Well, things just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting in the Eastern Conference playoff race following last night's action, and hockey fans are in for a white knuckle ride over the final month of the NHL season.

The Montreal Canadiens, fresh off of doing absolutely nothing at the NHL trade deadline, lost their second game in a row to the lowly Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers, currently sitting 14th in the conference with a mere 54 points, stifled the Montreal attack, and held on for a 2-0 win over an increasingly desperate Habs team.

Meanwhile, while the Habs were blowing a golden opportunity those in the rearview mirror were taking advantage. The Carolina Hurricanes brought their A game and shocked visiting Calgary, snuffing out the Flames with a 6-1 drubbing. Up north the Buffalo Sabres were doing likewise to the young Phoenix Coyotes, piling on the offense while Patrick Lalime continued to impress with his strong play in net, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced to help his team cruise to a 5-1 victory.

The Habs loss, coupled with the victories of Carolina and Buffalo make things very interesting heading into the final month of the NHL schedule. Montreal currently sits 5th with 75 points. However, they could tumble a long way in a hurry, as the 10th place Carolina Hurricanes only trail them by two points. 5 teams currently trail the Habs by two points or less, including the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins, and the New York Rangers, who have looked strong ever since John Tortorella took over the head coaching duties.

Yes, it is an exciting time to be a hockey fan, and this final month of the NHL regular season might produce hockey as, or even more, exciting than what we'll see in the playoffs. NHL team owners, desperate for playoff gate revenue in this depressed economy will be cracking the whip like never before, and you can bet that GMs, coaches and players alike will all be feeling the heat. Grab some beer and some popcorn and prepare to put a dent in your favorite easy chair over the next 30 days or so. The show is just getting good.

There have been some strange incidents in the NHL in the past few days. First we see Sidney Crosby jump Brett McLean, then we witness Alexander Semin try and play the bongos on Marc Staal's face. However, not to be outdone, superpest Jarkko Ruutu was involved in an even more bizarre incident tonight as his Senators faced the Sabres. Ruutu apparently took exception to Andrew Peters giving him a facewash, so he chomped down on Peters' hand. Peters still had his glove on, but apparently Jarkko bit down hard because you can see the surprise and pain on Peters' face, and he immediately drops the glove and wrings his hand.

Peters was interviewed about the biting incident after the game, and was justifiably irked, stating that he hadn't seen anything like that since the Tyson Holyfield fight, and that the league would be looking at the incident.

As for Ruutu, who knows what was going on in his head. Was the bite purely reactionary, or is he trying to fill the shoes of Sean Avery as the NHL's new most hated player? At least Ruutu keeps his shenanigans on the ice, but if he keeps pulling stunts like this one it won't be long before the NHL's disciplinarians straighten him out.

Here is the video of Jarkko Ruutu biting Andrew Peters:

Well, with the exception of a nasty leg injury to Teemu Selanne last night's NHL action was pretty tame. In fact, there was only one fight in the NHL last night. I guess NHL hockey players, with the exception of Chris Neil and Jay Leach, are in the festive spirit already. Either that or they don't want a black eye for those family Christmas photos. Though the intensity might have been lacking a little the skilled players were still doing their thing. Here are the best performers from last night's games:

3rd Star - Zach Parise - Pierre Maguire may not be right that often, but he was bang on when he chastised NHL general managers for ignoring the potential of this kid when they bypassed him until the 17th pick of the 2003 NHL entry draft. Parise has been steadily improving and enjoyed back to back 30+ goal seasons in only his 2nd and 3rd seasons in the league. This year, however, he has broken out in a big way and quietly has worked his way up the statistical leader board to sit at 4th overall in the NHL scoring race. He had another great night last night, chipping in 4 assists as his New Jersey Devils walked all over the scoring challenged Senators 5-1. Who needs Martin Brodeur when you've got offensive punch like this?

2nd Star - Ryan Miller - This guy doesn't look like he's eaten in a month, but he must have had a good pre-game meal before last night's game because he stopped all 40 shots the Los Angeles Kings threw his way. Miller's performances over the course of his career have resembled the action of a yo-yo. He appears to have the ability to be one of the premiere puck-stoppers in the NHL, but ever since Buffalo's great playoff run in 2006 he can't seem to consistently put together a string of great games. Unfortunately for Los Angeles they hit him on one of his good nights.

1st Star - Jonas Hiller - Well, after a couple of nights when the shooters dominated the goalies got their revenge yesterday. As good as Ryan Miller was against the Kings he couldn't match Jonas Hiller's masterful performance against a desperate Edmonton Oilers team. The Oilers pumped an incredible 53 shots at Anaheim's back-up goalie, but still weren't rewarded for their efforts as Anaheim walked away with a 3-2 victory. Hiller is making a good case for a number one job in Anaheim. He hasn't allowed more than 3 goals in any game this season, and his 2.07 GAA and .936 save percentage are significantly better than Giguere's numbers.