Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss at least the next two games with a left shoulder strain.

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Fans watch Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals warm up before the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Verizon Center on November 1, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Photograph by : Getty Images

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The forward has been pestered by reporters every day about his progress, which Ovechkin generally greets with a smile.

"It's getting better every day," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau offered to the Washington Post on Friday. "But (in terms) of percentages or degrees, I don't know. He might be one per cent better. It's going to take time. He wants to play, but if he takes a major hit on it, and he's not 100-per cent, he could be behind the eight ball for three weeks or four weeks. We don't want that."

Washington lost its first game without its star on Wednesday. Boudreau was unhappy with the effort.

"That's why I was so mad," Boudreau said to the newspaper. "I'm not really back to where I should be. I usually recover from a win or loss pretty good. But this is the golden opportunity for a group of guys - Alex gets all the publicity, and rightfully so - to stand up and be the team they can believe they can be without him."

"Pittsburgh didn't lose a beat when they lost (Sidney) Crosby for six weeks, or (Evgeni) Malkin or (Sergei) Gonchar," Boudreau added. "If we think we're a good team, we have to be able to win without (Ovechkin). One player can't be the defining point of a team. They have to realize that instead of feeling sorry for themselves."

Coach has a talk with his star

Sometimes a coach pulls out the whip and doles out extra practices and tougher workouts to send a message. But occasionally all that's needed is a quiet chat to sort out the troubled players.

Under-performers were addressed by Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter prior to this week's road spin through Dallas and St. Louis.

In Jarome Iginla's case, it apparently helped. Three goals, one assist and seven hits later, the old Iginla seems to be charging back into form.

"He's a very caring guy. He cares about the team and he cares about individuals," said Sutter. "(We) sat down and talked about some things. He's finding his way here and he's being rewarded for it right now. It's huge whenever you can have your captain play like that. It's very, very important."

Iginla wasn't the only player to get a little extra attention from the coach.

"Your team is going to play as well as individuals play," said Sutter. "We needed certain guys to pick their level of play up.

"It was put out there and individuals have responded."

Backup goalie's fortunes improve

Following goalie Curtis McElhinney's fill-in performance in the 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night, the Calgary Flames coaching staff says it has no qualms about putting him between the pipes during a gruelling November schedule.

"It's not about placing him in the right situation, it's about him earning it," said goaltending coach Jamie McLennan. "Any situation he's in, he's got to rise to the challenge and he did that the other night coming in when Kipper (Miikka Kiprusoff) wasn't feeling well. That's his job.

"Curtis has definitely given himself a right to play."

With 11 of the next 15 games coming on the road with few breaks, Flames coach Brent Sutter confirmed McElhinney will see action sooner rather than later.

Doghouse not a happy home

Robert Nilsson has to wait until Sunday until he can spit out the lingering bad taste of his last bad game, which is one period longer than most of his Edmonton Oilers mates following his third period benching against the New York Rangers.

In the meantime, he approached head coach Pat Quinn after practice on Friday to have a chat.

"We were just talking about hockey," said Quinn. "We were just talking about how we can be better in certain situations. We feel Bobby has lots to bring. He's one of those young men who wants to learn and wants to do better."

"He just told me to think about the positive stuff and leave the negative behind," Nilsson said. "If I think I'm playing good and I'm benched, of course I'd get confused, angry and frustrated but last night, I think if played a real (crappy) game so I wasn't surprised."

Hodgson nears return

Vancouver Canucks prospect Cody Hodgson has returned to the ice and could be given the green light to begin practising with his Brampton Battalion junior team as early as next week.

Hodgson's agent, Don Meehan, said Friday afternoon that his client's ailing back is continuing to improve and he started skating on his own this week.

"I spoke with Cody today and he's been doing some skating and says he feels really good," said Meehan. "The progress he's made has been very positive."

Meehan said Hodgson is planning to travel to the Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic to have his back examined on Wednesday.

