Let it begin, again.

All-star weekend done. Let's get back to hockey.

Things that interest me right away.

First, the season has heated up. There are a lot of teams wanting to be in the playoffs and on the bubble. Every team has 70pts or so on the table. No one is going undefeated, of course. And really, the best team is going to grab 62% of that. So that could be 44pts to end the season.

Florida, Washington, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles are obvious choices to maximize the points - as they have already done so a lot this season. Any of these get those 44pts and they get the President's Trophy (most points in the league and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs).

St. Louis and Tampa Bay are poised to make a strong showing. Both of these teams had some early struggles. Injuries plagued both as well. And going into the break both have shown signs of strong recovery.

The Lightning put together a nice run, going 9-2-0 in January. This is how I expected them to play all season. They are deep on offense. They have 4 solid d-men. And they have two stalwarts in Steven Stamkos C and Victor Hedman D. Add to that a number of players that have shown the ability to step it up. So far it's been Nikita Kucherov RW, but there are many - Tyler Johnson C, Vladislav Namestnikov C, Alex Killorn C, Ryan Callahan RW, Ondrej Palat LW and even Valterri Filppula C. Add to this that management can trade Jonathan Drouin LW for additional depth on defense and this team could be the Capitals killer come playoff time.

St. Louis wasn't quite as hot in January, posting 5-3-4 record. However they ended strong and they will be getting Jaden Schwartz LW soon. He is a solid forward and will definitely help. They are stacked on defense with the rise of big 22 year old Colton Parayko D. And if they need more fire-power, they are willing to let Kevin Shattenkirk D go come trade deadline. Personally, I always feel like Ken Hitchcock teams play better than they are - so come playoff time, they are up against truly better teams and don't get far. That said, if they make the right trade and actually add to the team skill-level, I believe they could make a good run at the Stanley Cup.

San Jose, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Minnesota, Colorado and Nashville have all shown the ability to win in bunches and the ability to lose in bunches. To me these teams are still a piece away from really threatening for the Cup. But there are some good pieces out there to be had. Andrew Ladd LW from Winnipeg, Kevin Shattenkirk D from St. Louis are game-changers if moved to the right team.

Pittsburgh, Carolina, Philadelphia, and Anaheim. Anaheim and Pittsburgh are real threats. They can't be as bad in these final months as they were to start the season. Both have put together some wins to end January. And both have some top-tier talent to carry them. Nothing clicked early on and now both are poised to make a run.

Carolina and Philadelphia are the other side of that. They really could do as bad worse than they have done. Carolina has some great puck possession numbers and if they can finish a little more chances, they are a scary team. Philly is a wild-card. I've seen them truly control a game and I've seen them look almost hapless in both zones. And I haven't even watched a lot of their games. At least when Carolina loses, they still had chances. Philly, in losing, has looked Columbus-like.

Montreal. Poor Montreal. I have to say, I am anxiously awaiting Carey Price's return. This team looked so solid early and him leaving due to injury has been focused on. Personally, I think they were riding perfect play and perfect finishing of chances. And let's be honest, Max Pacioretty LW and Tomas Plekanec C are not as consistent as Jamie Benn LW and Tyler Seguin C - a team relying on them to get 40goals and 90pts is dreaming. They were on pace for that in those first 9 games or so. So my view is the Habs need more scoring forwards. I really don't see them making the playoffs from this point. But the goalie may be more able to change a team's fortunes than I believe. And for that, I await Price's return.

So much to look forward to. 24 teams playing tonight is a good way to jump back into things. Let's go!