Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Wings are getting healthy at the right time; Nash becomes Jackets' captain; Sid the Kid sits; Wisniewski gets a game for gooning Samuelsson; Havlat gone 4 months; Kubina stays clutch; and more...

NICK OF TIME 
Will Nicklas Lidstrom win the Hart Trophy this year? Probably not. But even without the hardware, an argument can be made that he is the NHL's most valuable player.

Now 37 years old, the five-time Norris trophy winner (as the NHL's top defenseman) leads all league rearguards with 59 points, and all players overall with a mind-boggling plus-39 rating. While he doesn't take over the game offensively like Bobby Orr did or intimidate physically like Chris Pronger, Lidstrom may be the most complete two-way player in the league.

Further proof of his value: with Lidstrom out recently for six games due to a knee injury, the NHL-leading Red Wings went just 2-4 and saw their lead in the Western conference shrink. But since Lidstrom has returned they are 2-0, and hold an 8-point lead over the surging Sharks. As they take on West rivals Dallas Thursday in a key showdown, has their captain returned in the Nick of time?

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CALL HIM CAPTAIN NASH 
Wednesday saw the Blue Jackets name star left winger Rick Nash their team captain. The 23-year-old takes over from Adam Foote, who was moved to Colorado at the Feb.26 NHL trade deadline. INTEL: Good for Nash, and good for the Jackets. Having the 'C' on his jersey may not seem that big a deal, but it has a way of making a young player mature more quickly and take on more accountability in every way. Nash is very mature for his age and this may help him build on his 58-point season so far.

SID THE KID SITS 
Penguins' star Sidney Crosby sat out Wednesday's game versus the Sabres after he felt pain in his right ankle. It is the same ankle that he sprained recently, causing him to miss a quarter of the season (21 games). INTEL: Still just 20 years old, Sid the Kid obviously doesn't want to risk long-term problems with the ankle. In better news for the Pens, winger Petr Sykora suited up Wednesday despite back pain that was expected to keep him out. Pittsburgh now has several days off until their next contest (Sunday at home against the Flyers) so look for Crosby to rest up and be day-to-day.

WISNIEWSKI GETS 1 GAME FOR GOONING 
Responding to a cross-check James Wisniewski laid to the face of Red Wings' forward Mikael Samuelsson in Tuesday's game, the NHL has suspended the Blackhawks' defenseman one game without pay. Wisniewski sat out Wednesday's contest against the Hurricanes. INTEL: The young offensive D-man loses roughly $3,500 in pay and the Blackhawks lost the game 3-0. Wisniewski is a former CHL Defenseman of the Year (2003-04) but he has always had a chippy game. Hopefully this will send him a message about the stickwork.

HAVLAT OUT 4 MORE MONTHS 
More bad news for Martin Havlat and his bum left shoulder: the slick winger will have surgery Thursday on it, and be out at least four months, according to the Chicago Tribune. INTEL: This is the third surgery Havlat has had on the shoulder, which Havlat re-injured it on Feb.27. Havlat scored 27 points in 35 games this season, but he just can't seem to stay healthy. The 26-year-old winger is in his prime but he has never played more than 73 games in a single NHL season, and his season average is dwindling every year.

KUBINA CLUTCH AGAIN 
Wednesday, for the second game in a row, Maple Leafs' defenseman Pavel Kubina scored his team's game-winning goal. His third-period marker gave Toronto a 3-2 road win over the Flyers in Philly, their second straight victory over that team. INTEL: Nice to see Kubina still has some of the offensive game he used to flash in his Tampa Bay days. More interesting is that he is part of the veteran core of Toronto players who have been simply turning it on lately after very publicly nixing Leafs' management's plans to explore trade options for them. Along with Mats Sundin, Bryan McCabe, Darcy Tucker, and Tomas Kaberle, Kubina seems to feel more pressure than usual to perform. Nice to see they can turn it on, but it makes one wonder what the story earlier this season.

HEAD-SHOT COSTS OTT 3 GAMES 
After reviewing a play from the Sunday game in which Dallas Stars' agitator Steve Ott appeared to leave his feet to hit Avs' defenseman Jordan Leopold in the head, the NHL has suspended Ott three games without pay. INTEL: Leopold left the ice Sunday with a head injury and didn't play Tuesday against the Thrashers. Ott is one of the NHL's premier pests but he really seemed to cross the line this time, and his actions add more fuel to speculation that some players are showing less and less respect for the game and their fellow players' safety.

MORE SABRE D WOES: PAETSCH GONE 
Adding to the Sabres' blueline injuries, Nathan Paetsch sustained a concussion Wednesday night when Pittsburgh enforcer Georges Laraque elbowed him in the head. Laraque was issued a five-minute penalty and ejection, and a suspension may be coming. INTEL: Just a day after Buffalo found out that Jaroslav Spacek (chest) will be out for weeks and Dmitri Kalinin will miss weeks as well (shoulder), Paetsch appears to be out indefinitely. Paetsch was already sore from a hard hit suffered Monday against the Rangers. Rookie Mike Weber was really thrown into the fire Wednesday to help pick up the slack, playing a season-high 17 minutes in the 7-3 loss. He tallied an assist and a plus-2.

ERIC GREAT, AGAIN 
On Wednesday Hurricanes' center Eric Staal continued his torrid play of late with three points against the Blackhawks to lead Carolina to a 3-0 win. INTEL: The goal and two assists give Staal 12 points in his past five outings and 18 in his past 10. Staal's star had dimmed a bit since his 100-point breakout of 2005-06, but he appears to be reclaiming his spot amongst the NHL's truly super-elite young players. His recent binge also has helped the 'Canes win five straight.

GERBER GETS THE NOD 
Riding his hot goalie, Senators head coach Bryan Murray has told the Canadian Press he will play Martin Gerber on Thursday in a key divisional matchup with surging Montreal. It will mark Gerber's seventh consecutive start in the nets. INTEL: Looks like Murray is putting a quick end to both the goalie controversy and the Ray Emery controversy in one fell swoop. It helps that Gerber has been playing well lately, but it's notable that Emery's antics were a distraction under outgoing head coach John Paddock, whom Murray recently fired. Gerber has won two straight and hasn't allowed more than three goals in any of his past five outings.