No. 1 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

One month to the day since his hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens, Crosby had good timing delivering his fourth career three-goal performance on free hat night at Mellon Arena. The Penguins captain added two assists for a five-point night as Pittsburgh the New York Rangers 8-3. Crosby is now tied for sixth in the scoring race with 30 points.

No. 2 Star: Johan Hedberg, Atlanta Thrashers

"Moose" made 34 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 Thrashers victory. Atlanta entered the game on a 14-game losing streak against Philadelphia before Rich Peverley's 10th goal of the year put the Thrashers up for good. Hedberg has now won four of his five last starts and Atlanta is undefeated in their last three games. 

No. 3 Star: Eric Fehr, Washington Capitals

Down a goal with under a minute to play and on the power play, Washington won a faceoff in the Montreal zone and Fehr knocked home a rebound to send the game into overtime. Nicklas Backstrom's goal in the shootout gave the Capitals a 4-3 win. Fehr ended the night with two goals giving him six on the year. He's currently half way to his single-season high of 12 goals which he reached last year.

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In the last 48 hours, Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres has kept himself quite busy and it had nothing to do with planning Black Friday shopping strategies.

Things began on Wednesday night when Kaleta took a hit from Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals in the third period and went face first into the boards at Verizon Center. Ovechkin was given a five-minute major for boarding, a 10-minute game misconduct and ejected from the game. (Strangely enough, Ovechkin's only other ejection also came against the Sabres after a late hit on Danny Briere.) 

Capitals beat writer Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post reported today that the NHL spun its "Wheel of Justice" and it landed on "zero games" for Ovechkin. The only punishment doled out to him was the hefty $200 fine given to all players who receive game misconduct penalties.

This afternoon when the Sabres visited the Flyers, Kaleta handed out a controversial hit to Philadelphia rookie Jared Ross:

Kaleta was give a 5-minute major for boarding, a 10-minute misconduct and ejected from the game. Does he deserve supplemental discipline?

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A few of these T-shirts were spotted after a recent Washington Capitals home game, as fans are obviously swelling with pride over Alex Ovechkin.

"Do you have a strange, pseudo-sexual devotion to a Russian professional athlete playing in your town or are you just happy to see me?"

Well, never let it be said the Capitals fans are ashamed to stand up and be counted, although clearly this "Rock the Red" thing has been taken to new heights. Perhaps the most surprising thing about these "Erection for Ovechkin" shirts is that they were available at Bleacher Shirts before Leonsis could trademark the term for his official team store ...

Alas, we were unable to locate any "Turgid for Turco" or "Engorged for Gorges" casual wear, but that isn't to say there aren't a ton of creative T-shirts floating around e-retailers onthe Web.

Here's a sampling of them in our unofficial Black Friday holiday hockey shirt buying guide, for the puckheads you love (or, of course, for yourself, you selfish jerk).

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No. 1 star: Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks

The highly anticipated debut of Hossa was not a disappointment for the Blackhawks and their fans. A 7-2 rout of the San Jose Sharks included three consecutive shorthanded goals chasing Evgeni Nabokov after the second period. Hossa scored twice with one of his tallies coming shorthanded. It was the second time in the past week that Chicago has scored seven goals in a game. 

No. 2 star: Ondrej Pavelec, Atlanta Thrashers

Thrashers fans are quickly forgetting about injured-goaltender Kari Lehtonen with every stunning performance by Pavelec. Stopping 40 Detroit shots, Pavelec blanked the Red Wings 2-0 for his seventh win of the season. It was the ninth time this season that Atlanta has allowed 35 or more shots with Pavelec in goal. Almost ruining the shutout was Henrik Zetterberg who came close to taking advantage of a Pavelec turnover before being robbed. 

No. 3 star: Semyon Varlamov, Washington Capitals

The Capitals rookie came up big making 25 saves and posting his first career regular-season shutout in the NHL as Washington blanked Buffalo 2-0. Varlamov, who had lost his previous two starts in overtime, improved his record to 9-1-2. Washington remains tied with Pittsburgh atop the Eastern Conference standings with 34 points. 

