Kovalchuk had a big three point effort with a goal and two assists en route to a 6-4 victory over the Flyers. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night came midway through the third period, however, when Kovalchuk capped off the Howe Hat Trick and dropped the gloves with Flyers forward Brayden Schenn. This was Schenn’s second fight of the season and Kovalchuk’s first. However, for being one of the best snipers in the game, Kovalchuk is no stranger to dropping the gloves as he averages at least one fight per season according to HockeyFights.com.

The two pull away from a scrum at 11:38 of the third period and immediately drop the gloves. It doesn’t take long for the two players to engage each other to establish a dominant position. Kovalchuk appears to be the much stronger player as he throws Schenn around a bit and then lands several solid blows to Schenn’s head before finally landing a solid right hook to Schenn’s jaw that drops him for the count. Check out the full video below that highlights not only the fight, but Kovalchuk’s power play assist and dirty two-on-one snipe for his lone goal of the night. Stick around to the end of the video for a slow-motion replay of Kovi’s right hook on Schenn.

Several exciting games will be on tap during the free preview week, and we’ve got a list of some of the most intriguing games each night below.

Monday, February 13th: San Jose @ Washington – Big Joe Thornton and the Sharks battle against a struggling Capitals team loaded with talent, but unable maintain consistency this season.

Tuesday, February 14th: New York @ Boston – Original six matchup, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Sounds like a good matchup.

Wednesday, February 15th: Ottawa @ Florida – Two teams fighting to stay in the playoff race in the East. If Florida loses their division lead, they could find themselves outside of the playoff picture at the end of the season.

Thursday, February 16th: New York @ St. Louis – The Islanders have on of the hottest players in the league in John Tavares, but the St. Louis Blues have been on a tear since hiring Ken Hitchcock. St. Louis looks to keep their hot pace, while the Islanders want to make their way into the playoff hunt.

Friday, February 17th: Nashville @ Detroit – The Central Division is the best and most competitive in the NHL. The Red Wings and Predators will prove why in this matchup,  but give Detroit the early advantage due to their incredible home record.

Saturday, February 18th: Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia – These division rivals feature some of the top talent in the league. Evgeni Malkin and a healthy Kris Letang helped the Penguins to an eight game winning streak in January, but Claude Giroux and the Flyers hope to earn a win and eventually a division title.

Sunday, February 19th: St. Louis @ Chicago – Another Central Division matchup which promises great hockey. The Blackhawks have been struggling recently, piling up a five game losing streak, but they’ll be on their A game against the division rival Blues.

There’s still time to sign up for the NHL Center Ice package for the remainder of the season. Two different options are available to those who are interested: the half season and the race to the Stanley Cup. In the half season offer, available through February 12th, you’ll pay $123.80 for tons of hockey action. The race to the Stanley Cup offer, available from February 13th – May 15th, will only cost $79.90, but will give you the best hockey of the season as teams battle for crucial playoff spots. Visit Brighthouse.com for more information.

The move was announced around noon by the Rangers via their official Facebook page.

Christensen, a depth forward, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season barring a contract extension with the Minnesota Wild. He had five points in only 20 games with the Rangers this season.

This will be Christensen’s fifth team in his short NHL career, with previous stops in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Anaheim and most recently with the Rangers. His most productive season came in 2006-07 when he split time between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Christensen posted 18 goals and added 15 assists for 33 points in 61 games with the Penguins that season. He contributed 11 goals and 16 assists for the Rangers last season in 63 games.

The move could be the first of many for both teams, as the Rangers are rumored to be looking to add offensive depth to their roster before the trade deadline. This could be tricky as the Rangers only have a little bit of wiggle room with roughly $1 million in available cap space. Christensen’s contract frees up another $925,000, and more moves could be on the way to help free up space.

While not a huge move, Chistensen gives Minnesota some depth and could be a signal that the Wild, who are currently clinging to the 8^th and final playoff seed in the Western Conference, could be buyers at the trade deadline as they look to secure a playoff berth. There have been suggestions that the Wild could look to deal defenseman Marek Zidlicky before the trade deadline as well.

The Hot List:

Mike Fisher (forward): Over the past two weeks, Mike Fisher posted six goals, including three game winners, and one assist. January was a solid month for Fisher who posted seven goals and eight assists in 13 games while Nashville won an incredible 11 out of a possible 13 games in January.  Keep an eye on Fisher to see if he keeps up this pace in the second half.

Mikhail Grabovski (forward): Owned in 64 percent of Yahoo Fantasy Hockey Leagues, Grabovski posted four goals and six assists and was a plus-five over the past two weeks with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Grabovksi now has 36 points in 45 games this season.

Clarke MacArthur (forward): Another Maple Leaf on the list, MacArthur tallied four goals and notched two assists over the last two weeks on only nine shots on goal. However, MacArthur seems to have fallen back to Earth after a 62 point outbreak last season and will likely hit the 50-point plateau at best this year.

Teddy Purcell (forward): Purcell will likely fall short of his career best of 51 points from last season, but he could top the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career. His play has been streaky at best, but he has six points in his last six games and appears to be shooting the puck more with 18 shots on goal over the same time span. When forwards shoot the puck, good things happen.

Matheiu Garon (goalie): Brought in as a backup netminder in the offseason, Garon appears to be slowly stealing the starting role from Dwayne Roloson. With a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, Garon is now the winner of four of his last five starts.

Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

Quite a night for the Edmonton Oilers as they win 8 – 4 over the Chicago Blackhawks. The team is still a bottom dweller in the Western Conference, sadly, but they can celebrate a little bit.

Center Sam Gagne had a hand in everything last night with 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points. The feat has not been done since 1989 by Mario Lemieux against the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs. Lemieux also had the last regular season 8 point night which was on December 31, 1988.

If you happen to think Lemiuex is a big name, Gagne now joins the ranks of Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Peter Statsny, Bryan Trottier and Rocket Richard in having scored 8 points in a night.

A little bit of luck, a lot of skill, and crazy stuff like this happens.

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

You know things are rolling well when backup netminder Scott Clemmensen comes in and posts a win against division foe the Washington Capitals. Main goalie Jose Theodore is currently day-to-day with knee soreness.

Clemmensen is now 7-2-5 with a .915 save percentage and the Florida Panthers climb to 1st overall in the Southeast Division with 57 points. One of the weakest divisions within the league, still, the Panthers have surprised everyone with their winning record and ability to win clutch games. The Panthers have not qualified for the playoffs since the 1999-2000 season and hope to do so this year. Remember the rubber rats?

On a different note, anyone else reminded of Fruit Stripe gum when looking at Clemmensen’s pads?

If it weren't for the Ontario Reign of the ECHL, the Seattle Reign would be a nice play on words should an NHL Franchise play in Seattle.

With one NHL relocation out of the way, the next target that for potential movement is the Phoenix Coyotes. We already know this, considering the NHL owns the team. With no ownership group lining up to buy the team with plans to keep them in Phoenix, something has to be done to get them either a new city or a new ownership group.

There has been old news and rumors of them being moved to Quebec City (which won’t happen unless a new arena is 100% privately funded) or Kansas City (Why?)… the new hot rumor, at least according to a post on Pro Hockey Talk, is Seattle, Washington.

While Seattle has never had a NHL franchise, they could be appealing to an NHL franchise to take advantage of the northwestern United States and media markets of Seattle (13th largest in the country) and Portland, Oregon (22nd largest) in a similar fashion that Major League Soccer did with recent expansion teams Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers.

The NHL had the opportunity to play in Seattle, as they were awarded a franchise to begin in 1976-77. The deal was pulled as the potential owners were unable to secure a $180,000 deposit and a $6 million franchise fee by the deadline.

However, there are a couple of problems that could stand in their way before a puck drops in Seattle:

The Vancouver Canucks: While separated by three hours driving time and 141 miles, there could be some sort of interference between the Canucks with an attempt to move a team into their television and media market.

The Western Hockey League: This isn’t the only instance of major junior hockey in the same local area as an NHL franchise. The Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League could be affected by this move. Other teams in the umbrella of the CHL that share the same hockey market with an NHL franchise in the OHL are the Plymouth Whalers and Windsor Spitfires (Red Wings), Ottawa 67′s (Senators), and Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (Maple Leafs).

