year over who would light the cauldron, we finally got our answer - five prominent Canadians - Rick Hansen, Catriona Le May Doan, Steve Nash, Nancy Greene Raine, and the great one himself, Wayne Gretzky.

Bit of a malfunction at the junction as the cauldron wouldn't engage properly, but they lit it anyway - before sending Gretzky down to the Vancouver waterfront to light the cauldron that everybody will see.

Nice touch...there was a movement on Facebook to get Betty Fox, Terry Fox' mother, to be involved somehow, she ended up one of eight Olympic Flag bearer's - along with Bobby Orr, Anne Murray, Jacques Villeneuve, Julie Payette, Barbara Ann Scott, Romeo Dallaire, and Donald Sutherland. The flag was then raised at half mast by a team of Mounties - half mast to honor Nodar Kumaritashvili.

Hopefully we'll win our first Gold Medal while I'm gone for the weekend - I'd say with two strong hockey teams (men and women), we should be good for at least our first Gold on Canadian soil by the time this is all said and done.

10:26 PM: Music fans in Canada and around the World will probably be avidly looking for a copy of Bryan Adams' duet with Nelly Furtado...

And how about that national anthem from teen jazz sensation Nikki Yanofsky?! If that didn't give you chills you just aren't from this country, plain and simple...

Of course, for me the real Olympics get going on Tuesday night...for fans of Women's Hockey, their tournament gets underway tomorrow night...

I'm headed to Syracuse for the weekend...on Monday while they celebrate President's Day in the U.S., in Ontario we get "Family Day"...I'll be posting picks shortly for the final weekend of NHL hockey for the next three weeks...

One final note - Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis have been asked to be on standby for Team Canada - no doubt Vinny Lecavalier could be included in that group depending on what happens this weekend...

Amid tragedy, the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics are well underway.

Earlier today, during a practice run, athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia (the country, not the state), died after a horrifying crash during a final pre-Olympic training run at the Whistler Luge track.

Georgia's athletes wore black arm bands to honour their team mate, and were met by a standing ovation of 60,000 plus at BC Place as they marched into the opening ceremony. As hard as it will be for the rest of the team as the mourn their team mate, the show, as well as life, must go on...

Hard to believe it's been exactly four years since I first wrote an Olympic Blog, which later gave birth to the Puckin' Blog...I believe this is still available in the archives section, but just in case you were curious to read through what happened in 2006 in Italy (as if Canadian hockey fans need a reminder), check it out here.

While they get ready to ignite the flame in Vancouver - we still have a weekend of hockey to get through - and there's plenty happening at the unofficial trade deadline...

I was out last night attending a corporate function, but managed to see some of the Washington-Ottawa game and a great 6-5 win for the Senators. Liking what he sees, Bryan Murray got some help today - acquiring Matt Cullen from Carolina in exchange for defenceman Alexandre Picard - with Erik Karlsson playing so well, Picard was evidently deemed expendable - Ottawa's upper management must like the direction the team is going too, as they picked up the option year on Murray's contract, which means he'll be around for another year. Absolutely great pickup for the Sens...Cullen gives them another dimension at centre and will help solidify that secondary scoring they've been missing for so long...Ottawa is no longer a one dimensional team...Dany who!??!?

And coming as no surprise, Jonathan Cheechoo was placed on waivers...maybe San Jose will claim him back, today the Sharks sent Jody Shelley to the Rangers for a draft pick...a conditional sixth-round pick...probably depending on how well (or how badly) both teams finish the season...

And Chicago got Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy from Minnesota, in exchange for Cam Barker...

Yesterday - Montreal acquired Dominic Moore from Florida for a 2nd round draft pick...

8:32 PM: 1-1 between the Habs and Caps at the 1st intermission - Josh Gorges just took a wicked shot to the side of the helmet from Mike Green - so hard it knocked him out cold and broke his visor...he left the ice conscious, but you can hear a pin drop at Centre Bell...it was a great start, crowd was noisy, Montreal got on the board first, and then reality set in...

Let's hope Gorges is OK - apparently nobody in the league has played more minutes up to this point in the season...

Ryan Getzlaf is day to day with what is being called a high ankle sprain - so his future with Team Canada is still very much up in the air. Philadelphia's Jeff Carter has been asked to be in Vancouver and be ready if called upon as his replacement...of all the players you could pick, Carter is the guy?! I'm not so sure...

