That is the gist of it.  For those looking for more information on the sale and relocation of the Thrashers organization, you can find it here and here.  And for everyone else, we have this clip from The Simpsons, which pretty much summarizes the return of the National Hockey League to Winnipeg after a 15 year hiatus.

For now, lets just assume that the dad is Gary Bettman, and the kids are playing the roles of Andrew Ladd, Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien.  As for Nelson, he can be viewed as playing either the Atlanta Spirit ownership group, or True North Sports and Entertainment Group.

His latest comes via a bout near the end of the first period during last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.  After getting tangled up with Travis Moen by the team benches, the two had a few words before settling things the only way hockey players know how to.

Here it is, your “Frozen Fisticuffs Fight of the Night” for Tuesday, March 29, 2011.

With players from both teams engaged in a scrum after the whistle, both Thorburn and Smith emerged from the pile with their gloves off and their fists flying.  It was a spirited bout between two players from teams in search of some motivation down the stretch, and it earns our “Frozen Fisticuffs Fight of the Night” for Sunday, March 27, 2011.

The Habs remained quiet at the deadline, and now even the referees appear to be picking on them.

Just one day after the trade deadline had passed, it was referee Dan O’Halloran sending a message to the smaller Canadiens, as he laid out David Desharnais with a stiff two-handed push that sent the 5’7, 24-year-old forward to the ice in a heap.

If he can’t take a hit from a 5’8 referee, what is Desharnais going to do when he runs into a 6’4 Milan Lucic?

Hat Tip – [All Habs]

Midway through the second period, the Thrashers’ Eric Boulton and the Caps’ John Erskine decided to drop the gloves and exchange punches.  But this wasn’t your ordinary “throw a few punches and go to the ground” kind of fight.  These two tough guys were delivering bombs to the faces of one another, and somehow neither of them would go down.  Not only was it an easy pick for the “Frozen Fisticuffs Fight of the Night” for Sunday, November 14, but it is also an early candidate for “Fight of the Year.”  And at this point, it has my vote.

Holding on to a 4-3 lead in the third period a puck trickled into the Thrashers zone with a Flyers’ skater, Simon Gagne, approaching it fiercely, looking to take advantage of a breakaway on Hedberg.  It’s at this point the goalie has to make a decision to come out and play the puck or sit back and try to make a save.  The good goalies always seem to make the right decisions in these circumstances.

Well, Hedberg decided to go after the puck, and it was the right call probably, but instead of making a play on the puck he made a rather aggressive play on the Flyers’ forward, cutting his legs out from underneath him.   Hedberg’s wiped out, too, lost track of where he was, and the puck nearly went into the net anyway.  It was chaos.   Luckily, the Thrashers were able to clear the zone.  Most importantly, they able to hold on to the slim lead for the win.

Check out this hilarious save.

In town to face the Thrashers, the Panthers found themselves tied midway through the first period when Ilya Kovalchuk got behind Ballard and found himself alone on a break-away against Vokoun.  His initial shot was stopped, but Vokoun couldn’t find the rebound and Kovalchuk was able to recover in time to slip the puck into the net.

Ballard was visibly upset following the goal.  Attempting to break his stick on the goal post, Ballard’s swing unintentionally struck an unsuspecting Vokoun in the head, knocking him to the ground.  Ballard had successfully broken his stick, but he was unaware that Vokoun’s head was the cause.

The Panthers’ netminder remained on the ground in pain as blood dripped from his head.  The Trainers came out to attend to Vokoun for several minutes before he was stretchered off and taken to an Atlanta hospital to be treated for a deep cut to his ear.  Thankfully, he was “alert and responsive” on his way to the hospital.

It is great to hear that Vokoun will be alright, not only for his own health, but for the health of Keith Ballard as well.  You could see how shaken up Ballard was following the incident as he waited and watched from the bench (and at one moment had to retreat to the locker room area).

Ballard is often the one responsible for protecting Vokoun.  Unfortunately, this time he could not guard his goalie from his own stick.

The Full Replay

The biggest loser in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Atlanta Thrashers dropping 5 spots to end up at #22. The Thrashers will be looking for some consistency over the next few games as they’ve had a combination of a lot of good and a lot of bad weeks so far this season.

The biggest gainer in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators both moving up 4 spots to land at #5 and #18 respectively. The Blackhawks are on a roll as they’re finally getting some consistent goaltending from Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi while the Predators are finding some chemistry as all of their key players are finally healthy.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for week 8.

Rank	Team	Record	PRV	Comment
1		16-5-4	-	Big week for Joe Thornton as he collected 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points.
2		15-8-0	-	Won two of their three games last week including a 5-2 win over Anaheim.
3		13-5-5	2	Were able to handle life without Alexander Ovechkin fairly well, which is a good thing as Ovie hasn’t exactly looked the same since returning from his injury.
4		13-6-2	1	Despite the Flames so-so play last week Jarome Iginla has been on fire so far in the month of November netting 12 goals in 10 games so far.
5		15-5-2	4	Click Here to watch and vote for Patrick Sharp as Victoria’s Secret Sexiest Chicago Athlete.
6		13-7-3	2	Were only able to win one of their three games on their Western Canadian road trip.
7		14-6-1	1	After winning their first 6 games in the month of November the Devils are on a bit of a slide loosing their last three games in a row.
8		12-6-3	-	Saw their three game winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Predators.
9		12-7-1	2	Will have to make due without Daniel Briere for two games as he’s been suspended for his hit on Colorado’s Scott Hannan.
10		12-6-2	-	Have two tough games this week against the Capitals and Flyers.
11		13-9-1	3	Picked up two big wins over the Wild and Flyers.
12		11-6-4	1	The Wings will be in tough the next month after losing Niklas Kronwall on the dirty hit from Canadiens’ forward Georges Laraque Saturday night.
13		13-9-2	2	The Kings will be in tough as well with Ryan Smyth gone for up to over a month with the ever popular “upper-body injury”.
14		11-10-1	2	Rough week for the Rangers losing to both the Capitals and Panthers.
15		11-6-3	3	Great week for not just the Sens but Mike Fisher as well who was named the 3rd Star of the week for collecting 6 points (two goals & 4 assists) last week.
16		9-5-7	1	So-so week for the Lightning going 2-1-1 beating the Coyotes and Thrashers.
17		12-11-0	1	Even though they’ve fared well without him, the Canucks received a boost with the return of Daniel Sedin to their lineup.
18		12-8-1	4	Great week for the Preds as they won all three of their games and are now on a 5 game winning streak.
19		10-8-4	2	Solid week winning two of their three games against the Islanders, Thrashers and Sabres.
20		10-6-6	-	Nice week for the Stars pulling out two wins over the Red Wings and Devils.
21		9-11-3	2	Things could get interesting depending on how long Nikolai Khabibulin is out for with his sore back.
22		10-7-3	5	Terrible week for the Thrashers loosing all three of their games to the Bruins, Penguins and Lightning.
23		10-9-2	2	Currently riding a three game winning streak.
24		11-11-1	-	Solid week for the Habs thanks to the great play of goaltender Carey Price who won 2nd Star honors.
25		8-8-7	2	Rough week for the Islanders losing to the Wild and Blues. Help could be on the way however as Rick DiPietro has begun practicing.
26		8-8-4	-	The Blues’ young guns showed off some of their flash last week as both David Perron and T.J. Oshie scored highlight reel goals.
27		7-11-3	-	Are still looking to find their groove after winning just one of their three games last week.
28		8-12-2	-	Are hoping a shake up will lead to some wins as the team traded for Guillaume Latendresse from the Canadiens in exchange for Benoit Pouliot.
29		5-12-5	1	Were able to record back-to-back wins over the Maple Leafs and Lightning.
30		4-11-6	1	Although they were able to pull out a win over the Capitals the Leafs still had a rough week losing to the Senators and Hurricanes.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 9.

The seventh week of NHL Fantasy 3 Stars is brought to you by the color red as you’ll see it on 3 out of the 4 players’ jerseys. Don’t fret though as we do show some love for other colors of the rainbow this week with our 3rd star sniper…who happens to be from Russia.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings. Last week Kronwall had 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points with 3 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus-5 plus/minus rating and 8 shots on goal. Niklas has really become a solid fantasy defenceman the past few years as he gets you penalty minutes, has started to put up the points, will also get you some power play points and a good plus/minus rating playing for the juggernaut Red Wings.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 7.

3rd Star – Ilya Kovalchuk (LW), Atlanta Thrashers

Wasn’t too sure how Ilya Kovalchuk would play coming back from his injury but he showed last week that it isn’t a problem. Kovalchuk potted 3 goals while adding 5 assists for 8 points with 4 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had zero penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-4 and 12 shots on goal. Ilya will be an interesting player to watch this season as he’s scheduled to become a UFA this summer.

2nd Star – Miikka Kiprusoff (G), Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames have been hot recently and a big part of that is because of the play of goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. Last week Kiprusoff collected two wins while posting a 0.97 GAA, .969 SAV%, 95 saves and one shutout. Miikka, just like his countrymen counter part Evgeni Nabokov, is a workhorse playing for a good team and is a top 5, maybe top 3, fantasy goaltender.

1st Star – Henrik Zetterberg (C/LW), Detroit Red Wings

Henrik Zetterberg is a top fantasy player who struggled out of the gate this season but after a great week last week has Zetterberg owners hopeful that his struggles are over. Henrik scored 4 goals while adding 5 helpers for 9 points with 3 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-5 to go with 12 shots on goal, 24 faceoffs won and two game winning goals. Although he usually saves his best for the playoffs Zetterberg is still a great player to have for your fantasy team as he’s a great talented player who plays in all key situations for the mighty Red Wings.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 8.

In Week 7′s edition of the 2009 NHL Power Rankings we don’t have as much movement as last week but there were some big jumps, both positive and negative, and have the Sharks in a very familiar place. (Hint: they dominated it last season)

The biggest loser in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the New York Rangers falling 6 spots to land at #12. The Rangers started off the season strong but have fallen on hard times due to their defensive play, or lack there of.

The biggest gainer in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Atlanta Thrashers all moving up 4 spots to end up at #5, #6 and #17. After a sluggish start considering they made it to game 7 in the Eastern Semi-Finals the Capitals are playing better thanks to the improved play of Jose Theodore and the Devils are establishing themselves as one of the top teams in the East yet again. Ilya Kovalchuk‘s return has seemed to spark the Thrashers as they’ve now won 4 games in a row.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for week 7.

Rank	Team	Record	PRV	Comment
1		14-4-4	2	Rookie defenceman Jason Demers scored his first career NHL goal in the Sharks 4-3 OT loss to the Blackhawks Sunday night.
2		14-7-0	-	Injuries just keep piling up with young defenceman Alex Goligoski now gone for 2-3 weeks with a “lower body” injury.
3		12-4-2	2	Great start to the month of November for the Flames as they’ve gone 5-0-1 collecting 11 out of a possible 12 points.
4		12-5-3	3	Have started to struggle losing their last 3 games in a row.
5		12-4-4	4	Saw their 4 game winning streak come to an end with a 5-2 loss to the Devils. However the good news is it looks like Alexander Ovechkin will return to the lineup this week.
6		14-5-0	4	Have won all 6 of their games so far in the month of November.
7		11-5-1	-	Goaltender Ray Emery has had a solid start to the season with a 2.22 GAA, .923 SAV% and 11 wins in 16 games.
8		11-6-2	4	Were blown out in an embarrassing 9-1 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday night.
9		12-5-2	2	Have now won 4 games in a row but face the dreaded Western Canadian road trip to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver this week.
10		12-4-1	2	Are riding a 3 game winning streak heading into this week were they face the Panthers, Bruins and Senators.
11		13-7-2	3	So-so start to the month of November going 3-3 in their first 6 games.
12		11-8-1	6	Have lost 3 of their last 5 games and face a tough machup against the Capitals on Tuesday night.
13		10-5-3	1	Have finally started to get things going, mostly thanks to Henrik Zetterberg who piled up 9 points last week.
14		11-8-0	1	After a good October the ‘Yotes haven’t enjoyed the same success in November winning just 2 games so far.
15		7-4-6	-	Super sophomore Steven Stamkos is enjoying his second season in the league after a disappointing rookie season as he now has 21 points in 18 games.
16		11-10-0	1	Henrik Sedin seems to be playing just fine without his twin brother Daniel as Henrik now has 23 points in 21 games.
17		10-6-1	4	After slipping a little bit the Thrashers are getting hot again mostly thanks to the play of their most talented player Ilya Kovalchuk who had 8 points last week.
18		8-6-3	-	Will need to get some better goaltending from Pascal Leclaire if they want to have some success against the Leafs, Penguins and Sabres this week.
19		8-10-3	3	Been struggling lately winning just one of their last 6 games.
20		8-5-6	-	Are looking for their offence to come back to life as they have yet to score 4 or more goals so far in the month of November.
21		8-8-4	2	Saw their mini two game winning streak come to an end with a 1-0 shootout loss to the Panthers on Thursday.
22		9-8-1	1	Won two of their three games last week with Steve Sullivan scoring both goals in their 2-0 win over the Canadiens on Saturday.
23		8-6-7	2	Have been playing a lot better recently, mostly due to the solid play of Dwayne Roloson and John Tavares.
24		9-11-0	-	Different month, same result for the Habs as they continue to struggle with just two wins so far in the month of November.
25		7-9-2	2	Have been playing better as of late with back-to-back shootout wins over the Bruins and Islanders.
26		6-8-4	-	Picked up a nice 6-1 win over the Canucks and played well despite their two losses to the Predators and Sharks.
27		6-10-3	5	Find themselves on a three game losing streak after losses to the Devils, Blue Jackets and Red Wings.
28		7-11-2	1	Saw their mini two game winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning.
29		3-10-5	1	Lost all three of their games to the Wild, Blackhawks and Flames.
30		3-12-4	-	Finally saw their 14 game losing streak come to an end with a 5-4 shootout win over the Wild.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 8.