Teams in the WHL that are in the same situation are the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, and the Vancouver Giants. Coincidentally, the Hitmen and Oil Kings share the same arena as their NHL counterparts while the Giants skate out of the Canucks former home the Pacific Coliseum.

No Modern Arena: It’s going to be hard to convince the casual or diehard hockey fan that hockey will work in a city that couldn’t support a somewhat successful NBA franchise in the Seattle Supersonics. In 2006, the ownership group wanted the Washington state government to kick in money to improve and modernize Key Arena. The government balked at the move and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sold the team to Oklahoma City businessman Clayton Bennett. Bennett tried to have a new arena built in the city in an attempt to keep the team in the city but after those attempts were unsuccessful, he moved the franchise to Oklahoma where they are now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. After one playoff appearance in their last six seasons in Seattle, the Thunder played in the conference finals in their third season in Oklahoma last year. However, the city did hire a sports-facilities consultant at $19,500 per month in an attempt to determine the feasibility of having an NBA (or NHL) franchise in Seattle.

It will be interesting to see what happens this summer when the league will start shopping around a home for the Coyotes.

Last week at the NHL All-Star Game, Nashville Predators defenseman and pending unrestricted free agent Ryan Suter came out and stated bluntly that he will not be signing a contract extension with the Predators before the trade deadline. This immediately caused speculation that Suter intends to jump ship once he’s a free agent. But this may not be the case.

Many players will opt not to engage in contract negotiations after a certain period in the season – especially if the team continues to stay in the playoff hunt. Suter may fall into this category where he simply doesn’t want negotiations to shadow his play as the Predators look to secure a playoff berth.

“I want to focus on playing for Nashville,” Suter said to clarify his earlier comments. “We’ve got a good team and if we can add a couple of pieces here and there I think we have a legitimate chance of going to win the Stanley Cup.”

Suter’s clarification on his previous comments could be more telling of his intentions for the future than the initial comments themselves. While many jumped on the notion that Suter was basically saying he wanted to test the open market as a free agent, his clarification insinuates a different notion – that he wants to see how dedicated to winning Nashville really is.

At 27-years-old, Suter could be one of the most sought-after free agents this summer if he doesn’t sign an extension. And surely his willingness to sign will depend on what Nashville does at the trade deadline later this month.

Coming into the trade deadline, the Predators possess more than $14 million in cap space. However, the Predators have been incredibly reluctant to spend significantly in the past on free agent talent. After all, this is the team that was rumored to be offering Shea Weber $4.5 million per season in contract negotiations last summer. While that number may have just been a rumor, Nashville has still been behind the eight ball when it comes to attracting highly talented free agents thanks to their reluctance to spend significantly on high-end talent.

Weber himself will be a restricted free agent this summer, and, like Suter, his future with Nashville seems in flux because both players want to know that Nashville is willing to take the necessary steps toward building a winner. Before re-signing with the Predators, each player wants to know that the team is moving in the right direction. Otherwise they may look to jump ship for a team willing to do what it takes to win.

Nashville currently sits fourth in the Western Conference with an impressive 9-1-0 record over their past 10 games. The losses of Joel Ward and Steve Sullivan to free agency last summer, a combined total of 20 goals and 51 points, hasn’t seemed to effect the Predators greatly as they still rank 11^th in the NHL in goals scored per game. Still, Ryan Suter and Shea Weber remain vital parts of that team’s success and losing either of them could be a devastating blow.

It’s highly unlikely that either Suter or Weber gets traded at the trade deadline as some have speculated, but if Nashville intends to get serious about winning, this is the season to do it. The Predators are playing awesome hockey this season and are primed for a solid playoff run. Adding a talented scorer or maybe some scoring depth at the trade deadline could go a long way to help that cause. It could also go a long way toward convincing their own players how serious they are about winning both now, and in the future.

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Lead goal scorer Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning added to his lead with an overtime winner against the Washington Capitals. Stamkos, who has 33 goals to date, is possibly the only one on pace for a 50 goal season. That is however overlooked as the team currently sits in 11th place and 8 points out of 8th in the Eastern Conference. Not quite sure if they are playoff bound this year with their goalie woes early on, but the team is currently riding a 5 game winning streak that could be extended when they play a struggling Winnepeg Jets tomorrow night.

