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Okay, after a little Christmas break I'm back and ready to talk hockey again. Hope everyone else had a great holiday with friends and family. How about that start by Canada against the Czechs in the World Junior tourney? Tavares picked up right where he left off in the tournament warm-up, and the team looks to be firing on all cylinders. The United States team looked strong also, drubbing Germany 8-2. Looks like those two teams might be headed for another classic match-up.

Things got kicked off in the NHL last night after a two game break. The turkey break didn't do the Flyers much good as they not only lost 5-1 to the red hot Chicago Blackhawks, but they lost both Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to injury. Neither injury is deemed serious and neither should miss more than a week or two of action. Pittsburgh finally managed to right the ship, though their recent goal-scoring woes continued as they edged out New Jersey 1-0 in a hard fought contest. And Toronto picked up right where they left off before the Christmas break, following up their embarrassing 8-2 shellacking to Dallas with an equally embarrassing 4-1 loss to an Islanders team that has been dreadful so far this year. Here are the players who were looking good in these and other games on Boxing Day:

3rd Star - Shane Doan - Shane Doan does not get the credit he deserves, his considerable talents all but ignored by the rest of the league as he labors game in and game out for the desert dogs of Phoenix. Wayne Gretzky knows what he has though, and the Great One's eye for the game is the reason Doan has seen himself in a Team Canada jersey so many times in recent years. Doan has again been the best player in Phoenix this year, and he had another goal (17th) and assist (18th) to lead the Yotes to a 2-1 over Los Angeles, giving Phoenix a little breathing room in a tight playoff race that currently sees them sitting 7th in the Western Conference.

2nd Star - Eric Staal - Though Eric Staal has never managed to recapture the magic that saw him score 100 points in his sophomore season in 2005-06 he continues to be one of the most dangerous offensive forces in the league, and he willed his team to victory last night with 3 goals in the third period as his Carolina Hurricanes stole two points from divisional rival Atlanta Thrashers in last night's action. The win helped pull Carolina a little further ahead of the surging Florida Panthers for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

1st Star - Marc-Andre Fleury - Fresh off embarrassing losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning the Pittsburgh Penguins needed at least one of their players to step up and try and change the team's fortunes. Most would expect Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby to perform that duty, but they continued their average play last night, instead leaving it up to their goaltender to secure the club a win. Marc-Andre Fleury proved he was up to the challenge, stopping all 37 shots the red hot Devils fired his way en route to a 1-0 win. No rest for the weary, however. Fleury and the Pens are right back at it tonight as they face the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby always seems to shine against the team he idolized as a boy, so watch for him to make a big impact tonight in what should be the evening's best match-up.

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Sadly, there are no games in the NHL tonight. I guess it is Christmas Eve and all. The players deserve a few days off for all the entertainment they've provided us thus far. Still it would be nice to hit the couch with a belly full of turkey, grab the remote, and surf through some NHL action. Oh well, at least we've got the Winter Classic Game on New Year's Day.

With the upcoming break there was a full slate on last night's NHL schedule, and a few surprising blowouts that put players from the Leafs and the Canucks in a bad mood for their Christmas holidays. Here are the players that were lighting it up in last night's action:

3rd Star - Alexander Ovechkin - Ovie was up to his old tricks again last night as he almost single-handedly willed his Washington Capitals to a compelling comeback victory over the New York Rangers. After New York had built a 3-0 lead and looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory Ovechkin took matters into his own hands. He potted 2 goals, including the game-tying marker, added an assist, and peppered Henrik Lundqvist with an incredible 13 shots on goal. Though he did not have a hand in the overtime winner by Shaone Morrisonn, Ovechkin did everything else to secure Washington an important 2 points before the Christmas break.

2nd Star - James Neal - Not exactly the note the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to go into the Christmas break on. They had looked pretty good of late, and with the exception of an 8-5 loss to the powerful Boston Bruins had been doing an admirable job of keeping the puck out of their own net. That all went out the window last night as Dallas torched them for 8 goals in an 8-2 drubbing. To make matters worse the game was in Toronto, and the Leafs fans were not in a forgiving mood, booing players and coach alike for the poor effort. However poor the Leafs play was, however, it doesn't take away from the spectacular effort of Dallas Star James Neal, who netted a hat trick in the lopsided victory.

1st Star - Tomas Vokoun - With back-up goalie Craig Anderson leading the league in save percentage Tomas Vokoun was no doubt feeling the heat. Well the past few days he has been doing his best to quell any speculation that his number one job was in jeopardy. Vokoun put in a stellar 27 save performance last night to earn his second straight shutout. There were a number of spectacular performances by goalies last night with Tim Thomas, Evgeni Nabokov, Jon Quick and Mike Smith all putting up donuts, but Vokoun got the nod for pulling off the back to back blankings.

A strange lack of outstanding performances given the number of games last night. There were a couple of surprising blowouts as Toronto humbled Pittsburgh, handing the Penguins a 7-3 defeat in their own barn, and Philadelphia thumped the previously red hot Washington Capitals 7-1 in a game where the Caps outshot the Flyers by close to a two to one margin. The Capitals goaltending woes continue, and if they can manage to land a solid tender they are going to be a handful in the East. In the highest profile game of the night the league leading San Jose Sharks took down the Rangers in a tight 3-2 game, bouncing back after their embarrassing 6-0 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, and in Vancouver the Canucks got to see the skill of Chicago's young stars first hand as they fell 3-1 on home ice. Whispers of the Blackhawks' potential as cup contenders are growing louder. They certainly have the talent, but come playoff time talent is only a small piece of the puzzle. Grit and experience are key components, and the Blackhawks have little of either. So who were the players making noise in last night's games? Read on to find out.

3rd Star - Jeff Carter - As good as Tomas Kaberle is I'm sure the Philadelphia Flyers are breathing a sigh of relief that the proposed deal last season that would have seen Jeff Carter depart to Toronto in a deal to bring Kaberle the other way never materialized. Carter has been an absolute beast in the offensive zone this season, and continued his hot play last night, scoring 2 more goals to tie Buffalo's Thomas Vanek for first in that category with 24, and adding 2 assists in Philly's lopsided win over the Caps.

2nd Star - Tomas Kaberle - Speaking of Kaberle, he was no slouch himself last night. After being called out by coach Ron Wilson following a -4 performance a few weeks ago Kaberle has really started to round into form. Kaberle had 3 assists last night and was a +3 going up against the top 2 points producers in the league in Malkin and Crosby. Though they might wish they had landed Carter the Leafs can't be too disappointed to still be enjoying the services of Kaberle for the time being.

1st Star - Scott Hartnell - I don't know what the NHL record is for the closest natural hat tricks by one player in a single season, but Scott Hartnell had his second in just over a week against the Capitals last night. He also added an assist for good measure, to give him a surprising 24 points so far this season. With Gagne, Richards, Carter and now Hartnell filling the net, the Flyers' offense is firing on all cylinders. Once they get Briere back, watch out.