The Tennessee Ice Vols will play San Diego State in the opening round of the 2008 ACHA Men's Division III National Championship in Rochester, Minn. on Wednesday, March 12. It will be the opening game in the tournament and start at 10 a.m. CST.

I will be traveling to the tournament to provide coverage for the Tennessee Journalist, so check back each day between the Wednesday and Saturday for updates on the Ice Vols' national title quest.

Crosby, welcome back to the best linemates in hockey

Sidney Crosby made his return this week after six and a half weeks out with an ankle injury.against the Lightning and and picked up an assist in his return.

Although he is likely not going to win any major regular-season awards at the end of the season, Crosby is still the key player to watch as the season reaches its final month before the playoffs.

Pittsburgh is already sitting pretty with a two-point lead over Montreal in the Eastern Conference standings. Getting Crosby back could give the Penguins the best line in hockey with Sidney, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa. The leaders in the East acquired Hossa at the trade deadline.

I'm predicting Pittsburgh will pull away in the East with Crosby and represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin gets 50^th goal and then some in style

Alex Ovechkin became the third Russian to have multiple 50-goal seasons in the NHL and he did so in a dream first period. Ovechkin netted a hat trick in the opening 20 minutes against Boston to also become the first to 50 this season.

He also had two assists on the night to retake the point lead from Malkin. Ovechkin added two goals against Buffalo two nights later to bring his total to 54 on the season.

Unfortunately for Ovechkin, there might be one thing that keeps him from taking home the Player of the Year award come season end.

The Capitals currently sit two games out of the playoffs and if they are not able to make it to the postseason, I think Ovechkin's stock is going to fall.

However, the Capitals made some nice additions at the trade line and got two big wins this week get them closer to playoff position. If Ovechkin continues to produce points, I see the Caps getting in the playoffs and almost assuring him of the big awards come season end.

NHL Who's Hot and Not Rankings                

Top Five

1. San Jose Sharks (38-21-8) - The Sharks are making a run at the Red Wings for the league's most points as they have won seven straight. They are within three points of Dallas for second and have played three less games.

2. New York Rangers (34-24-9) - The Rangers have scored points in 10 straight games with seven wins and pushing their three losses into overtime and shootouts. They are in every game right now and that makes a huge difference come playoff time.

3. Chicago Blackhawks (33-28-6) - Chicago has also made a little push as of late.Their push is getting them closer to the playoffs as they have knocked off Anaheim, Minnesota and Vancouver, all of which are ahead of Chicago in the standings.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins (38-23-7) - The Penguins are have won twice in four games during the past week, but getting Crosby back instantly makes them better.

5. Washington Capitals (32-28-8) - Washington has really been on fire as of late. They beat a good Minnesota team at the trade deadline and after losing a close game to Toronto, they demolished current playoff team Boston in a 10-2 beat down. They then took down playoff contender Buffalo. The two Russian stars (Ovechkin and Alexander Semin) now have their idol (Sergei Federov) on their team and the results have been noticed.

Bottom Five

26. Ottawa Senators (37-24-7) - The Senators were in the Eastern Conference lead since almost the beginning of the year until last week. Now they are falling fast with only one win in their last six games. They could be missing the playoffs if they don't turn it around soon.

27. St. Louis Blues (29-28-10) - St. Louis is in need of help as they have only picked up three points in eight games. They did have a win this week, but when its against the Kings it doesn't mean much.

28. Tampa Bay Lightning (26-33-7) - Tampa Bay has lost seven of their last eight games and is just two points clear of the smallest total in the league.

29. Los Angeles Kings (26-37-5) - The Kings have lost five straight and also have dropped seven of eight. They are currently the worst team in NHL standings.

30. Atlanta Thrashers (29-32-7) - The Thrashers seem like they are really trying to fall to last place to get that number one pick in the next entry draft as they have dropped eight straight contests.