ATLANTA -- When first asked whether he thought about putting a new version of the Russian Five together at Sunday's game, Eastern Conference coach John Paddock's initial response was nyet.

Actually, Paddock never got to elaborate on his thought process during the coaches roundtable. But when a member of the Russian media followed up with the same question during a media scrum, the Senators coach seemed to be changing his stance on the possible combination.

Paddock explained that he hadn't thought about putting a forward line of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk together because both Ovechkin and Kovalchuk were left wings with right-handed shots. The journalist informed Paddock, however, Ovechkin said he was excited about the prospect of playing with his fellow countryman and willing to play right wing if thats what it took.

Andrei Markov and Sergei Gonchar would fill out the five on defense.

"I never thought of it before. I probably should have," Paddock said. "I thought of how I'd play the lines. I don't think I'd play them as a regular group, but I think since it has been brought up, sometime during the game, or at the start of a period, it would be entertaining and further the players' enjoyment. It's certainly something we'd consider now."

Paddock also hinted at possible line combinations including: Kovalchuk-Savard-Hossa, Ovechkin-Spezza-St. Louis, as well as seeing if Mike Richards and Eric Staal can play wing. Scott Gomez and Vincent Lecavalier would probably remain at center.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- I'm not a morning person, so please bear with my disjointed thought process here... I'm just spouting some thoughts as I wait for my flight and try to wake up.

* Last week, Jak-o posted on our Faceoff question thread asking why the NHL doesn't cash in on other young talent besides Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. It is an excellent question, and hopefully one that we should get an answer to this weekend.

I suppose you'd have to ask the NHL's marketing department why they seem to be putting all their eggs in one basket, but my only thought is that they're still living off a Wayne Gretzky (or maybe even Gretzky-Mario Lemieux) mentality. If you had no clue was a puck was during the Gretzky era, chances are his name wasn't a foreign one. And maybe if you were a casual fan, you had some idea that Gretzky and Lemieux had a rivalry comparable to say, Magic and Bird.

The problem with this thinking is that it just doesn't work anymore. Yes, every other league has at least one major superstar. But they've also got plenty of others that would at least spark a debate of "Is superstar A better than superstar B?" If Gary Bettman, a former protoge of NBA commish David Stern, has learned anything from his former employer, it's that when you lose your record-breaking, commercially appealing, everyone-in-the-world-knows-him superstar (a la Michael Jordan), it is OK to branch out.

But getting back to the weekend... The NHL got its ultimate dream game with the Outdoor Classic. They couldn't have scripted it any better between the crowd, the snow, and of course, Sidney Crosby scoring the decisive goal in a shootout. This week is the perfect opportunity to show the world (or the United States) at the very least, the NHL isn't just Sid's league. It's Alex Ovechkin's, Ilya Kovalchuk's, Vincent Lecavalier's, Jarome Iginla's, Joe Thornton's league, too. (There are many others I could add to this list, but you're better of just looking at the All-Star Game rosters.)

I think the league could be moving in the right direction though, just based on the changes to the SuperSkills competition. The new Obstacle Course Relay seems like fun, but it (hopefully) will be the Breakaway Challenge that gets plastered all over highlights packages. It won't be enough to make the NHL the top sport in the United States, but it might be yet another thing that gets people talking at the watercooler on Monday. That is what the league needs more than anything, and they're going to have faith in their "other" Stars to produce that result.

* I think Pascal Leclaire wrote an open letter to the league last night. I think it goes something like, "Dear NHL... So, my seven shutouts weren't worthy enough for a ticket to Atlanta? Here, let me tack another one onto my resume to embarrass you for snubbing me."

Granted, Leclaire is probably just as happy to be spending the next couple of days resting. And the Blue Jackets are probably happy about that, too. Still, you wonder what a guy has to do to get recognized for a stellar season. Maybe not Vezina worthy, but one that was really unexpected and impressive considering the stiff competition he faces in the Central Division.

* Speaking of goaltenders, how great is the story of Tim Thomas? He ends up as Boston's starter last season because their depth in net was in shambles. He gets relegated to the bench again with the acquisition of Manny Fernandez, but ends up regaining the No. 1 job when Fernandez gets hurt. And after putting up very respectable numbers, he earns an All-Star berth.

* Is anyone else drooling over the possibility of seeing Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk on a line?

* As I mentioned in the last post: please feel free to send questions/comments/feedback... if you've got a question for a player (within reason), I'll do my best to get an answer. We'll be talking to coaches and YoungStars this afternoon.

* Weather in South Florida: Sunny, 65 degrees. Weather in Atlanta: Partly Cloudy, 21 degrees. Brrrrr.