Hodgson, 19, the major junior player of the year last season, had a disappointing pre-season, but appeared to be hindered by his back problems. Hodgson was returned to his Ontario Hockey League club at the end of September.

Parros knows a good moustache when he sees one

He is nicknamed: The 'Stache.

In fact, Anaheim Ducks enforcer George Parros is likely know more for his facial hair than his capable ability to throw a punch.

The Los Angeles Times features a blog by the colourful Parros, and this week, he talked about his favourite topic - the moustache.

"Favourite sports 'staches: Terry Ruskowski, former captain of the L.A. Kings; Wade Boggs and Don Mattingly . . . all very thick and full-bodied, very blue collar."

"Favourite actor 'staches: Burt Reynolds, Sam Elliott, Chuck Norris, Earl (Jason Lee) . . . all different in their own way, all amazing."

"'Staches I'm told resemble my own: Frank Zappa, Yanni, Gallagher, Tom Selleck . . . a very eclectic group.," wrote Parros.

Shootout specialists reside in Atlanta

The best team for a shootout?

Count on the Atlanta Thrashers when the game goes into extra, extra-time.

The blog site illegalcurve.com composed a list (prior to Friday's games) of the best teams so far in 2009-10 in the shootout:

"Atlanta Thrashers 7-1: Vyacheslav Kozlov led the Thrashers with six goals in eight attempts.

New Jersey Devils 6-2: New Jersey was 12/25 in the extra-extra frame despite having no players shooting over 50 per cent.

Anaheim Ducks 7-3: Jonas Hiller was tops in the league at stopping pucks in the shootout."

Meantime, one team not to count on in the shootout is Tampa Bay.

The Lightning are a horrible 3-10 - surprising considering the team can trot out snipers like Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos, reports illegalcurve.com.

Neil hit sidelines Hedman

Tampa Bay Lightning rookie defenceman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely after being on the receiving end of a big hit against Ottawa on Thursday night.

Hedman travelled with the team to Montreal, and sat in the stands during practice Friday with Sweden's junior national team, also in Montreal taking part in a series of exhibition games.

Hedman was rocked by Ottawa's Chris Neil on Thursday.

Coach Rick Tocchet said the Lightning have to be cautious with the youngster.

"Back in the day you'd throw water on your back and go out," Tocchet said to Tampabay.com. "But now, with those lingering effects you just have to be very careful. You got to make sure. Lucky that's his first one, and hopefully it's just a mild concussion. It's one of those things you've got to go through the whole process and when they say he's ready, we'll play him."

Guess who's back in town

Sean Avery is back in Calgary for the first time since his comments 11 months ago that earned him a suspension.

Avery made crude and disparaging comments about actress Elisha Cuthbert, the girlfriend of Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf. Avery previously dated Cuthbert.

The outburst proved to be the end of Avery in Dallas, but he hooked up with the New York Rangers (again) after receiving league-mandated professional assistance for his behavioural issues.

Will he keep his mouth shut this time in Calgary or apologize to Phaneuf for his poor choice of words?

"I have zero interest in all the shenanigans that have built up," Avery told Newsday on Friday. "I've moved on. I'm really just concentrating on the New York Rangers being a good team and doing what I can to help the team win. . . . And I'm really excited to be back in Canada." 

Ice chips:

The Denver Post reports forward Darcy Tucker (concussion) could return to the Colorado Avalanche lineup Wednesday in Chicago. . . . PLB Sports have created a City of Champions cereal to commemorate Pittsburgh's recent Stanley Cup and Super Bowl victories. Steelers receiver Hines Ward and Penguins forward Max Talbot are featured on the front of the boxes. . . . Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby is 4-for-4 in shootouts this season. . . . Detroit's Brad May (eye) has been cleared to return to Wings' lineup for Saturday's game in Toronto. . . . The New Jersey Devils signed free-agent centre Dean McAmmond to a two-way contract on Friday. He will join the team on Monday. . . . Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere (groin) is improving and the Ducks are targeting his return for the upcoming four-game Eastern road trip.