We’ve reached the one-quarter pole in the NHL’s regular season with just two of Canada’s six teams in a playoff position.

The good: Calgary’s Jarome Iginla(notes) finds his scoring touch in a big way. Montreal’s Carey Price(notes) adds another shutout to his league-best total. And Ottawa’s Alexei Kovalev makes history as a rare Russian to record 1,000 points.

The bad: Edmonton coach Tom Renney loses it after a bad loss in Phoenix. Toronto remains without No. 1 goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere(notes) and captain Dion Phaneuf(notes).

The ugly: Vancouver wanted to make a statement against Chicago, but instead had their lunch handed to them.

Here’s a look at how the NHL’s Canadian teams fared last week – and a look ahead to what’s in store on the weekend.

CALGARY FLAMES

The Week That Was: A prairie rose between two thorns. Or in Calgary’s case, a satisfying 7-2 thrashing of the Stanley Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks squeezed between a pair of three-game losing streaks. First, the good news:

Alberta bound, Alberta bound. Bound to lose, apparently. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers each lost three consecutive games last week, and have a combined three wins in their past 21 outings. Jarome Iginla(notes) can’t find his scoring touch, and Nikolai Khabibulin(notes) can’t stay healthy. Tough times on the prairies.

Montreal and Vancouver, meanwhile, are doing just fine in the country’s eastern and western extremes, respectively. The Habs lost defenceman Andrei Markov to injury – again – but continue to get stellar netminding from Carey Price. The Canucks are back at home after surviving five road games.

Here’s a look at how the NHL’s Canadian teams fared last week – and a look ahead to what’s in store on the weekend.

CALGARY FLAMES

The Week That Was: It might not be full-on desperation time in Calgary, but you can feel the panic approaching. The Flames lost twice to Phoenix and once to San Jose and have dropped seven of their past eight contests. How bad is it? GM Darryl

You’ve got to like what you’re seeing if you cheer for the Montreal Canadiens or Vancouver Canucks, while Maple Leafs fans suffer through another bout of oh-no-here-we-go-again. Ottawa is finding its stride, while the roller-coaster ride continues in Calgary. And Edmonton? Well, the Oilers are back in last place, but at least there’s hope in northern Alberta this year.

Here’s a look at how the NHL’s Canadian teams fared last week – and a look ahead to what’s in store on the weekend.

CALGARY FLAMES

The Week That Was: The Flames lost their fourth in a row when they fell 2-1 in Minnesota last Friday; the game against the Wild kicked off a nine-of-11-games-on-the-road stretch that is vital if Calgary wants to hang around the playoff race in the West. A 4-2 victory in Colorado on Tuesday – David Moss(notes) snapped a 2-2 tie late in the third period with his first goal of the season – stabilizes things for the moment, but is it the start of something good or just a blip in the schedule?

Oh Canada, how are you doing this week?

Montreal and Vancouver sit in first place in their respective divisions, while Edmonton has returned to the Western Conference basement. The Leafs can’t win, the Sens can’t lose – and the Flames can’t keep the puck out of their own net in the second period.

Here’s a look at how the NHL’s Canadian teams fared last week – and a look ahead to what’s in store on the weekend.

CALGARY FLAMES

The Week That Was: What a difference a few days make. A week ago, the Flames were riding a three-game winning streak and the future looked bright in Calgary. That all changed in a six-goals-against second period against the Washington Capitals last Saturday in an eventual 7-2 home-ice loss. How ugly was it? The Caps’ Alex Ovechkin(notes) scored twice in 12 seconds, from virtually the same spot, and Washington’s six goals in the period came on 14 shots. The Flames looked a little better against Detroit on Wednesday, although Miikka Kiprusoff(notes) probably wasn’t

Ottawa defenseman Sergei Gonchar(notes) and Calgary center Craig Conroy(notes) played their 1,000th NHL games this week. The veterans didn’t get to celebrate the moment for very long, however, as both the Senators and Flames lost. Meanwhile, Montreal heads into the weekend sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference, while Edmonton is back where they ended up last season – in the Western Conference basement. Oh well, at least rookie Taylor Hall scored his first NHL goal, a deflection against Columbus on Thursday night.

Here’s a look at how the NHL’s Canadian teams fared last week – and a look ahead to what’s in store on the weekend.

CALGARY FLAMES

The Week That Was: The Flames blanked San Jose 4-0 last Sunday behind Miikka Kiprusoff’s(notes) shutout goaltending and red-hot winger Rene Bourque’s(notes) two-goal effort. A 5-4 victory over Alberta rival Edmonton on Tuesday gave Calgary five wins in six games, but the Flames blew a 4-1second-period lead and needed Alex Tanguay(notes)

TORONTO – Georges Laraque(notes), all 6-foot-3 and 270 pounds of him, dropped the gloves more than 140 times in his fight-filled NHL career, brutally battling his way to the top of hockey's heavyweight rankings.

Anabelle Langlois, who represented Canada at the 2010 Olympics in pairs figure skating, is under five feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds. But she's got Laraque wrapped around her (very) little finger.

"I knew he was an NHL enforcer, but I'd never seen any of his fights," said Langlois, who looks like she could just about fit in Laraque's pocket. "After meeting Georges, my boyfriend showed me his fights on YouTube and I was shocked. I was glad I didn't see him fight before we met because I would've been scared.

"He was so rough, so mean. But he's really a teddy bear."

No kidding. Just listen to Laraque wax poetic about toe picks and free lifts.

"This is dangerous, but she gives me confidence I can do it," he said. "She gives me her life in my hands, she has faith in me

While we wait – and wait and wait – for unrestricted free agent Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) to sign with somebody, it’s easy to forget there are a number of serviceable UFAs still available.

Granted, there’s no one out there with Kovalchuk’s superstar credentials. But NHL GMs know the moves they make in the middle of August can be just as significant as the high-profile players who were signed to big-money deals on July 1.

Here are the 50 best UFAs who are still looking for an NHL home – not including Kovalchuk, who’s playing his own UFA game – featuring the top 30 forwards, top 15 defensemen and top five goalies.

What should we take from the fact that 40-year-old Teemu Selanne(notes), who’s mulling retirement, is the best “available” option at forward (and that if he plays in the NHL next season, it will be in Anaheim or not at all)? Or that the top two defensemen are coming off serious concussions that have compromised their careers? Or that the top goaltender has been trending down,

July 1 is Canada Day – happy 143rd, big fella – but it’s also the first day that NHL teams can sign unrestricted free agents. To many Canadian hockey fans, this fact takes precedent over patriotic observances, and the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) or Sergei Gonchar(notes) would be cause for celebration more magnificent than a sky full of fireworks. Whether you’re gearing up for the national holiday or getting ready for the National Hockey League’s UFA-apalooza…have a good one, eh.

Here’s a glance at what Canada’s six NHL teams are looking to accomplish when free agency officially begins at noon ET on July 1:

Calgary Flames This should come as no surprise: The Flames need a No. 1 center to set up power winger Jarome Iginla(notes). Just like last season, the season before that and the season before that (and the season before that). Calgary’s current top centers, Matt Stajan(notes) and Daymond Langkow(notes), simply don’t cut it; Stajan is a second-liner at best, while Langkow turns