I'll tell you one player who is getting hot at the right time - Rick Nash...it's 2-0 Jackets over the Sharks in the 2nd?! I don't make this stuff up folks...is it me or is Columbus playing better since firing Ken Hitchcock?

Tied 2-2 at the Prudential Center betwen the Flyers and Devils - I'm told Zach Parise has left this game...speaking of Carter, he actually just scored to tie the game...so much for that theory...this is why Steve Yzerman is in charge of the team and not me...but, if it was my decision I think I'd send Mike Fisher before I'd send Carter...I'm just saying...even before the 11 game streak Fisher had something like 3 or 4 game winners...the Sens visit Hockeytown on Saturday, Stevie Y would be well advised to watch...

1-0 Wild over the Coyotes in the 1st, scoreless after 1 at the Igloo between the Islanders and Penguins...Thrashers-Avalanche and Ducks-Oilers are forthcoming...

Make that a 1-1 tie in Minnesota...Michal Hanzal just found an answer for Guy Latendresse's 19th of the season...unbelievable that this guy could score 25-30 goals...who knew?!?

2-1 Predators over the Rangers...that one at the 2nd intermission...Colin Wilson and the Tootoo train have Nashville on the verge of stealing one at MSG...seems to be a common theme for NY lately...

10:46 PM: It's been an interesting few days...but I'll get to that in a second...

Hot off the trade wire - Atlanta is at it again - clearly they have decided to be sellers prior to the Olympic Break, never mind the official trade deadline...even though they're only 3 points out of a playoff spot...now it's goaltender Kari Lehtonen, heading to Dallas - in return, defenseman Vitali Vishnevski and a 4th round draft pick...Thrashers are in Denver for a game against the Avs tomorrow night...I guess it's Pavelic the rest of the way...

So now it's Buffalo's turn to streak downward, as they tonight dropped their 5th straight, in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins, who all of a sudden have come back to life after their dreadful slide. This result has major playoff implications...Bruins are tied in points with Philadelphia with 61, but Flyers have a game at hand...

Ottawa got back in the win column after having their franchise best 11 game streak obliterated by the Leafs on Saturday by a count of 5-0...looks like Toronto still has a lot of work to do though - they lost 3-2 to San Jose yesterday...Senators are now tied with Buffalo and Pittsburgh, all have 72 points...unfortunately the Sabres and Penguins both have games at hand...

Washington, on the other hand - they sit at 14 straight after coming from behind Sunday afternoon on a 3 goal 1 assist effort from Alex Ovechkin in the 3rd period against Pittsburgh...speaking of teams on the slide...they play back to back in Montreal tomorrow and Ottawa on Thursday...can Ovechkin and company take on Pittsburgh for the win streak record (17)? As it stands, they are already 14 points clear of 2nd in the East...

And of course, yesterday, we had the big news out of Montreal which saw Bob Gainey step down as general manager of les bleus, blancs, et rouges...replacing him? None other than "The Ghost" himself - Pierre Gauthier...so let me get this straight - Gauthier vanishes from Anaheim a few years back and finds himself back in Eastern Canada, ironically enough, with Jacques Martin once again as his head coach...actually, Pierre was the assistant G.M....for now he will take over Gainey's job on an interim basis...

So let me guess - Gauthier "won't" be heading to San Jose in a few months to take away somebody's job either, will he?!

MRI on Ryan Getzlaf's foot came back negative - as in no broken bones - great news for Anaheim and Team Canada...

And the Oil Spill continues - 6-1 losers in the Desert last night, they head to the Pond tomorrow night for the 2nd 1/2 of the TSN Wednesday night double header...yawn...

Can't miss games - tomorrow, Caps are in Montreal, but more importantly, Flyers are in Newark for the back end of what appears to have become a very heated home and home against the Devils...it was Philly edging out the 3-2 come from behind win last night - Anssi Salmela scored, but then left the game on a stretcher after taking a shoulder to the face from Jeff Carter...then the comeback ensued...look for a heated divisional game back at the Rock tomorrow...I was shocked o learn this - Devils have lost 10 of their last 14...goes to show the importance of getting off to a comfortable lead...there they are, 1st in the Atlantic, 2 points clear of Pittsburgh...Flyers hold down 8th in the East with 61 points...

And Gaborik does it again...man this guy has some hard luck when it comes to injuries - apparently he left practice today after cutting his knee on goalie Henrik Lundqvist's skate...Lundqvist had his leg extended while Marian skated in on a drill and tried to jump over him...his knee landed on the skate...for now he's day to day...

The team that continues to amaze me is Tampa Bay...they're 9 points back of Ottawa/Buffalo/Pittsburgh and sit 6th in the East after another win - 3-1 against Vancouver...Bolts are playing some good hockey...still can't understand why Vinny isn't part of Team Canada...

3:17 PM: It appears the Toronto Maple Leafs lost more than just the hockey game last night - the sad news came down late last night, and details are still trickling in, that Brian Burke's son, Brendan, was killed in a car accident in Indiana. Burke, 21, and his friend Mark Reedy, 18, were both lost when the Jeep Cherokee they were travelling in slid sideways into the path of a Ford Truck. Police say icy/snowy weather was to blame. Brian was actually in London watching Nazem Khadri play when the devastating news came down the wire.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: "The National Hockey League grieves tonight for the family and friends of Brendan Burke, a young man of courage and character. Words simply cannot express our sorrow over his loss. We send our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to Brendan's father, Brian; his mother, Kerry; everyone in Brendan's family and all who were inspired by his love for hockey."

For those who don't know - Brendan was a student at Miami University in Ohio, and a manager for the school's top ranked hockey team. He had in recent years, come out of the closet, so to speak. But regardless of whatever burdens his sexual orientation may have generated, it never stopped him from pursuing his dream - everyone who ever had a chance to meet him said he was a genuinely good person, and all about hockey. For more on this, check out John Buccigross' article on ESPN.com which they've linked to today. Needless to say, our sport has suffered a great loss.

Puckin' Around echoes the sentiments of the hockey community today as we send condolences to the entire Burke family and all of their friends and acquaintances.

9:55 PM: A 4-3 win for the New Jersey Devils over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ilya Kovalchuk's debut in red and black...just going over the box score, looks like it was an intense game - 2 assists for Kovy, 1 on the first NJ goal and on the tying goal - Toronto actually led 3-1 going into the 3rd period, then the Devils scored 3 unanswered to win it 4-3, winning goal scored by Jay Pandolfo...Kovy had more ice time than any other NJ player - 21:43...over a minute more than Jamie Langenbrunner, who played 20:27...

I find it strange that Jonas Gustavsson got the start in this one...one would have thought Toronto would have been looking for the vintage Brodeur vs Giguere matchup...give Marty his 32nd win of the year...

And give goal # 39 on the season to Alex Ovechkin - who I thought showed a lot of class wishing his Russian comrade best of luck in New Jersey - Washington wins AGAIN...13 in a row now...but you kind of expected Atlanta would have been flat after the trade...Washington 5 Atlanta 2 - seems to me everytime I look at a Washington box score, they always score a lot of goals, and they always have different players scoring them...very rarely do you see players with multiple goal games, outside of O.V., Semin and Backstrom...talk about a team with a balanced attack...and it finally looks like Jose Theodore is playing like he did when he won the Hart trophy...Capitals are going to be fun to watch down the stretch...

Calgary beat Florida 2-1...and it looks like Carolina is going to hang on for the late 4-3 win over Buffalo...Sabres must be wondering how they can stop the opposition's late game heroics...Ottawa on Wednesday, and tonight the Hurricanes...ouch!!

In the only other game tonight - it's tied 1-1 between Phoenix and Chicago...late in the 2nd period there...

10:37 PM: Looks like Josh Harding left the Minnesota game with an undisclosed ailment - Anton Khudobin came in and stole the show...Guillaume Latendresse has the potential GWG and Martin Havlat who started the scoring has given the Wild some insurance...looks like the Oilers win streak will end at 2...Minnesota 4 Edmonton 2...that is actually a final score now...

Nashville closes the gap between themselves and Colorado to 2 points with a 5-3 win...and 4-2 was the final Sharks over the Blues...as San Jose continues to roll...

Tomorrow night, don't you dare miss yet another Toronto-New Jersey matchup...this is their third meeting in 2 weeks...and they'll apparently play again just before the Olympic Break...the new look Leafs who were full marks on Tuesday will face a much different looking New Jersey Devils...should be a good one and looks like I'd better PVR it...it is Friday night after all...

Leafs then head home to face Ottawa on Saturday night...the Battle of Ontario is back on!!

I'll tell you what, for somebody who wasn't feeling it over the first half, all of a sudden hockey has made me take notice again...it always does...

