Around The Rink: Jovo Cop, Shooting Stars, Ovie Out

Here's a few thoughts heading into an action-packed Thursday which will see 20 NHL squads take to the ice...

My early dark horse candidate for the Norris Trophy? Ed Jovanovski. "Jovo Cop" has done it all for 'Yotes' coach David Tippet. He's playing on a vastly underrated shutdown pairing with arguably the best shot-blocker in the game in Zybnek Michalek, is running the first unit power-play, and has been utilizing his size and reach to play a vital role for Phoenix on the penalty kill.

Jovanovski leads the 'Yotes in goals and points, to boot. If he can continue to pile up the shots and stay out of the penalty box, the 33-year old defender could be in for a career year...

When you're talking about the best forward groups in the game, the Dallas Stars don't usually come to mind.

They should.

Led by up-and-coming power forward James Neal and a revitalized Brad Richards, the Dallas Stars possess a talented, well-rounded forward core. Now at full health, the Stars lined up like this last night versus Calgary:

Loui Eriksson - Brad Richards - James Neal
Brendan Morrow - Mike Ribeiro - Jere Lehtinen
Steve Ott - Mike Modano - Jamie Benn
Fabian Brunnstrom - Tom Wandell - Brian Sutherby

Marc Crawford's Stars currently sit sixth in the league in goals-per-game. They should finish around that spot, and possibly higher. Richards has finally found the linemates he has been looking for, and has been running the Stars' power-play from the point as well as he used to for John Tortorella back in Tampa Bay. Despite battling a sore groin, Richards is starting to look like the Conn Smythe Trophy winner of 2004, once again...

Come on, you didn't eventually see this coming?

The Caps' Alex Ovechkin is currently out with a "shoulder strain" (separated shoulder, maybe?) - that has him listed as "day-to-day" in some spots and "week-to-week" in others - it depends who you ask.

It was only a matter of time before Ovechkin found himself nursing an injury. The self-titled "Big Russian Machine" plays one of the most physical games in the league, so an eventual injury(s), big or small, was inevitable.

Here's hoping the Great8 gets better quickly - so long as he's not playing your team, what hockey fan doesn't like watching Ovechkin?