With the clock ticking, I reveal my predictions for the regular season's most valuable player, rookie, defenseman and goaltender. Then, not in any order particular order, I offer my "two cents" on the Eastern and Western Conference representatives fighting in the Stanley Cup Finals. Warning Sign: Detroit and Pittsburgh WILL NOT compete in the championship round despite their best efforts this season, due to their goaltender issues. Although Ty Conklin has successfully taken over the goaltender reins in Fleury's absence, Conblock cannot dominate a seven-game series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that captain and reigning MVP Sidney Crosby will return to the lineup tonight against Tampa Bay. Crosby missed 21 games due to a high ankle sprain he suffered on Jan. 18. The team originally expected Crosby to return mid-March, so this is a surprise. Whether Crosby can make a successful comeback will arguably determine the Penguins regular season and postseason hopes.

During his absence, the Penguins registered a 11-6-4 record, utilizing Evgeni Malkin’s dominance (36

Globe and Mail writer and blogger James Mirtle lists the top performers in the month of February, which you can also find on Sportsnet.ca. With 15 points, Devils offenseman Patrik Elias just made the list. However, one should note his disparity in goals scored (3) and assists produced (12), tied with four others for third place overall. The Devils also dominated the plus minus rating. They maintained four of the five top ratings, including Elias' league-leading plus 13,  Paul Martin's

The previous game, a 4-0 loss Washington, I described as unintelligent. Head coach Brent Sutter ensured a more competitive match in the second half of a back-to-back stretch, yet the Devils fell for the third straight game, 2-1 to Montreal, in front of a soldout raucous crowd of 21,273 at the Bell Centre.

Both teams worked hard in the first period, with the Devils leading 13-8 in shots on goal. However, after 20 minutes of action, the game remained scoreless.

Marian Hossa suffered a sprained MCL in his Pittsburgh Penguins debut and the team expects him to miss about one week with the injury. The Pittsburgh Union-Tribune reported the injury after the Penguins 5-1 loss to Boston on Thursday night. In my opinion, this news will not only hurt the Penguins on the ice, especially since Sidney Crosby is also on the sidelines, but off the ice as well. The team traded awa several of its young players and a first round draft choice for Hossa, an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and now has to overcome his loss with a group of minor leaguers.

The best way to describe the Devils effort on Friday night was uninspiring or rather unintelligent. That's how head coach Brent Sutter referred to his team during the postgame press conference. "At times we're not playing with any intelligence," Sutter said, paraphrasing from his entire speech. "The team (Devils) played one period with urgency."