Kings and Ducks are just underway...there was talk today on NHL.com about how the Senators, Capitals and Kings were collectively putting a 28-0 record on the line...well make that 30-0 after the Sens and Caps games...Kings can make it 31-0...I don't think I'm staying up late for this one...let's just say if the Kings win, they'll also tie a franchise record of 8 straight, which I somehow find hard to believe...

One last thought before I turn in with Howard Stern...Washington's 12 game streak is the longest since the work stoppage...previously New Jersey and San Jose both went on an 11 game run...of course all time, Pittsburgh holds the all time record with 17 games unbeaten, in 1993, back in a time when ties still existed, but if memory serves me correctly, that team actually won all 17...and then choked in the first round against the NY Islanders in 7 games......and therein is my point - even if a team could ever somehow manage to go 82-0, it doesn't mean squat once the puck drops on the second season...and to my knowledge there isn't yet one Stanley Cup that's materialized from all of the above examples...

10:12 PM: Vancouver got 1 late on the power play and with the goalie pulled, but Chris Kelly sealed it with the empty netter...3-1 Sens win...11 straight...hard to believe the Sens only have 9 home games left...after next Thursday they'll only have 7...after the Olympics they'll embark on a long Western road trip...Vancouver will not see another home game until March 13, and guess who'll be waiting for them...

Washington holds on for the 6-5 win - 12 straight for them...if Ottawa and Washington manage to continue rolling, one of the streaks will definitely end a week from tonight when they meet each other...

It went to a shootout in Boston, but the Habs prevail - Brian Gionta with the only goal Montreal would need...3-2 the final...Bruins drop their 9th straight...

It's tied 2-2 in Minnesota in the 3rd...Sharks are up 3-2 in the 3rd...and Predators are up 4-2 in the 3rd...10:30 start for L.A....

9:25 PM: Steve Mason loses the shutout, but gets the win - 2-1 Columbus over Dallas...

Nashville has come back and now lead 2-1 over Colorado...goals from Jason Arnott and Jason Ward...

Apparently Erik Karlsson has left the Ottawa game with an upper body injury...and they just about lost Anton Volchenkov...clearly the Canucks are not pleased being down in this game...still 2-0 and Ottawa is on the PP...

9:15 PM: Tied 1-1 in Minnesota - Mike Comrie ties it...make it 6-5, Washington...Backstrom with the go ahead goal...looks like the Blue Jackets are going to win 2-0...R.J. Umberger with an empty netter...

Apparently Atlanta are sending former D Anssi Salmella along with Kovalchuk...and both teams apparently swapped 2nd round picks...you'll recall Salmella was already once traded from NJ for Niclas Havelid...

9:04 PM: According to Sportsnet, the Kovalchuk trade is not 100% confirmed, but Don Waddell has apparently called a news conference for 9:30...pretty safe to say it's a go...

Tie game in NY - 5-5...I think this is one game I'm going to put picture in picture...

Martin Havlat has the Wild up 1-0 in the 2nd...otherwise the scores are all the same as they were...2nd intermission in Ottawa, but Brian Elliott had to make a huge save on Steve Bernier in the dying seconds...

8:54 PM: Elsewhere - another scoreless tie after one period for Edmonton, on the road tonight in Minnesota...

It's a 5-4 shootout after 2 periods at MSG between the Rangers and Washington - Ovie has 2 more Grapes, 1 Apple...give him 38 goals on the season...but more important, give him his 500th career NHL point...former Senator, Flyer and Bolt Vinny Prospal has 2G 2A...did I mention it's a real barn burner?

Speaking of the Bolts, who I didn't realize until today are holding down 8th in the East (for now), are up 3-2 over the Islanders in the 2nd...margin of error - NIL...

Sharks are up 2-1 on the Blues in St. Louis...this one at the 1st intermission...

Avs are up 1-0 over the Predators after 1...all of a sudden Nashville is only four points behind Colorado...

The Columbus Blue Jackets are up 1-0 against Dallas with about 12 minutes left in the 3rd...do they really have a choice but to steal this one? You know what they say...first the coach...then personnel...

Late start has the Ducks leaving their pond to play the Kings at Staples Center...

8:44 PM: Just when it looked like the Vancouver Canucks were starting to turn the tide, the glass broke...we're almost 10 minutes into the 2nd now in Ottawa...no change in the score...even though Michalek was on the ice for the 2nd goal, it is Spezza who gets credit for it...give him an 8 game scoring streak...

8:27 PM: Well, I expected Vancouver to come out with more intensity - but it was the Senators with the early momentum - they're up 2-0 at the first intermission - either Milan Michalek has both or Michalek and Jason Spezza are the goal scorers...

Surprise in net as Andrew Raycroft gets the nod tonight, and Luongo gets a night off...it's the first start for Raycroft since December 5 against Carolina...

After all this talk today about an imminent trade, it's the New Jersey Devils who end up winning the Kovalchuk sweepstakes...weird, because somewhere today I read somebody mentioning the Alex Mogilny trade from almost exactly 10 years ago...that is just eerie...this must have went through the registration process during the first period, because I checked before the game and didn't hear anything until now...

New Jersey gets Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta gets Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and a first round draft pick...

3:41 PM: OK, so I don't know what to make of this - it was revealed today by Don Waddell, G.M. of the Atlanta Thrashers, that Ilya Kovalchuk (and his agent) rejected both a 7 year, $70 million deal, as well as a 12 year $101 million deal to remain a Thrasher - both offers would have made him the highest paid forward in the league (not to mention the highest pending free agent deal in NHL history!)...so what's the deal? Does Kovy just not like the city, the fans, the management?!?! To me, how could you NOT enjoy living in a city that's literally a 1/2 day of driving away from Florida?!? That's NUTS...management/coaching staff? The direction of the team?! There's a possibility...but if I could spend my summer months down in Orlando, I could care less...

1:57 PM: All eyes on Ottawa (again) tonight as we have yet another all Canadian matchup...Vancouver invades the Bank...70 points for the Canucks, 68 for the Sens...Ottawa will look to extend their franchise best winning streak to 11 games...Vancouver had their season's best streak snapped by Montreal on Tuesday...and have had since then to stew about it in a hotel somewhere between downtown and Kanata...the opening few minutes of this one should be interesting...

For the Senators, even though you can't really call any game as an easy matchup - the secret to success is simple - Shut down the Twins...on the Senators, you have Daniel Alfredsson leading the charge with 44 points, and Mike Fisher is the goals leader with 19 - for Vancouver you have Henrik Sedin leading in all scoring categories - 78 points, 25 goals, 53 assists...easy to see where a lot of the Canucks' offense is coming from - for the Senators, it's been a balanced attack for the first season in a long time...

For Roberto Luongo, it's simple - stop Jason Spezza from scoring...not an easy feat of late - just ask Ryan Miller...

As for Ottawa, evidently they're not one of the teams actively pursuing Ilya Kovalchuk...they're too close to the cap and it seems the only player Bryan Murray is willing to part with (rightfully so) at this point is Jonathan Cheechoo and all $3.5 million of him...2 very expensive goals right there...

12:21 PM: Ah, technology - don't you love it? We've gone from having a website (no names mentioned) that makes up its own (ridiculous) rumors to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, where everybody (and their dog) can make up their own rumors...to hear the true media guys talk (check out Nick Kypreos' latest at Sportsnet.ca), it's gotten so out of hand that anybody with a computer and a roof over their head can....oh right...that's not new...

Anyhow - as much as I HATE being a rumor starter, I feel we owe it to the hockey community to start at least one...well, truthfully? It's a personal wish...not mine - uLAr's...

How about if NJ somehow manages to swing a deal with Anaheim for Scott Niedermayer, reuniting him with his brother Rob for the stretch run, and potentially his swan song?!?

11:45 AM: So the word on the street is expect a Kovalchuk deal anytime now...it's unfortunate, but (again) Brian Burke seems to have set the bar earlier this week when he gave up four players to get Phaneuf and a minor leaguer (who eventually should make the big team) - Don Waddell has said publicly if a team isn't willing to give up at least 2-3 roster players, don't waste his time...very interesting...

Seems L.A. could be a fit...uLAr mentioned Chicago to me, but only if they're able to move out at least one big dollar name (Campbell?)...given where they are I can't see them wanting to tinker too much with their chemistry, but I imagine if they could send Campbell and another player from say their fourth line for Kovalchuk?

It'll be interesting...it's really too bad we have the Olympics, because really, the trading deadline should be THIS month, not on March 3...

Don't know if Edmonton could have a legit chance at him, but imagine Kovalchuk in a city where they actually pack the rink, win or lose...I salivate at the very thought of him on left wing and Ales Hemsky on the right...

