This week’s Three Periods column by Nicholas J. Cotsonika: Adam Oates’ Jack Adams argument; Bruins’ struggles down the stretch; Shane Doan’s sales pitch for Coyotes; what is really impossible about Wings’ 21-season playoff streak; plus, the cost of Sidney Crosby’s injuries and the overlooked story of Martin St-Louis.

FIRST PERIOD: Ovechkin for MVP, Oates for coach of the year

Much of the credit for Alex Ovechkin's return to form should go to Caps coach Adam Oates. (USA Today)If not for Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals would not have made the playoffs. He scored 21 goals in 19 games as they went 15-3-1 and clinched their division. He drew “M-V-P!” chants Tuesday night in D.C.

“He’s pulled us along,” said Capitals coach Adam Oates, “and all 20 guys have gotten better because of it.”

But if not for Oates, the Great Eight would not be great again. Oates pulled Ovechkin along, and all 20 guys got better along the way. Oates deserves the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year whether Ovechkin wins the Hart Trophy or not, for putting Ovechkin back in the discussion and turning the

DETROIT — To appreciate the streak – how long it has been, why it is incredible, what is at stake – stand inside the hallway that leads to the Detroit Red Wings’ dressing room and the Joe Louis Arena ice.

The last time the Red Wings missed the playoffs was the 1989-90 season.Lining the walls are simple wooden plaques and team pictures screwed into the cinderblock, one for each edition of the Wings since Mike Ilitch bought the franchise in 1982. Each plaque lists the season and the names of the executives, coaches, players and trainers. The bottom line is the record.

Start at 1989-90, the last Wings team to miss the playoffs. Walk past the door to the training room. Count 18 plaques in a row on the left (including the 2004-05 season erased by a lockout), and keep going. Keep going past the door to the dressing room, turn around at the entrance to the ice and come back up the other side. Count four more plaques.

The Wings are riding a 21-season playoff streak, the longest in pro sports. And now, for the first time in more than two decades, they are fighting

Keith Yandle will not auction off the Phoenix Coyotes jersey he wore in warm-ups Saturday night to honor Martin Richard, the 8-year-old hockey fan who died in the Boston Marathon bombings last week.

Keith Yandle has had the words "Pray For Boston" on his skates since the bombing.The family has reached out to say it would rather have the jersey itself.

Yandle hopes that one day, when the Coyotes’ season is over and he’s back home in Boston, he will be able to deliver the jersey to the family personally. He hopes to go with his wife’s uncle, Sean O’Brien, a Boston fire lieutenant who was on the scene of the bombings, and O’Brien’s 9-year-old daughter, Ava, a classmate and close friend of Richard’s.

“It’ll be tough,” said Yandle on Monday. “But it’ll be something they wanted, and it will be special giving it to them.”

Yandle wanted to do something, anything. He is the grandson of a Boston firefighter. He has a child himself and another one due soon. He grew up in Milton, maybe 20 minutes from the marathon finish line, and returns every summer. When he speaks

Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s weekly Three Periods column will appear on Thursdays. This week’s topics include Sidney Crosby’s MVP chances; Rangers’ lack of desperation on the bubble; Steve Mason’s calm and confidence in an unlikely place; NHL and NHLPA’s partnership with You Can Play; plus, Sharks’ speed, Habs’ slide and Preds’ busy summer.

FIRST PERIOD: The BPITW might not be the MVP this season

Sidney Crosby's MVP charge was derailed by a broken jaw. (Reuters)Sidney Crosby is the best player in the world.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain reaffirmed that this season. After playing only 28 games in more than two years because of concussion problems and a lockout, he came back and separated himself from his peers the same way he did before he was injured. When he got hurt again, suffering a broken jaw March 30, it only bolstered his status as the BPITW.

Crosby still had a three-point lead in the NHL scoring race with 56 points entering Thursday night, even though he hadn’t played in more than 2-1/2 weeks, even though he had missed eight games.

Now that the NHL is planning six outdoor games for next season, it needs a new marketing campaign. It needs something like those TV ads for that wireless carrier, where the guy in a suit sits on the floor of a classroom with some kids.

The biggest risk is the possibility of losing the unique atmosphere that surrounds outdoor games. (Getty)“Who thinks more is better than less?” he asks.

Hands go up.

“OK, why?”

A little girl explains.

“We want more! We want more!” she says. “Like, you really like it, you want more.”

“I follow you,” he says.

“It’s not complicated,” the voiceover says. “More is better.”

It’s not complicated. More is better, as counterintuitive as that might seem in this case. Teams really like outdoor games, and fans really like outdoor games, and so the NHL is giving them more. Too much of a good thing? We’ll see, but not necessarily. Depends how you look at it.

TSN broke the news Tuesday night: First, as previously announced, the NHL will stage the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings at Michigan

No one in Chicago will feel sorry for Raffi Torres. No one should.

Raffi Torres knocked both himself and Marian Hossa out of the 2012 playoffs with this hit. (AP)It was a year ago Wednesday when Torres jumped and crashed his shoulder into the head of an unsuspecting Marian Hossa at high speed, sending the Blackhawks star flying through the air, knocking him flat on his back and out of the playoffs. Hossa was strapped down and carted off, an official holding his hands as they lay folded atop his body. He suffered a concussion.

Torres, a repeat offender, ended up serving a 21-game suspension. He missed the rest of the Phoenix Coyotes’ run to the Western Conference final. He missed the start of this season. He deserved every second of it.

But now a year has passed, and Torres has done his time. He has been traded to the San Jose Sharks, and the playoffs are approaching again, and he needs to earn another contract as a pending unrestricted free agent. As he reflected on what happened then, what has happened since and what needs to happen in the future, he sounded, well,

Kevin Lowe tried to be lighthearted as he listed the qualifications of the Edmonton Oilers’ new general manager. He mentioned Craig MacTavish had worked in the media, then said he wasn’t so sure that was a qualification after all. He paused. Awkward silence.

Craig MacTavish takes over as the fifth GM in Oilers history. (AP)“That’s a joke,” he said.

That drew polite laughter. But that wasn't the joke at Monday’s news conference. Lowe had helped mismanage the team. Now he had misread his audience and left people wondering whether he had made another mistake, even though Steve Tambellini’s firing was overdue and MacTavish generally told Oilers fans what they wanted to hear.

Lowe has been a player, coach and GM for the Oilers. He has been their president of hockey operations since July 2008, when Tambellini became their GM. They finished 21st, 30th, 30th and 29th in the 30-team NHL the next four seasons. They entered Monday ranked 23rd, headed for a seventh straight season out of the playoffs when they were supposed to be finally on the rise.

Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s weekly Three Periods column will appear on Thursdays. This week’s topics include the Red Wings’ quest for 22 straight playoff berths; NHL and NHLPA’s partnership with You Can Play; players’ opposition to hybrid icing; nagging questions about Coyotes sale; plus, added outdoor games, a rich extension for Jimmy Howard and unexpected trade deadline dividends.

FIRST PERIOD: Wings on bubble for first time in years

Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said he's keeping a close eye on the standings. (USA Today)Henrik Zetterberg settled into a comfortable routine in his NHL career – win at the rink, relax at home. He wasn’t the type to stress on off-nights. He didn’t need to. Why waste time and energy on worrying? Watching games and checking scores could always wait until the playoffs.

“But this year,” Zetterberg said with a laugh, “I’ve been kind of watching hockey a little bit earlier than normal.”

Zetterberg has been watching hockey every night lately, because his Detroit Red Wings are in an unfamiliar position – on the bubble. They entered Thursday