Game Day Goodies

The Caps will take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in their second game without Ovi on the bench - which proved to be a non-issue on Tuesday as they lit up the Florida Panthers. Tonight marks the first time former Canes Joe Corvo and Scott Walker skate in Raleigh since they were traded to Washington. Expect to see Justin Peters in net for Carolina as Manny Legace had a bad outing in his last appearance against Boston on Tuesday, allowing five goals on 37 shots. Ooof!

Tonight's game should be another spirited affair as the Canes always step it up a notch or two against the rival Caps. As we count down the hours until puck drop, HM leaves you with some miscellaneous tidbits from around the rinks for your reading pleasure:

• A big Hockey Mom high five to the Capitals organization, who have been named a finalist for the Professional Sports Team of the Year at the 2010 Sports Business Awards, presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. The Capitals are one of five nominees and the only NHL team in the group. Congrats!
• The New Jersey Devils swept their six-game series against the Stanley Cup champion Penguins last night and Team USA poster boy Zach Parise did his part by chipping in a goal. The Devils' Christmas-elf St. Patty's ensembles brought them luck against Sid and friends, as Paul Martin also scored after missing 59 games with a fractured forearm - hear, hear!
• If you've ever wondered how to dissect all those stats on the score sheet, check out this very informative post over at ScarletCaps.com.
• Opinions from TSN on the top lines in the NHL. Hey Sedin twins, you know I love you and big hugs and all, but can you stop scoring so much so my boys can move up to the number one spot? In the eyes of many fans and media types alike, the Caps already occupy that number one spot with the Ovi-Backstrom line, no matter who steps in as the third spoke in that wheel.
• The NHL may pretend they are the United States Congress and fast forward the move to eliminate head shots, possibly even by the time the playoffs begin. Probably a good move based on the nastiness we've seen this season.
• Speaking of nastiness, NHL VP and spin the wheel czar o'discipline Pat Sajak, oops I mean Colin Campbell, is expected to be in the house for tonight's rematch between the Penguins and Bruins - the first meeting since Marc Savard left the game on a stretcher after a head hit from Matt Cooke, which subsequently went unpunished. Don't forget to foil up boys...
• And yet another brutal hit (high to the head) in last night's game between two tough representatives of the bird species, the Ducks and Blackhawks. Brent Seabrook gets dazed and confused without the aid of an illegal substance after getting wrecked by Anaheim's James Wisniewski. Not nice....