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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: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders, 7 p.m. EST. Islanders goaltender Martin Biron will face his former team for the first time. In other goaltending news out of Long Island, Rick DiPietro participated in his first full practice after playing in just five games all of last season. The Flyer have won the last ten meetings between the two Atlantic Division teams and would like to continue the streak and end their current three-game slide. Danny Briere is currently serving a two-game suspension and will sit out tonight.

Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:30 p.m. EST. Montreal has seven points in their last four games, but their injury list has grown with the losses of Scott Gomez and Jaroslav Spacek. Andrei Kostitsyn now joins the list as he's currently doubtful for tonight after blocking a shot last night against Columbus. Carey Price will make his seventh straight start for the Canadiens. Pittsburgh has won four of their last five and are currently tied with the Washington Capitals for tops in the Eastern Conference.

Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. EST. The two best teams in the Western Conference meet as Marian Hossa makes his triumphant debut for the Blackhawks. Chicago has won their last seven games including the first three of their six-game west coast road trip. Dan Boyle will be back for the Sharks after taking a shot to the skate over the weekend. 

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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.

• Turkey Day on Puck Daddy features Three Stars and the next all-decade ranking, and it's something Bettman bashers will enjoy. Happy Thanksgiving to all; we're obviously thankful that you give this silly blog your time and attention.

• A video update on the Minnesota Wild "movember" charity mustache growing stunt. Clutterbuck looks like a kid trying to buy beer with a Fake ID. [CBS, via Hockey Wilderness]

• The New York Times sets the scene for tonight's Chicago Blackhawks/San Jose Sharks smackdown on the left coast, as perhaps the hottest team in hockey is expected to have Marian Hossa ready to roll. The Sharks, meanwhile, haven't lost at home in regulation yet. Flip on Center Ice tonight while diagramming your Turkey Day eating game-plans. [Slap Shot]

• Nik Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings calls Georges Laraque's hit on him "more of an accident." Wonder if he had any influence on the NHL's suspension duration? [Hockey Fights]

• TFP is reporting that the Kostitsyns are on the block for the Montreal Canadiens, and that Edmonton is a possibility with Andrew Cogliano coming back the other way. Are the Oilers better off looking for another kind of forward for that price? [Copper & Blue]

• Get Drunk on Hockey, Vol. 1: The Tampa Bay Lightning are offering a "$25 Tailgate - Unlimited Food, Beer, Wine and Soda" both pregame and postgame for their game tonight vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oh, and there's a concert by Danko Jones afterwards, too. RAWK! [Lightning, stick tap DH Speedwagon]

• Miami Herald writer George Richards? Not a fan of the new Florida Panthers third jerseys, in a "who do we blame for this?" sort of way. [On Frozen Pond]

• On Thanksgiving Day, Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman will personally deliver $1,000 worth of pies to various homeless shelters throughout Boston. Kyle Wellwood last scene seen (Ed. Note: Hi, I'm a moron. Joke Fail) checking Expedia East Coast flight options, looking for Vietnam-era Army jacket at Goodwill. [Bruins]

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Jersey Fouls is our ongoing exploration of the rules and etiquette for proper hockey jersey creation and exhibition. If you spot what you think may be a foul in your arena, e-mail a photo to us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com for inclusion in future installments.

Oh, how adorable: Like the cake topper at a St. Louis Blues Jersey Fouls wedding.

She'll no doubt look back on this sweater stunt fondly when she's had to explain for the 10,000th time that "Bride 20" isn't an indication of her age at the time of matrimony, or that she married a polygamist.

Look, we're not completely cold-hearted bastards here; maybe just slightly chilled, like a plastic bottle of Miller Lite at the arena. So we wonder if there is an acceptable, less-Foulish way to pull off commemorative wedding jerseys, because we don't want to begrudge two puckheads in love the chance to walk down the aisle in support of their favorite teams (and for true love, eternal bliss, yadda yadda yadda).

Does this happy couple pull it off? Is there another way to do it? Are Bride/Groom jerseys just a complete Fail and a harbinger of doom for the relationship?

If there can be a Star Wars wedding, there can be an NHL fan wedding, right? (Thanks to Puck Buddy Ryan M. for the photo.)

Meanwhile in the Windy City, this Chicago Blackhawks fan really broke the bank to update what we assume was either a Chris Chelios (in which case ... why?) or Lyle Odelein (in which case ... OK) jersey to a Brent Seabrook model. Materials alone are setting him back, what, two to three dollars?