Model: Bauer Supreme ONE70

Skill level: C/B league player

Modifications: None

Appearance and Design:

Bauer provides two models, the Vapor and Supreme line, both having different market points. The Supreme tends to run wider in the toe box while the Vapor is a bit narrower. Bauer also targets that the Supreme line is for more power strides while the Vapor tends to be for the more agile. Maybe a bit of a marketing ploy, still, both skates offer excellent performance. Summing it up, whichever fits your foot best is what you should go with, and for me, the little bit wider toe box Supreme line does the trick.

The Supreme ONE70′s have that patented black with yellow accents that is distinct of the Supreme lineup. Catchy to the eye, but still not as flashy as their Vapor counterpart. That is however the case until the new Bauer Supreme Total One NXG ice hockey skate comes out mid year, then the Supreme line might rival that of the Vapor.

Feel:

As noted previously, when it comes to skates, in my mind, it is all about feel. With that, you need to try on every skate you are thinking of purchasing and make sure that it is the right fit for you.

The Bauer Supreme ONE70 ice hockey skate feels really good on my foot. It was tough, as my previous skate truthfully did feel like wearing a sock. I will not go as far to say that the ONE70 have obtained that feeling, but they do feel well.

Breathing room in the toes at the widest part of my foot yet snug in the heel. As long as you get the sizing right, the skate should fit your foot and offer the support you need.

I have however noticed that at times the tongue of the skate can rub your ankles the wrong way. Oddly enough, this happens on my right skate and not on my left.  This leaves me with the belief that it’s just a unique case and most likely has something to do with my foot. Easy fix though, all you have to do is shift the tongue a little bit until it stops rubbing the wrong way and you are fine.

One big thing to note is I have chosen not to bake my skates. Perhaps a little more of a traditionalist, I’ve always just broken the skates in normally. I think this is a bad thing however, and after playing on them for some time and still have some stiffness throughout the boot that I would like to fit a little better, I think I am going to bake them a couple times throughout the week. I hope this will also allow the skate to form to the top of my foot a little better as I currently run into my foot going numb if I tie them too tight down low. Odd, but I sometimes feel that my skate is too loose at times depending on how tight I tie the laces, yet at the same time they perform just fine and I have no issues of support. I notice the feel really only when I am at the start of the game and on the bench and it could merely be a routine I have gotten into.

Note: If you choose to bake them on your own, always make sure to be careful on the eyelets and not rip them out.

Durability:

When looking for a new skate I narrowed my search to two models, the Bauer Supreme ONE70 and the Bauer Supreme ONE60. Both offered the same good fit, weight indistinguishable to my insensitive legs, but the exterior of the boot is what tipped my favor.

The ONE70 offers a more rugged boot in comparison, providing a more durable skate. A fellow friend that I skate with has the Supreme ONE60′s, and although he has had them for a longer period of time than I, considerable wear is showing in comparison to the ONE70. As the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for.”

All else of consideration when it comes to durability, the stiffness of the boot itself has held up strong, just like the first day I skated with it. This has allowed me the ability to use the skate to its potential, able to push off with a solid response, also the ability to take corners knowing my skate is not going to give out. When pushing off on a stride, it almost feels like doing a sit-up with someone holding down your ankles instead of on your own. Simply put, the support is there for any stride and any cut, allowing for a smooth transfer of motion without losing any energy.

Overall Impressions:

If you have not noticed already through the review, I love my skates. I’m a Bauer fan for gear and their skates are my main reason for such a love. The Bauer Supreme ONE70 ice hockey skate offers a top-of-the-line type boot but without the cost. No durability issues as of yet and I do not expect any for a few years. I would highly recommend anyone looking for skates to check out the Supreme line, if not the Vapor line depending on your foot structure. The new Supremes come out near April. It is always nice to get the newest gear because of the technology, but those looking to save a few bucks on last year’s model may want to pick up the Bauer Supreme ONE70 when the pricing goes down.

Thinking of buying a new skate? Be sure to visit Pure Hockey before you buy and use the coupon code HOCKEYWORLD at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase!