Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. EST. Possibly an Olympic preview in the nets tonight at HSBC Arena as Ryan Miller(notes) and Martin Brodeur(notes) are expected to square off against one another. Looking past the Olympics and at the Stanley Cup, Sabres legend Gilbert Perreault told the Buffalo News he likes what he sees: "They have a good chance to go all the way. I really think so. I don't want to put a lot of pressure on them but they have a very good team. There's a lot of excitement to watching them."

Preview: Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m. EST. Alex Ovechkin(notes) returns from his two-game suspension and to the scene of his "hot stick" celebration from last season. Washington has scored 14 goals in Ovechkin's absence, so Lightning starter

When he was invited to Team Canada's orientation camp in August, Corey Perry(notes) found himself as one of many players who weren't already being measured for their Olympic jersey like the Sidney Crosbys, Joe Thorntons or Jarome Iginlas of the world. When the Team Canada roster predictions began coming out from fans and members of the media, Perry didn't find himself on many of those lists, but his play this season is making it hard to Canadian executive director Steve Yzerman to not include him on the final list.

Team Canada is expected to announce its Olympic roster on December 31st. Recent rumblings, however, indicate that Hockey Canada may make the announcement on the 30th to not take away from the Canada-USA New Year's Eve World Junior Championship matchup.

A 19-game points streak that was snapped on Thursday night along with the fact that Perry is on pace for a career season in goals and points is giving the 24-year old Anaheim forward reason to believe he'll be representing his

Here are your Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

-Your Three Stars of the Week: Washington's Nicklas Backstrom(notes), Stephen Weiss(notes) of the Florida Panthers and Matt Duchene(notes) of the Colorado Avalanche. [NHL]

-Good news 'Canes fans. Cam Ward(notes) is expected to be in goal Wednesday night against New Jersey after suffering a deep leg laceration on November 7th against Columbus. [Canes Now]

-Live near St. Louis? Like Star Wars? Like dressing up as a Star Wars character in public? Then you're in luck because it's "Star Wars Night" as the Blues host Colorado tonight. Anyone in costume can get 50% off a lower bowl ticket for tonight's game. May the force be with you. [Blues]

-In his latest blog, the CBC's Elliotte Friedman touches on those never-ending Vincent Lecavalier(notes) rumors and his latest "30 Thoughts". [CBC]

-Did Phil Kessel(notes) try to

It seems that every year, discussion pops up among fans and the media about changing the names of NHL awards to honor players who have excelled in recent times. "The names of Hart, Byng, Vezina, and Adams are from so long ago, how could today's fan relate?" they say. Well, on last night's "Hot Stove" on Hockey Night in Canada, analyst and former Director of Affairs for the NHLPA Glen Healy, said that the NHL may look at changing the names of its awards handed out every June. Healy's list included proposed name changes for six trophies:

Hart Trophy: Gordie Howe

Art Ross Trophy: Wayne Gretzky

Calder Trophy: Mario Lemieux

Norris Trophy: Bobby Orr

Lady Byng Trophy: Jean Beliveau

Jack Adams Award: Scotty Bowman

(Oddly enough this was the exact list that HNIC's Elliotte Friedman came up over a year ago on his CBC blog.)

There was no mention of the Stanley Cup, which even the thought of changing its name would cause global riots.

Like Craig Custance of the Sporting News, as one who is fond

No. 1 Star: Marc Savard(notes), Boston Bruins

A night after getting pounded 5-1 by Montreal, the Bruins welcomed Phil Kessel(notes) back to TD Banknorth Garden and drubbed the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-2. Four days after signing a 7-year deal to stay in Beantown, Savard tallied a hat trick, scoring a goal in each period. Boston has now won three of its last four with a return engagement with the Maple Leafs next Thursday night in Boston.

No. 2 Star: Miikka Kiprusoff(notes), Calgary Flames

Sometimes goaltenders need to win games for their teams and that's exactly what Kiprusoff did tonight for the Flames as they beat San Jose 2-1. Kiprusoff earned his 16th win of the year and made a number of outstanding saves including this save of the year candidate:

No. 3 Star: Erik Cole(notes), Carolina Hurricanes

Cole was the offensive force for the Hurricanes who defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at RBC Center, ending their five-game losing streak in the process. Scoring twice in the second

Over the past few seasons, the commercials turned out by the NHL have really improved year to year. From "Cup Raise" in 2008 to last year's Emmy Award-winning Winter Classic promo incorporating the beloved aspects of Wrigley Field to the "Is This the Year?" and "Faith+" campaigns to kick off the past two seasons, it's become an unforgettable treat to see the NHL's marketing efforts jump up a notch.

Today, the NHL released their marketing campaign for the upcoming Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston, once again capturing the game's appeal by making the outdoor element a focal point.

The spot will run "throughout December on CBC, RDS, VERSUS, NHL Network, regional broadcast carriers, in-arenas, NHL.com and other digital sites." Missing from that list is NBC, but the League tells us that this commercial is focused on hockey fans while the one slated to hit NBC will appeal to the general sports fan.

No. 1 Star: Matt Moulson(notes), New York Islanders

There's no better Cinderella story in the NHL at the moment than the rise of Matt Moulson. The free-agent pickup, who had one point in his last six games, exploded for a hat trick as the Islanders upended the Atlanta Thrashers 4-1. Atlanta looked to extend its 10-0-0 record when scoring first, but Moulson scored twice in the second period and capped off the trick with less than seven minutes to play in the third period. Moulson leads New York in goals with 14 and is tied with John Tavares(notes) with 22 points for the team lead.

No. 2 Star: Roberto Luongo(notes), Vancouver Canucks

A night after besting Martin Brodeur(notes) and the New Jersey Devils, Roberto Luongo blanked the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0 for his 49th career shutout. Stopping 29 shots in the final two periods, Luongo continues to prove his case to be the man in goal for Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver. Henrik Sedin(notes) set up two goals, including

Imagine a world where the NHL handed out suspensions for hypothetical situations:

Jeepers, what if Keith Ballard's(notes) baseball swing connected with an Atlanta Thrashers player? Oh noes! Not Chris Simon(notes)-Ryan Holweg Part II!

This is the world that The Hockey News' Ken Campbell wants to live in:

Of course Ballard had no ill intent toward anything but the goalpost when he swung his stick. These guys never "intend" to hurt anybody when they do these things. But how often do we hear that as an excuse for the things players do on the ice? Personally, I'm getting a little tired of hearing, "Gee, you hate to see a guy get carried off on a stretcher, but...

The fact is, these kinds of "accidents" occur in hockey far more than they do in any other professional sport and too often they are overlooked because of the age-old excuse that players are reacting to an ultra-competitive situation and that will always be one of the hazards of the game.

What would Campbell have written if one