Saturday afternoon saw a special gathering of Russian and North American hockey legends as the two squads faced off to help raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief in Newark. A strong number of people came out for the cause on short notice as the majority of the lower bowl and some suites were full.

All ticket sales, jersey auctions (both on and off the ice) helped raise over $50,000 to the towns still recovering from the devastating storm that hit my beloved home state last October.

The likes of Alexei Kasatonov, Valery Kamensky, 66-year-old Alexander Yakushev, Darius Kasparaitis, and Alexei Yashin were among the notable names for the Russian squad. On the other side players such as Ken Daneyko, Brian Leetch, Sergei Brylin, Billy Guerin, Claude Lemieux, and Brendan Shanahan suited up for New Jersey as each player represented a specific shore town. Older legends such as Phil Esposito, Chico Resch and Sergei Makarov helped coach their respective clubs.

As for the game itself, the two teams were prohibited from taking slapshots or body checks. All penalties were automatic penalty shots which allowed the Russians to add to their continuously. A hattrick by Andrei Kovalenko was the standout performance for the Russians who would withstand a North American comeback in the final frame to win 7-6. Shanahan, Grant Marshall, Guerin among others found the back of the net for NA.

One highlight included Guerin taking a slapshot on a penalty shot only to see it ring off the post and then award the Russians to shoot their own penalty shot for the slapper. After the game, select players signed autographs for fans on the ice and yours truly had the pleasure of meeting Sergei Brylin and Alexei Yashin.

Be sure to check out my album from the game here. And if you would like to donate you can do that as well here.

(courtesy of Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s funny how quickly things can change in hockey. Whether a team drops out of a playoff spot after being in the top eight all season (see New Jersey), a one-team veteran dons another jersey (see Iginla, Morrow, Murray) or for the sake of this article, when a player goes from lackluster to what the kids call “beast mode”.

There is no hotter player in the NHL right now than Alex Ovechkin this much is obvious. Yet, it’s how much he’s turned it around these past few weeks which has brought him back into the limelight after being very much an outsider. Everything about the winger we know and love has come back full circle as he finds himself atop the scoring leaders tied with Steven Stamkos with 25 goals.

In his last 12 games, Ovi has found the back of the net 15 times while adding 6 helpers. On Saturday night against Florida, Ovechkin lit the lamp three times for his second hat-trick of the year. Last night, he scored two more goals, this time against Stamkos and the Lightning en route to a 4-2 win. His goals have also helped propel the Capitals from the conference basement to top of Southeast and 3rd in the Eastern Conference.

Ovechkin has also been named first star of the week by the NHL for scoring 7 goals in four games and finishing with 9 points. The 27-year-old leads the NHL in powerplay goals and points with 14 and 21 respectively.

His turnaround couldn’t have come at a better time for the Caps who have won 8 of their last 10 games and currently ride a 4-game win streak. They face an uphill climb however with their remaining schedule as they go up against six playoff-bound teams in their final nine games. With his sights set on a third Maurice Richard Trophy, Ovechkin could also be considered for the Hart Trophy as long-time rival, Sidney Crosby, is out indefinitely.

For now however, Caps and Ovi fans alike can rejoice that the Great 8 is still great.

Last night, Alexander Semin became a very rich man after the Carolina Hurricanes gave him a 5-year extension worth $35 million. Compared to most sports contracts this makes Semin a pauper, but since this is a hockey blog it’s big deal.

Already earning $7 million a year, the 29-year-old Krasnoyarsk native is amongst the top 30 highest players in the game. With his one-year deal winding down he has notched eight goals and 22 assists with a plus-18 rating in 30 games. The winger is tied for 11th among all NHL skaters in assists this season, and tied for 10th in plus/minus rating.

Since arriving in Carolina, Semin has been praised for his work ethic and become a favorite in the locker room and in the stands. He will now spend the next 5 years battling his old team, the Capitals, as both teams become absorbed into the Atlantic Division next season.

Fans and pundits will likely joke that Semin got what he came for and can afford to disappear when it matters most. However the change of scenery is w. at I believe has led to his stellar production tossed in with playing with Eric Staal.

Semin will remain the fifth highest paid Russian player in the league for the considerable future and Canes fans should take great solace in that fact

In a game where his line mate stole the show with a four-point night, Pavel Datsyuk reached two career milestones not too far from “Where dreams come true.” The 34-year-old center notched a goal and two assists just up the road from Disneyland in both scoring caterogories. Datsyuk broke a 1-1 tie with his 10th goal of the year and the 250th of his career.

He would add his 22nd helper on the season on Justin Abdelkader’s hattrick goal, while also reaching the 500 mark on his career. In 762 games played, Datsyuk has notched 751 points which translates to an average of 98.5 point percentage for his NHL career. This doesn’t come as a surprise however, since Pavel is Russian after all and currently sits 10th all-time amongst his countrymen.

The Yekaterinburg native has some work to do if he wants to position himself higher on the list with names like Gonchar, Zubov, and Bure in his way. Datsyuk now is in sole possession for most points for Russians this season with 33, three more than Alexander Semin. Below are videos of both milestones.

After appearing in 22 of Buffalo’s 27 games where he scored just one goal (below) with four helpers, Sabres center Mikhail Grigorenko has been sent down to the Quebec Remparts. The move comes as a surprise since the Sabres elected to keep him in Buffalo after their first five games thus taking one year off his three-year entry level contract.

