The Ilya Kovalchuk rumors are over as the 26-year-old has been traded to the New Jersey Devils from the Atlanta Thrashers for a first round draft pick in the next NHL Draft, prospect Patrice Cormier, forward Niclas Bergfors, and defensemen Johnny Oduya. The Russian left winger is currently the fifth leading scorer in the NHL adding significant goal-scoring prowess to the Devils’ roster. Currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils were already poised to make a run at Lord Stanley’s Cup in 2010, but a player with the quality of Kovalchuk makes them a real contender. The addition of Kovalchuk will give the Devils two lines with prominent left wingers as their leading scorer prior to transaction was American Zach Praise. The Devils also have one of the league’s best goalies in Martin Brodeur who is currently second in the NHL in wins. Kovalchuk, a three time all-star and starter on the Russian National Team, gives the Devils an elite attacking player who could truly help New Jersey compete with anyone in the NHL. The Devils’ move for Kovalchuk will certainly make the coming NHL playoffs even more interesting.

Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are flying high atop the NHL’s Southeast Division after they made it eight wins in a row Wednesday night with a thrashing of the Anaheim Ducks 5-1. The Caps scored three goals in the opening minutes of the third period to put the game out of reach. Ovechkin, who is second in the NHL in points, scored a goal and had two assists against the Ducks. The Russian has been earning his paycheck ever since he became the highest paid player in the NHL, but he’s had help from his team mates on this win streak. Fellow countryman Alexander Semin has scored six goals and notched eight assists over the last six games. The left winger has scored a total of 25 goals this season which combined with Ovechkin’s 34 goals makes the pair as lethal as any duo in the NHL. The Capitals will try to extend their win streak to nine when they face the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.

It will be exciting as the trade deadline comes closer at the beginning of March. The sellers are widely known as the teams that have talent that they’re willing to dole out or lend out to other teams as they work their way closer to the playoffs. The sellers generally have little to no chance of actually making the playoffs themselves. This time, in the Western Division, the Edmonton Oilers appear to be the big sellers. They have a few players that they can shift over to a team that is going to be a run. Sheldon Souray is a defenseman who could be valuable for other teams. This could open up some salary cap room for the Oilers or they might get a draft pick. For his part, Souray says that he doesn’t mind so much. He would be willing to go somewhere else for the team, even though his original plan was that he was going to stay in Edmonton for several years. But it’ll be good for the team, he says, so they should do what they think they need to do. In the next 6 weeks, we’ll know for sure.

The New Jersey Devils had a tough time against the Tampa Bay LIghtning. Twice. The game was started two days before it ended. No, this doesn’t mean it went to overtime or a really long shootout. Instead, there was a technical issue that created danger for the players and they had to suspend the game with just under 30 minutes to go in the game. So they came back to it a couple days later. Tampa ended up winning, snapping their losing streak against the Devils. While Tampa doesn’t seem to be playing for much this season, Jersey is definitely excited about having their team back in action on a playoff level. They will be playing deep into the spring and summer if this keeps up, so give them credit for putting together a  good team this year.

Most teams would give their facemasks to be as good as the Boston Bruins. Last night, the Bruins took on the Chicago Blackhawks, who are the top team in the Western Conference. And last night is when they proved exactly that. There were thousands of fans there in Boston. And it looked good for the Bruins at first, when they took a 2-0 lead in the early first period. But the Hawks answered during the rest of the game with 5 unanswered points. This was the end of the show for the Bruins, who just couldn’t get anything back together for the rest of the game. This shows the kind of fight that these Blackhawks have and how hard it’s going to be to beat them over the next few months as we get closer to the playoffs. What a great year it has been so far for them!

The San Jose Sharks struggled and lost against the Los Angeles Kings just last night. We’re looking for the Sharks to repeat their divisional championship this year. But with the Kings surging this year, we’re going to be looking forward to the continued struggle for the Pacific Division. It’s really close though. So last night’s loss ended an 8 game winning streak for the Sharks but also brought the #2 team in the division into direct and close competition with them. It’s going to be an incredibly exciting time for these two teams. There’s still a lot of hockey to be played, so we don’t have to worry about the competition being over yet. Maybe this high level of competition will get the Sharks better in the postseason, as opposed to when they wouldn’t get any kind of real tough battles in the regular season.

When we see Boston vs Philly in this year’s Winter Classic tomorrow, it’s going to be an interesting time. Hopefully it will be possible for a good game for everyone to see. In New York, it’s supposed to be slushy and cool for New Years, but Boston will be a little cooler, so we can watch these players rushing around. Last years game in Wrigley Field in Chicago was very good, although the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks decisively. Tomorrow’s in Fenway will be full of great players and some possible playoff teams. The Bruins are almost certainly headed to the playoffs and the Flyers are working hard to get in there. This new annual tradition has become a fan favorite, so enjoy. Watch on TV or go to Fenway yourself and see hockey the way it was meant to be played.

Mike Fisher, a player for the Ottawa Senators just got engaged to Carrie Underwood. That was one of the biggest stories of the week for the entertainment world and it is a moderately important story for people in the sports world too. The couple has been dating for about a year and it’s never been a secret. This means that the team wasn’t taken by surprise or anything. There aren’t any reports about whether they will be actually tying the knot right away or if it will be a little while first. But the team supports him and everyone’s excited about it. The news was essentially announced by Underwood’s publicist the other day and it’s clearly a good holiday present for the two of them.

The Chicago Blackhawks just beat the Detroit Red Wings. This marks a big change for the NHL Western Conference, because up until recently, the Red Wings have been in full charge. But at the moment, it appears that Detroit is experiencing a Stanley Cup runner-up funk. They lost two in a row and have lost several in the last 10 games. Meanwhile, last night’s win was the 4th in a row for the Blackhawks, who are emerging as one of this year’s best teams and giving their city something to cheer about. The Red Wings have also been shut out several times recently and just don’t seem to have their ducks in order right now. They still have plenty of time to pull it out of the fire, however, since there are several months left in the season. But still, the Blackhawks ought to be happy with how they’ve played so far this season!

Pittsburgh might be headed towards a new championship this year. We have been watching them all season for signs that they are as good as ever and it would appear that they are still much the same team as they were last season. They are being challenged by upstart teams though, which is to be expected. After all, everyone aims to take down the defending champions when they get the chance. Last night they had a game against the Philly Flyers which lasted all the way to a shootout. But the Pens held on to win, which is their third win in a row. It will be great to see Pittsburgh throughout the rest of the season since they are going to have some great games ahead.