Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Ovechkin and Malkin are 1-2 again; Zednik has a scare in Buffalo; Tarnstrom debuts for Columbus; Gagne leaves with another concussion; Cloutier makes season debut; and more...

ONE-TWO, AGAIN 
At the end of the year 2007, a lot of hockey pundits had some ideas in mind with regards to who would come out on top of this season's scoring race when was all said and done. Vincent Lecavalier, Sidney Crosby and Henrik Zetterberg were flip-flopping at the top all season, and Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson was also making his presence felt.

But six weeks later, the first two picks of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, have made such powerful statements that it's now difficult to see any other players overtake them in the race.

Ovechkin, the first overall selection by the Washington Capitals, has been an absolute monster, scoring almost at will and dominating entire games. After ending 2007 with seven points in two games, Ovechkin has continued his surge with 28 points in 18 contests thus far in 2008. Suddenly, all the top scorers in the league are looking up at him and wondering if he will slow down enough for them to stay in the race. With 47 goals and 76 points on the season--and still heating up--Ovechkin could reach the 70-goal and 110-point mark for his first career Art Ross Trophy.

However, his friend and countryman, Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, may have something to say about that. Ovechkin did once say that Malkin could be a better player than he is, and now we are starting to see why. Thus far in '08, Malkin has 15 points in his last five games and 32 in 18. Unbelievably, those numbers are actually hotter than Ovechkin's.

The young superstars continued their surge on Sunday and were in on all of their team's goals en route to wins. Ovechkin had three points in Washington's 3-2 vicory over the Rangers, while Malkin, not to be outdone, picked up four points in Pittsburgh's 4-3 defeat of the Flyers. The two will go head-to-head on March 9 in Washington, and Crosby may be back with the pens from his high-ankle sprain by that time. But at this rate, all eyes may just well be on the 2004 draftees.

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BLUE JACKETS 
Dick Tarnstrom made his Blue Jackets' debut Sunday, playing 18:07 and notching an assist in the 3-2 shootout loss to the Kings. Tarnstrom quarterbacked the teams first power-play unit. Pascal Leclaire, who had missed the last two contests with a strained neck, was back between the pipes and stopped 32 of 34 shots. Goaltender Steve Mason was sent back to his junior club the Kitchener Rangers (OHL).

BLUES 
Martin Rucinsky was back in the Blues lineup after missing 17 games with a separated shoulder. He played 18:03 and saw some power-play time, but the offense wasn't clicking for St. Louis, who lost 2-1 to the Wild in a shootout. Veteran Keith Tkachuk was out with flu-like symptoms.

CANADIENS 
Montreal recalled defenseman Ryan O'Byrne from Hamilton of the AHL Sunday, after a brief rehab stint. O'Byrne had missed 16 games with a broken thumb after making a strong case for a full-time NHL job thanks to some strong play. The 23-year-old has two assists in 11 contests with the Habs this season. He has eight points in 20 games for Hamilton. The team plays Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

DUCKS 
Samuel Pahlsson was back in the lineup Sunday in Anaheim's 3-2 win over the Red Wings. The 30-year-old checking-line pivot had missed 21 games with an abdominal strain. He played 17:45 and was a force on the penalty kill. Former Red Wing Mathieu Schneider was the story of the game, however, as the 38-year-old scored once and added an assist in the win.

FLYERS 
Braydon Coburn suffered a "torn buttocks muscle" on Saturday and will be out for at least two weeks. The injury required surgery. Coburn has really started to come into his own lately, tallying eight points in the 10 games leading up to the injury. The 22-year-old was the eighth overall pick in the 2003 entry draft and is still projected to develop into a sound power-play quarterback. This year, his first full season in the NHL, Coburn has collected 24 points in 54 contests, looking every bit like the player the Flyers thought they were getting when they traded Alexei Zhitnik a year ago. Meanwhile, the team lost Sunday's contest, 4-3 to the Penguins. Star forward Simon Gagne left the game with what was reportedly a mild concussion.

KINGS 
Veteran goaltender Dan Cloutier, recently recalled from his banishment to the AHL, got the start on Sunday and earned a 3-2 shootout win over the Blue Jackets. The 31-year-old, playing in his first NHL game of the season, kicked aside 31 of 33 shots. Anze Kopitar led the offense with a pair of goals, while Patrick O'Sullivan scored the shootout winner and added an assist. The team travels to St. Louis for a game against the Blues on Tuesday.

PANTHERS 
It was a grisly sight in Buffalo on Sunday when Florida winger Richard Zednik was rushed to hospital for surgery following an incident in which teammate Olli Jokinen's skate accidentally caught the side of his neck. Zednik bled profusely and was immediately rushed to hospital. He is in stable condition. Play stopped for 15 minutes and fans and players were silent as crews cleaned the blood off the ice. The Panthers lost the game 5-3.

PENGUINS 
Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who has been missing in action for the past 27 games while recovering from a high ankle sprain, was cleared for action on the weekend. The Pens assigned him to their American League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a conditioning stint, which is to (reportedly) last three to five games. Given the strong play of Ty Conklin in Fleury's absence, it looks like the Pens will either employ a three-goalie system for a spell, or demote Dany Sabourin. The team also sent down Ryan Stone due to Tyler Kennedy's return to the lineup.

PREDATORS 
The big line in Nashville continued their strong play on Sunday, combining for seven points in a 6-3 win over Phoenix. Jason Arnott, Jean-Pierre Dumont and Alexander Radulov led the charge, while goaltender Dan Ellis stopped 30 of 33 shots. The team is 7-2-2 in their last 11 outings. The Preds lock horns with Detroit on Tuesday.