from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- The greatest moment in American hockey history, the Miracle On Ice, came in 1980 in Lake Placid.

The lasting power of hockey at the Olympic Games, on display.

The greatest moments in Canadian hockey history were the goals by Paul Henderson in 1972 and Sidney Crosby in 2010, both coming in international hockey competitions that grabbed the country and took us on an incredible ride. One goal winning a geopolitical sporting series against the Soviet Union; The other winning a gold medal in overtime on Olympic home ice.

The power of international hockey; the power of hockey at the Olympics everlasting.

The greatest moment in Swedish hockey came in Italy in 2006, with a team that included many of the best Swedes to ever play: Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin. The Sedin brothers. Nick Lidstrom on defence. Henrik Zetterberg and Daniel Alfredsson up front. Henrik Lundqvist in goal. That gold medal celebration started almost 16 years ago. It hasn’t completely ended yet.

This is what we lose when the best are removed from the Olympic Games....

- Since being traded for each other, Patrik Laine has scored 13 goals for the Columbus Blue Jackets and nobody compares him much to Matthews anymore. Pierre-Luc Dubois has played more games and has scored 22 goals for the Winnipeg Jets and 14 more points than Laine, and scoring isn’t what he’s known for.

- The questions are there in every NHL city, with every team and so much time away, so much unknown. A four-month race to the Stanley Cup playoffs with still so much to determine.

more on the first topic plus other hockey notes...