Now the 18-year-old Khabarovsk native will return to the team where he scored 29 goals with 21 assists in 29 games before the end of the NHL lockout. Grigorenko won the Mike Bossy Trophy (Top Prospect), the RDS Cup (Rookie of the Year), and the Michel Bergeron Trophy (Offensive Rookie of the Year) with the team in 2011–12.

The boy known as Griggy will join his old mates who have just two games left in their regular season before the start of the playoffs. The Remparts currently reside sixth place in the 18-team league.

The Sabres have had quite the season off the ice electing to fire 15-year coach Lindy Ruff after a lackluster 6-10-1 start. The team hasn’t gotten much better and currently sit last in their division with a 10-14-3 record.

For Grigorenko, it’s easy to imagine this isn’t how he envisioned his rookie season to go after being drafted 12th overall last year. While he showed poise for Russia during the World Juniors in Ufa, his play didn’t really carry over to the NHL. Grigorenko spent 5 games as a healthy scratch after the Sabres decided he would stay on and it wasn’t until the release of Ruff that he returned to the line-up.

Hopefully he regains his scoring touch back in Quebec and will return to Buffalo with better poise knowing that his window of opportunity in the NHL can be closed rather quickly.

Having led the league in victories this past week, Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has helped backstop his team to playoff contention. Few picked Columbus to make the post-season having lost their heart and sole in Rick Nash last summer, yet thanks to a hot goalie they not only find themselves on a five-game win streak but also just four points shy of the last spot in the west.

Bobrovsky has been nothing short of stellar in his past four appearances stopping 124 out of 128 shots (including one of the best saves all year, below) in the last five games. The 26-year-old goalie has also posted an astounding 0.77 goals-against average and a .972 save percentage while earning his first NHL career shutout against the Red Wings on Saturday. His play has been rewarded by being named the first star of the week by the NHL and has been added to my fantasy hockey team in place of Sergei Gonchar.

Can Bob keep the Blue Jackets streak alive? A five game home stand certainly couldn’t hurt as they host Vancouver, Chicago, Phoenix, Nashville, and Calgary all but one of which are on the outside looking in. It’s clear Bobrovsky has gotten into a groove and for the sake of his team and their playoff chances let’s hope he continues to prove his doubters wrong.

(Courtesy of SI.com)

On Friday night, Pittsburgh star and reigning league MVP Evgeni Malkin took a check from Florida’s Erik Gudbranson forcing him to fly hard into the boards before slamming his head violently. The 26-year old stayed down and play (seen below) was halted immediately. Despite being able to skate off the ice under his own power, Malkin left the game and it was revealed the following day he was suffering from short-term memory loss.

Reports now say he is indeed suffering from concussion symptoms and will miss the Pens next three games on the road after missing yesterday’s 5-3 win over Tampa. Malkin’s teammate, and other Hart Trophy winner, Sidney Crosby battled post-concussion syndrome forcing him to miss 100 games over the course of two seasons leaving Penguins fans holding their collective breath after Friday’s injury to their beloved Geno.

Concussions are one of the trickiest injuries to deal with because you can either jump right back into action a few days later or suffer the fate similar to that of Chris Pronger. Luckily (albeit bad luck) the Penguins have been through this before and should know how to handle the concussion properly. Malkin has already been placed on the retroactive IR.

Naturally they will look to the likes of Crosby and James Neal to carry the offensive load in Malkin’s absence who in 18 games has 4 goals and 17 assists.

Malkin stepped up when Crosby was injured so now is the time for the captain to repay him as he’s forced to sit out. Hopefully his injury will be less severe and we will see him before the season ends. If last year was any indication, the man was born to come back strong after being on the shelf. Let’s hope that will be the case once more.

Their upcoming road-trip includes visits to Florida, Carolina, and Montreal before returning home to face Tampa once again. Eventually the loss of such a star player will catch up to the Pens but it’s how they’ll carry on without him that will define their character in this shortened season. With the division rival Devils slumping of late the Pens can use this time to build on the gap that separates the two teams as the halfway mark of the season quickly approaches.

(courtesy of Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

With his fiance in the crowd and his best buddy opposite him on the ice, Alex Ovechkin exploded against the Devils on Saturday afternoon. The Capitals captain came to life against a dismal New Jersey team where he tallied his first hat trick of the year after not scoring in the past three games. Ovechkin opened the scoring for the Caps on the power-play in the second period when Mike Ribeiro found him wide open to slot past Johan Hedberg.

Fellow countryman, Ilya Kovalchuk, canceled out the goal with a nifty snipe in the final seconds of the period for his seventh of the year. The Ovi vs Kovi show continued right out of the gate when Ovechkin scored a signature snap-shot goal from the right circle beating Hedberg blocker side for his seventh of the year.

He would add his third goal later on the power-play once more meeting Nick Backstrom’s pass near the top of the circle for his first hat trick since Jan. 22, 2011. He would also add an assist on the Capitals 5th goal to give him a four point night.

Will this performance spur him to find the goal scoring prowess he’s known for is anyone’s guess but at least for one day, Capitals fans got to see the Ovi of old and should consider getting Maria Kirikenko season tickets to keep his hands hot. All 3 goals can be seen below courtesy of NHL.com

FUN FACT: Ovechkin (347) and Kovalchuk (305) rank No. 1-2 in goals scored since the start of the 2005-06 season