The dogs of the desert have been making some noise lately and slowly sliding up in the standings. Last night's 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars marked the Phoenix Coyotes seventh win in a row, and brought the team to a .500 record for the first time since the beginning of the season.

Shane Doan scored two goals (his 12th and 13th) and converted one of two power play goals that moved the Coyotes past the Stars. Travis Roche had had a goal, free agent acquisitions defenceman Ed Jovanovski had a goal and an assist, and forward Owen Nolan helped round out the scoring. Coyotes goalkeeper Mikael Tellqvist made 29 saves on the night.

The Coyotes sit in 11th place in the Western Conference but now are only 3 points from a playoff spot. As I said yesterday, the West is already in playoff mode, as every team is still in it. We can look forward to late March with the possibility of 10 teams battling for the final three playoff spots in the conference, and the Phoenix Coyotes are in the thick of the hunt. Lord Gretzky has his boys playing big time hockey right now.

Quick Shave:
I have to hand it to the New York Islanders. They own, and I mean own the New York Rangers. For the 4th time this season, the Islanders handily defeated their cross-town rivals 5-3. Coming off a four (maybe five) game losing streak, the Islanders woke up to put an end to the Rangers winning streak. Rick DiPietro made 28 saves for the win and Mike Sillinger had two goals on the evening. On a positive note, Jagr and Shanahan finally broke their goal scoring streaks. The Nashville Predators took advantage of the Pronger-less Anaheim Ducks last night. Tomas Vokoun returned from IR for the Predators, and while shaky resumed his winning form by making 27 saves for the 5-4 overtime win. The Montreal Canadiens still battling the flu, battled back from a 2 goal defecit to defeat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-2. Michael Ryder scored two goals and goaltender Cristobal Huet made 28 saves to complete the comeback win. The Philadelphia Flyers flew to another loss last night as they were pummelled by the Washington Capitals 5-2. Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals on the same night that he and Sidney Crosby were elected to their first ever NHL All Star Game. Crosby became the youngest player ever voted to the game. Unfortunately the Pittsburgh Penguins did not respond like the Caps did, and lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. While Crosby did score for the Penguins he was outshone by Martin St. Louis who scored and added two assists. Mikka Kiprusoff recorded his 100th career victory in style as he made 26 saves to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Wild by way of shutout. The Carolina Hurricanes shutdown the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on a strong 29 save performance by Cam Ward. The Ottawa Senators (unlike the Rangers) found a way to beat their nemesis (nemesis's? nemesises?)Boston Bruins last night 5-2. Ahh the NHL All Star Game.... for a while it looked as though Vancouver defenceman Rory Fitzpatrick would have his day but it just wasn't to be. The first team all-stars were announced yesterday and are as folllows:

Eastern Conference
Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins - Forward
Alexander Ovechkin - Washington Capitals - Forward
Daniel Briere - Buffalo Sabres - Forward
Brian Campbell- Buffalo Sabres - Defence
Sheldon Souray - Montreal Canadiens - Defence
Ryan Miller - Buffalo Sabres - Goal

Western Conference
Joe Thornton - San Jose Sharks - Forward
Joe Sakic - Colorado Avalanche - Forward
Jonathan Cheechoo - San Jose Sharks - Forward
Scott Niedermayer - Anaheim Ducks - Defence
Nicklas Lidstrom - Detroit Red Wings - Defence
Roberto Luongo - Vancouver Canucks - Goal

Aside from Jonathan Cheechoo (who's having a marginal year in comparison to last season) there aren't too many surprises here. Buffalo's play this season is a big reason why they have the largest representation, and while Sakic's nod is definitely because of his popularity, you can't argue that he is having another great year with 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists).

Game of the Night:
St. Louis at New Jersey 7:30 PM

Why? Well the St. Louis Blues are one of the bottom feeding teams in the West that have been feeding on everyone they play as of late, and are also a team that I believe can still make a playoff push. What better way to test their credibility than against one of the East's best in the New Jersey Devils? There you have it.....Bosh is good...Bosh is wise. Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh