With the second half of the regular season under way here then is a preview of which teams will be separating themselves from the rest of the pack:

1. Detroit: Having already set a franchise record for points in the first half of the season the Red Wings are strong Stanley Cup contenders.
2. Pittsburgh: Crosby and Conklin continue to work wonders with their team.
3. Calgary: Iginla continues to show why he should win this years MVP.
4. San Jose: Boring to watch, but tough to beat.
5. Philadelphia: Are the Broad Street Bullies back?
6. Ottawa: On par with last season’s run.
7. New Jersey: Contenders but they need to pick up their pace.
8. Vancouver: Luongo continues to inspire this team towards the finish line.
9. Montreal: No regulation losses since Christmas.
10. Nashville: Strong play against teams in the superior Western Conference.

The early buzz for the Hart Trophy is on Sidney Crosby and Roberto Luongo, with Nicklas Lidstrom thrown in for good measure. But there’s a guy out there named Vinny Lecavalier who just can’t seem to get his due.

In 2006-07, Lecavalier led the Tampa Bay Lightning and the league with 52 goals. But Crosby won the Hart after winning the Art Ross Trophy with 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists). Alan Ryder’s Player Contribution rankings had Lecavalier first at 135, while Crosby was in sixth place at 123.

Lecavalier is having yet another brilliant season in Tampa. At press time, he was two points ahead of Crosby for first place in scoring at 63 – that’s after just 45 games. But the Lightning are buried on the back pages and desperate for some goaltending. Crosby is getting the star treatment; he should eventually eclipse Lecavalier on the ice, but for now, don’t believe the hype.

Vancouver Canucks No. 1 goalie Roberto Luongo announced Wednesday that he has opted out of the NHL All-Star Game scheduled to take place on Jan. 27th (in Atlanta, Georgia) so that he could spend some “quality time” with his wife, who is expecting the couple’s first baby.

“I struggled with this decision but I think family right now is more important to me and this is a good opportunity for me to spend some time with my wife and the baby,” Luongo said.

The All-Star starting lineup is chosen by the fans and Luongo picked up 263,221 votes, the most of any NHL netminder, to make him a starter. Missing out on the All-Star Game will prevent the popular goaltender from incurring any possible injury, but more important than that is the opportunity to see his pregnant wife after being months apart.

“It’s a good chance for me to spend some quality time with her, something I haven’t done all year,” Luongo said. “It hasn’t been an easy situation to be apart like that and that’s why I came to this decision.”

Luongo will also miss out on the Canucks’ first game back after the All-Star break, but coach Alain Vigneault isn’t worried.

“He’s going to go home. That’s his number one priority - and it should be,” Vigneault said.

If you were to ask the Calgary Flames they’d probably tell you that road trips are a blast — especially if you’re winning! Wrapping up their most recent road trip the Flames have tied an NHL record by 6-0 on the road…and along the way they’ve picked up some much-needed points in a very tight Northwest Division battle for the playoffs. But most teams don’t like long road trips — particularly around this time of year (the holidays) and/or when a nasty flu bug rips through the entire roster like a hurricane. Just ask the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks’ eight-games-in-eight-cities travelling road show ended in Edmonton with a shootout loss to the Oilers on Dec. 15th.

“That was one of the toughest stretches I’ve ever been associated with,” said coach Alain Vigneault. “The tank is empty.”

Now that the team is back at home and their starting goalie is back in net (that would be Roberto Luongo), the Canucks are riding a two-game win streak. Let’s hope that doesn’t snap tonight when they make one last flight over to Phoenix to play the Coyotes before the Christmas break.

The Canucks are 20/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup.

The Ottawa Senators have gone on a six-game slide, dropping over 10 units on the moneyline. They still have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-7-2. But we can’t in good conscience include them in our Top 5 NHL Power Rankings.

1. Detroit Red Wings: Three wins in a row, and Chris Osgood (.924 save percentage) has taken his job back from Dominik Hasek after all these years.

2. New York Rangers: Gaining ground on the Sens at 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Aggressive offseason (Scott Gomez, Chris Drury) is paying off.

3. Dallas Stars: Something strange is happening: Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro are working well together.

4. Vancouver Canucks: Three straight shutouts by Roberto Luongo as the Canucks round back into form.

5. St. Louis Blues: Seriously. Manny Legace and Hannu Toivonen have both excelled in goal, and Paul Kariya is still the man. The Blues are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games.