Walking wounded

OK .. I haven't slept yet, I need to do laundry and hit the gym one more time (because the elliptical and the iPod are mah friends) before flying to Denver for three days on Monday.

Quickly -- the last thing the NHL needed, I'm sure, was an All-Star weekend without one superstar and another in waiting.

Reigning Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a high ankle sprain Friday night in a 3-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unlike a traditional sprained ankle, this affects the ligaments that connect the bones in the lower leg. It also can take a month or more to heal -- Maxime Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury can attest to that.

Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks got off to a quick start with 15 goals and 17 assists. But the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft has been sidelined since Jan. 2 with a sprained knee, and is still probably about two weeks away from returning.

Toews was selected to play in the YoungStars Game to showcase the league's star first-year players. Teammate Patrick Kane, the favorite to win the Calder Trophy, will be playing.

One more thing -- the Food Network on Sunday mornings is almost as good as porn: Nigella Lawson. Giada de Laurentiis. Rachel Ray. Yum.

Now then ...

THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT, JAN. 19

1. Johan Holmqvist, Tampa Bay Lightning: Holmqvist made 25 saves en route to his second straight shutout, leading the Lighting to a 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. Holmqvist hasn't given up a goal in more than 121 minutes.

2. Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers: Hartnell certainly loves playing in New York -- he recorded his second hat trick this month there in the Flyers' 5-3 win over the Islanders. On Jan. 10, Hartnell scored three goals in a win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

3. Scott Nichol, Nashville Predators: Nichol scored two short-handed goals as the Predators tallied three times in the second period of a 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Of Nichol's 34 career goals since 2001-02, six have been short-handed.