Getty ImagesTed Nolan hasn’t coached in the NHL since 2008, but whenever a spot opens up somewhere, his name always seems to be mentioned. The 1997 Jack Adams Award winner has only coached a total of four seasons in the NHL, but still aims to get back one day.

“I have never quit hoping, for hope is a good thing,” said Nolan via email.

Since leaving the New York Islanders in 2008, Nolan spent two years as Vice President of Hockey Operations with the AHL’s Rochester Americans and, since 2011, has been head coach of the Latvian men's national team, who qualified for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia last month.

When he was hired for the Latvia job -- becoming the first North American coach to take the gig in 72 years -- Nolan wasn't the only former NHL bench boss up for the job. Mike Keenan was also in the running.

“We were looking for a neutral, authoritative coach with lots of experience and good hockey knowledge,” said Latvian Hockey Federation President Kirovs Lipmans at the time. “This is exactly what we found with Ted Nolan.”

That experience and knowledge helped Nolan lead Latvia to their fourth straight Olympics, beating out Kazakhstan, France and Great Britain in final qualification.

Despite the new face in a new land, Nolan didn’t face any difficulties trying to get through to his new charges.

“The players and fans were very welcoming and very open,” said Nolan. “I couldn't have been more proud. For the size of the country, the talent level was very impressive.”

“Our biggest challenge in qualifying was unifying a group of individuals into a team."

For Sochi, the Latvians are grouped with the Czech Republic, Sweden and Switzerland.

Last spring, Latvia finished 10th at the World Championships in Helsinki and Stockholm, earning Nolan a one-year contract extension, with the clause that if Latvia qualified for the Olympics, it would be extended through May 2014.

A few weeks after the Worlds, Nolan was the ultimate hockey dad, following his son Jordan as the Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup. They spoke daily, but Nolan served only fatherly advice and left the coaching part up to Darryl Sutter.

For Nolan, trying to qualify Latvia in a short, three-game-in-four-day tournament was much easier than playing hockey dad.

“I felt it was more nerve wracking watching my son."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

LISTEN HERE!

It's a Monday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Star: Michael Russo of the Star Tribune joins us to talk Minnesota Wild!

• The Alex Ovechkin criticism on NBC.

• The Chicago Blackhawks' record run ends.

• The surprising Blue Jackets and struggling Flames.

Question of the Day: Which NHL team currently outside of the postseason picture do you guarantee will make the cut?

Tweet your answers with the hashtag #MvsW to @wyshynski and @jeffmarek.

Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day. Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner.

T.J. Oshie’s always been a bit of a rock star during his NHL career. Allegedly, that behavior extends to his canine friends – because what’s more rock star than trashing a penthouse, right?

The ownership group for Buckingham Apartments is suing the St. Louis Blues star, claiming that Oshie’s dogs did $11,026.92 in damages to the penthouse apartment, and specifically the penthouse patio area where Oshie allegedly kept his dogs.

From Courthouse News Services:

"Defendant's unit is commonly referred to as a 'penthouse,' which is located on the top of the building and has an outdoor patio which opens off of the main living area through four (4) large Kolbe custom made window/door units, giving a panoramic view of the City of St. Louis skyline," the complaint states.

"Defendant, during the lease term, maintained two dogs which he customarily kept locked out onto the patio. During defendant's tenancy, said dogs scratched and/or chewed on the custom screens, causing them to suffer irreparable damage necessitating the need for their replacement."

So, in other words, they acted like dogs.

Getty ImagesSo it is in this Topsy-turvy mixed-up lockout season world of ours that Chris Kunitz has 36 points in 26 games, Antti Niemi has a 1.96 GAA in 20 games and, after 26 games, the Columbus Blue Jackets are four points out of the No. 8 seed in the west.

Columbus. Sweet, miserable, no-All-Star-Game-havin’ rebuilding Columbus. Yup.

The Blue Jackets won their fifth in a row, a shootout victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. Overall, the Jackets are on a 5-0-2 streak; their five-game winning streak and their seven-game points streak are both one short of franchise records, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

John Davidson, thou art miraculous …

Getty ImagesHello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

One of the lazier narratives you see thrown around in all of sports happens when a player who has played his entire career in a small market moves to a big one, whether it's by trade or free agency.

Given the tendency of the New York Rangers to acquire such players in the last several years, like Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards and now Rick Nash, it's getting to be a pretty familiar song and dance for that team in particular. All three have handled the transition remarkably well; but even after Gaborik scored 42 in his first season on Broadway, it's starting to look like you have to consider Nash the Rangers' best breakout acquisition in recent memory.

The numbers at this point are very, very good. Nine goals and 14 assists in 20 games, including two helpers in yesterday's win over Washington, and he's really only beginning to forge a cohesive partnership with Richards and Carl Hagelin. He started the season with all the criticism that you might expect for a name player making the small-to-big transition, because he had just two goals and seven points in his first 10, but since then? Lights out. Ten games. Seven goals. Nine assists. And that's despite missing nearly two weeks with an injury that definitely wasn't a concussion wink-nudge.

At this point, Nash has five two-point games in his last six outings, and it's impossible to envy the defensemen who have had to line up across from this top Rangers trio.

Getty ImagesNo. 1 Stars: Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins

The two top liners for the Penguins exploded offensively during Pittsburgh's 6-1 rout of the New York Islanders. Both finished with five points as Kunitz tallied his fourth career hat trick and added two helpers, while Crosby finished with five assists, tying a career high. Pascal Dupuis chippin in a pair of goals and James Neal scored his 17th of the year, while also recording two assists.

No. 2 Star: Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche

It took dramatics for the Avalanche to earn their 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. After blowing a 2-0 lead, Duchene scored his second of the night with 0.3 seconds remaining in overtime to earn the win:

No. 3 Star: Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

Parise opened the scoring with his 10th and closed the game out with his 11th as the Wild doubled up the Vancouver Canucks 4-2. Minnesota had built up a 3-0 lead before the Canucks cut the lead to 3-2. That's when Parise put home the insurance marker with 13:31 left in the third period. He would add an assist for a 3-point night. The win puts Minnesota into a tie for first place in the Northwest Division with the Canucks.

It was an ugly first two periods for the Florida Panthers. The Montreal Canadiens entered their building, brought a ton of fans and built up a 4-0 lead at the end of 40 minutes of play.

Peter Budaj didn't get action in the Canadiens' net, facing just 14 shots, and his opportunity for his 11th career shutout was ruined by one of his teammates. Francis Bouillon tried to clear a loose puck in front of Budaj and instead put it top-shelf for a own goal:

Tomas Kopecky, who was credited with the goal, will never get an easier one.

Bouillon was in a scoring mood already, having notched Montreal's fourth goal of the game late in the second period. The Canadiens would hang on for a 5-2 victory.

The question now becomes: Where would this fall on an updated own goal list created by Mooney?

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Isn’t it just the NHL’s luck that the moment the mainstream – oh hi ESPN – notices the Chicago Blackhawks’ point streak, it comes to a screeching halt at 24 games?

That doesn’t meant the streak shouldn’t be celebrated, despite not achieving the greatness of the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers. Puck Daddy infographic ace Dan Gustafson of SixteenWins.com looks at the Blackhawks’ streak in the context of past winning streaks:

points_streaks_v2So what kind of hardware will the 2013 Blackhawks earn?

(Dan will be working with Puck Daddy on creating some whimsical and informative NHL graphics throughout the season. If you have any requests, email us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com. Visit Dan at Sixteen Wins and follow him on Twitter here.)