In all honesty though, uLAr may be on to something when he tells me it'll probably end up a 3 way deal...

12:01 AM: Edmonton 1 Philadelphia 0 - Not one win in January, now they're 2-0 to start February....and Sheldon Souray has missed both games - coincidence!? I'm beginning to wonder...seems to me the back end of the 22 game horror show started right around the time Souray said publicly he would welcome a trade...g'head - trade him...

This one went right down to the wire - a late penalty from the Flyers, and then it was a former Flyer, Ryan Potulny, getting the only goal the Oilers would need with 16.1 seconds left on the clock...Double-D gets his second shutout of the season - although in recent weeks they seem to have shortened it to Jeff Deslauriers instead of Drouin-Deslauriers...to me he's still Double-D...and he had a great game tonight...

In Calgary, Curtis Glencross got the Hat trick, and the Flames roll over the Canes 4-1...how did Edmonton ever let this guy walk away?!!? Seems everytime I look at a Calgary box score he is figuring in somehow...forget losing Peca, Pronger, Smyth...when Edmonton lost Curtis Glencross the wheels really fell off....;-)

St. Louis hung on for the 3-2 win over Chicago...who seem to be falling back to earth just a little bit...and Anaheim is hanging on to a 3-1 lead over Detroit with still over 11 minutes left...

And now you're up to date (not to mention over the hump)...nice work by Michael Peca on the TSN panel tonight...even as a commentator he still has that signature scar under his right eye...even the makeup artists aren't THAT good...

- Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his head coaching duties in Columbus today...assistant Claude Noel will take over the head job on an interim basis...nobody should be surprised there...

- Mike Komisarek got the bad news he was fearing he'd get today - he will need season ending shoulder surgery, and will not play for Team USA at the Olympics. It's expected Tim Gleason will take his place...Team USA is already missing the services of Paul Martin - Ryan Whitney will most likely take his place...speaking of injuries - Sheldon Souray will be gone six weeks after injuring his wrist in a fight against Jarome Iginla on Saturday...

- In a small move - the NY Islanders put D Brendan Witt on waivers...let the bidding begin!!

11:38 PM: Still scoreless in Edmonton - we're in the 3rd now with just over 10 minutes left...

10:39 PM: So, I'm watching the Ottawa game tonight, and Matt Carkner hit it right on the head in his 1st period intermission interview with Ian Mendes - they were sloppy, sloppy, sloppy...then it was Buffalo's turn, and Jason Spezza took full advantage, scoring in the 2nd, and again in the 3rd...then it finally got interesting...

In a span of 27 seconds, the Sabres scored two quick ones - next thing you know it's under 10 minutes left to go, and a tie game 2-2 - the HSBC Arena had come alive!!! The game had been fairly uneventful up until then...seems it took a Chris Phillips collision with Ryan Miller behind the net to wake up the Sabres...then it was game on!!

Anyway - it seems when you're rolling, nothing can stop you - and it was the Captain, Daniel Alfredsson with the GWG and the empty netter to seal the deal, all with under a minute to go...the Sabres let one get away, and the Senators streak extends to 10...Ottawa 4 Buffalo 2...this was a statement game for Ottawa - Buffalo still has games at hand, but the margin of error has been reduced...they have Ottawa in their rearview mirror...and only Washington is a hotter team in the Eastern Conference right now...

What exactly is in those water bottles, and don't tell me for one second it's actually Gatorade?!!? I've never seen Gatorade that can glow in the dark...

Now...if only Edmonton can ride some of their momentum from Monday night...scoreless after 1 period against Philadelphia...and it's still 0-0 about five minutes into the second...the most exciting thing to report from that game so far - Jeff Deslauriers is having a good game so far...and, the Pronger Boo-Birds are out in full force...again...

Down the road in Calgary, it's 3-1 Flames late in the 2nd over Carolina...the new look Flames, same look in net though...Curtis Glencross is working on a hat trick (has 2 already), and Matt Stajan has his first as a Flame...I still can't believe they wouldn't make him captain in Toronto...

Elsewhere - St. Louis is up 3-2 with about 7 minutes left in the 3rd over Chicago...and the Ducks lead the Red Wings 1-0 early in the late game...um...make that 2-0...Kyle Chipchura?!?! What is wrong with Detroit this year? Too much hockey over the last few seasons methinks...

