My Three Favorite Things of this Week

We may know why Alex Ovechkin did not participate in the Capitals optional skate in Columbus on Wednesday. It appears that he and some teammate were too busy playing ball hockey in the lockerroom. That right! Ovi dressed in Michal Neuvirth's new pads in a game of locker room ball hockey. But, this was not the first time that Ovi dawned the goaltending gear. The last time he suited up he was defending the Caps net in practice with make-a-wish kid Sam Jacobson.







As the 2014 Sochi Olympics draw near there have been tons of announcements; from team rosters to team Captains but my most favorite has been hockey equipment of the Sochi Olympics. Bauer fans listen up! Back in December the hockey equipment manufacture Bauer introduced "OD1N". This new high-tech line of equipment will outfit a few elite hockey players at the winter games. Bauer was able to lighten the skates, protective gear and the goalie equipment by one-third. Through a combination of tech-friendly composite materials, compression-molded foam and 3D optical scanning to personalize the equipment these six players wear has been compared to the outfits of superhero's. Keep your eye open for these players at the 2014 Sochi Olympics to check out the equipment: Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks/Team Canada), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks/Team USA), Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals/Team Sweden, Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals/Team Russia, Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers/Team Canada) and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers/Team Sweden).

Last but not least my favorite Philadelphia Flyer Zac Rinaldo returned to the Flyers bench on Thursday after being out for 10 games with a high-ankle sprain. Rinaldo always brings high energy, head coach Craig Berube is looking for him to watch his hitting, being such a powerful player he ends up in the penalty box far too often. Rinaldo began the night on Thursday with 101 penalty minutes and a minus 12 rating. Rinaldo has been looking good all season and his biggest down fall is his lack of discipline that comes at the most in opportune times. The time out of the game for Rinaldo apparently gave him time to reflect and he came back knowing what he had to do and focused. Glad to have Rinaldo back on the ice, even if he's stirring the pot.