That said, we respect his flawless artistry in using all capital letters.

Thanks to Roman for the image.

(Coming Up: A incredible New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Hat Foul; a debatable T.J. Oshie Foul; the mascot jersey conundrum; Alfie's folly; religious freedom; Franken-T-Shirts; your Sidney Crosby Foul updates; and a Washington Capitals Foul that we're frankly tired of seeing stream into our inbox.)

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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: Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m. Huge night in the NHL ... for anyone that has Blue Jackets or Canadiens players on their fantasy team. The lone contest on the schedule pits Carey Price (4-2-1 in his last seven) against Mathieu Garon, starting in place of Steve Mason, who was yanked against the Rangers last night. But the real intrigue is the return of Sergei Kostitsyn, who went from suspended by the franchise to AHL exile to back to the big league. Watch The Game Live Via Hockey Night on Y!

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games (OK, "game") on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.

Evening Reading

• Danny Briere has been "suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of a late hit on an unsuspecting opponent -- Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan" in the Philadelphia Flyers' game at Colorado last night. The Flyers seem surprisingly cool with it, being the Flyers and all. [Courier Post]

• Don Cherry on how he'll watch the CBC bio-pic about him that's premiering in 2010: "I'm going to be in the basement by myself, and I'll cry and laugh - I guess at the same time." A.K.A. how most of us watch Coach's Corner. [CP]

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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.

• OMG Jersey Fouls on Wednesday. Should be a chat 1 p.m. EST as well.

• When is Marian Hossa going to learn to stop answering questions about the teams he used to play for? To the Chicago Tribune, about the differences between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings: "The difference is this is one of the youngest groups of guys I've ever played with. It's lots of fun in the dressing room. It's a different crowd than it was in Detroit. It might be a little bit more mature there, but it's fun in the (Hawks') room." [Snapshots]

• The many questions about Marian Hossa finally joining the Blackhawks' lineup this week. [Paint It Blackhawks]

• Buccigross with a column on Brian Burke's son, who is gay. Very interesting, insightful stuff, though we might have structured it a bit differently. (The "imagine you are" device makes is a little clunky.) [ESPN]

• The New York Posts lists the most overrated teams in sports. There's one hockey entry. [NY Post]

• Ottawa Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire will be out for a month after an errant puck struck his cheekbone last night as he sat on the bench nursing another injury. That's, like, the stuff of gypsy curses right there. [Sportsnet]

• Terrific satirical post by View From My Seats on John Tavares's visit to Toronto last night: "The Globe and Mail piece waited until the 1st sentence of the 2nd paragraph before mentioning the name Wayne Gretzky. Don't feel special, they do this to every hotshot prospect that is a native of Ontario." [VFMS]

• Also recommended, as always: Down Goes Brown's reasons why Alex Ovechkin won't light up the Leafs this weekend: "Had heard a rumor that if the game went to a shootout, entire Leafs roster would embarrass themselves with a ridiculously demeaning attempt at rally caps." [DGB]

• Goaltender Vesa Toskala and center John Mitchell head to the IR. [CBC Sports]

• Mike Chen presents Fun With Google Image Search, including some sort of Cheechoo-related Care Bears photo we can't figure out. [Chen]

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(No, the first decade of the 21st century doesn't technically end until 2011. Save your bellyaching. But we've had nine NHL seasons and one stolen from us since 1999-2000, and Yahoo! Sports has decided it's time to rank the best and worst of the last "decade." Enjoy, and snark freely in the comments.)

How you choose to define, or quantify, the "best" player in the NHL over the last decade will determine your level of agreement with this ranking, which is sure to be one of our most controversial End of Decade lists.

Do you judge greatness based on flashy stats? Championship rings and playoff performance? Individual awards? Do you factor in intangibles like leadership or reputation?

We took everything into account for our Player of the Decade countdown, which focuses on NHL achievement rather than bringing international hockey into the equation. Every spot on the list is up for debate, but we feel as though these 10 players defined the 2000s for professional hockey. Keep in mind that the 2000s meant one set of rules, a work-stoppage, and then another set of rules.

Here are the 10 best players of the last decade ...

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