10:43 PM: As Ottawa prepares for a game tomorrow night in Buffalo, news came today the team is going to submit a bid next week to host the 2012 All Star Game - a partnership led by team president Cyril Leeder and the Ottawa Tourism Leadership Group, is confident it can finally get the All Stars to come to the Nation's Capital. By then Ottawa will have put the finishing touches on a brand new 200,000 square foot convention centre. Not having such a facility has hampered previous bids to host the event. I don't know, as much as I've goofed on the event in the past, don't you think the time has finally come for Ottawa to host an All Star Game? Every time I watch one I dream about how cool would it be to actually be able to go to one in my hometown. Maybe...just maybe...it would be a great way to celebrate what will actually be their 20th year of their modern history - hard to believe, but true...there were times when we didn't know if they'd make it beyond their 10th...

Now if you buy into all of the theories put forth in the movie "2012", they'll have to make it happen...

In other news, evidently, the Groundhog saw his shadow...so that means 6 more weeks of winter...blah!!!!!

10:03 PM: 3-2 is the final, Montreal wins - looks like the controversial call (and when isn't there a goalie controversy in Habs-ville?) to play Halak again after a loss actually paid off...the team just doesn't have faith in Price right now, what can I tell you? But let's be honest - the game Saturday could have gone either way...Halak, in fairness, helped his team at least earn a point...and 2 more tonight...

Are we going to have an end of season battle between Toronto and Montreal again?

9:53 PM: Well - it's 30 saves for J.S. Giguere, and his first win and shutout as a Leaf - Toronto wins 3-0 against the Devils...

Keep an eye on these Leafs down the stretch...OK, so right now they're second last in the Eastern Conference, but with 47 points, they are only 10 points out of 8th...they've come close before with a lot less in their lineup...so you never know...at least now they have a goalie and decent defense...if it's true that defense wins championships, then look out...

Washington has set a franchise record with their 11th straight win - a 4-1 win over Boston, who have slid out of the playoff picture ever so slightly...the Capitals on the other hand, their 82 points is good enough for 1st overall, pending the result of the San Jose-Detroit game...

And Tampa Bay holds on to beat Atlanta 2-1 - it's Antero Nittymaki's 16th straight win against the Thrashers...

The Habs are hanging on to a 3-2 lead...if they hold on for the win they'll vault back into 7th in the East and push out the Rangers...for now...

8:16 PM: Calgary put the finishing touches on another trade late last night - they sent Brandon Prust and Olli Jokinen to the New York Rangers for Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik...there was talk about this as early as the pre-game warmup of the Flames-Flyers game last night, but both Prust and Jokinen played the game...the Flames still lost 3-0, after which Sutter made it official, but not without throwing a few barbs at the media for reporting the trade prematurely...

The Rangers may have found the linemate they've been looking for to play with Marian Gaborik, and Calgary continues to clear cap space...for reasons unknown...

Rumor has it (or at the very least a LOT of fans in Calgary believe) the Flames may be going after Ilya Kovalchuk...but there appears to be legitimate interest from as many as 11 teams there...to hear Atlanta G.M. Don Waddell tell it, there is a multi-year deal on the table if Kovalchuk and his agent dare look it over...

So far tonight - we have a 2-0 lead in the 2nd for Toronto over New Jersey - Kessel & Kulemin for the Leafs...Giguere and Phaneuf are both playing - Brodeur gets a well deserved night off - Danis is in goal for the Devils...we have a 1-1 tie in Montreal against Vancouver - Kostitsyn as in Sergei, and Mikael Samuelsson, same score in Boston against Washington - Krejci and Knuble, and a 2-1 Tampa Bay lead over Atlanta, it was 2-0 on goals by Stephane Veilleux and Martin St. Louis before our old friend Todd White busted the shutout bid...Phoenix-Nashville and Minnesota-Dallas are just underway - Columbus-Colorado gets going in an hour - and the late 10:30 starts - NY Rangers invade Staples Center, and the Octopi will fly (or die) with the Sharks as Motown pays San Jose a visit...

12:04 AM: FINALLY...the nightmare is over...

Edmonton 4 Carolina 2...so, 2 wins in 24 games, and both against the Eastern Conference bottom feeders...a 13 game losing streak finally snapped...the team looked like they'd just won a playoff series...

OK OK...so it was Carolina...for now don't rain on my parade - let me savour this moment because it might not happen again for awhile...

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