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Blue Jackets agitator Derek Dorsett practices his art at a high level, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The right shove or jersey tug, the witty insult, the thunderous body check — Dorsett knows the places and time when each is most effective.

So it was curious that Dorsett seemed especially preoccupied with Capitals star Alex Ovechkin during a 4-2 loss on Saturday, considering that Ovechkin wasn’t much of a factor during the first two periods.

Why provoke him? Why poke the hibernating bear?

“I haven’t told many people this, but he spit in my face,” Dorsett said. “That got me a little more mad.”

Dorsett said Ovechkin spit on him when they were face-to-face during a fracas in which both were given two-minute minors (cross-checking for Dorsett, roughing for Ovechkin) at 2:38 of the second period.

“That’s why I was yelling at the ref so much and yelling at him in the penalty box,” Dorsett said. “That’s probably one of the most disrespectful things someone can do, especially a guy who is the best player in the league. It’s classless. He’s supposed to be a role model for the game. It’s unbelievable.”

Ovechkin broke through in the third period, scoring scored twice. Dorsett said he might have left Ovechkin alone had he not been so angry.

“That fueled it more,” Dorsett said. “Sometimes you want to let players like that sleep. You want to play them hard but you don’t want to wake them up. But when something like that happens. … I don’t know if he meant to do it, but the bottom line is he did it and it’s disgusting.”

The Vancouver Province illustrates how Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault dipped into ancient history to present his case of why more ice time for Cody Hodgson is a non-starter.

Increasingly, Vigneault has been more prepared to deal with the ongoing questions about the rookie's ice time and on Tuesday, he compared Hodgson to two individuals who didn't play much when they entered the NHL.

"When (Henrik Sedin) started here with the Canucks, he was a little bit more than 12 minutes a game in his rookie season and he was behind Andrew Cassels and Brendan Morrison," Vigneault said. "You have to think Henrik and Ryan Kesler, not to take anything away from Andrew Cassels and Brendan Morrison, are two better players.

"When Ryan Kesler started his rookie year, I think he was getting ten minutes a game. Cody is getting the amount of ice time on a good team that helps us to be a good team."

Hodgson is averaging 12:33 a game this season, but 11:30 in the past month, a 16-game stretch during which he has 11 points. Vigneault suggested that, as long as Henrik and Kesler are healthy, there won't be any increases in his ice time even with improved play.

The coach rebuked a suggestion playing Hodgson more in the second half of the season could relieve some of the pressure off Kesler, who has had two major hip surgeries in four years and plays a tenacious, physically demanding style for a team that travels as much as any in the league.

"Ryan plays an average of 20 minutes a game, how is that more than any of the other top players? I'm going to start taking minutes away from Ryan Kesler?" Vigneault asked rhetorically. "It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

"When some people in the past have been saying, I'm not playing the twins enough. Those are elite players. You complain when I don't play the twins enough. The twins don't get the 20, 21 minutes a game because they don't kill penalties. But they get the best offensive minutes we have available on this team.

"We have two great centremen right there, I'm going to use them."

The Montreal Gazette believes that with the NHL facing some deadlines of its own as it plans for a major realignment and the 20120-13 schedule, it’s time for the potential buyers of the Phoenix Coyotes who want to keep the team in Glendale to put up or shut up. And if there isn’t an imminent deal in the works, it’s time to look at moving the franchise to Quebec City as early as next season.

While Quebec City isn’t the only possible destination for the Coyotes, it’s the one that makes the most sense for the league. The other 29 owners will be able to recoup their losses in Phoenix by charging Pierre-Karl Peladeau a hefty transfer fee.

And the league will replace a franchise that ranks last in attendance with an average of 11,423 fans (many of them taking advantage of discount pricing) with guaranteed sellouts of 15,176 at Le Colisée Pepsi while awaiting the completion of a new arena.

The importance of Canadian franchises for the overall health of the league can be found in a confidential report, details of which appeared last week in the Toronto Star. The document showed the six Canadian NHL clubs accounted for about 33 per cent of the $1.2 billion (U.S.) in league ticket revenue in the 2009-10 season.

That’s up from 31per cent in 2007-08 and the percentage will climb again this season with the relocation of the struggling Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, which is already sold out for the entire season. The report suggests that operating a club in Canada “is much more lucrative for the NHL.”

Five of the top six clubs in terms of ticket revenue are based in Canada, with the New York Rangers being the lone team from the U.S. in that group. The Edmonton Oilers are seventh.

"I'm just one of those guys that if we're losing, I'm going to make changes," Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau told The Orange County Register following a recent break-up of longtime linemates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, although they were back together with Bobby Ryan at practice Tuesday. "Obviously what's happening is not working. Once I asked Scotty Bowman about that and he said the more times you change lines, the less chance the other teams have of matching lines.

"He said he used to change lines 25-50 times a game depending on the game. I've sort of followed that rule. So everybody ends up getting used to playing with each other so it's not a shock when they do play with each other."

The Philadelphia Inquirer says that though there are conflicting reports on what part of Jaromir Jagr's body is injured, this much is certain: The veteran winger's absence will hurt the Flyers' struggling offense and weaken their power play.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced Tuesday that Jagr would miss seven to 10 days because of a mild groin strain. Holmgren declined a request to speak with reporters and instead issued a statement about Jagr's condition.

After Monday's 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic, Jagr said he had aggravated a calf injury.

In any event, another player who has been slowed by injuries this season, James van Riemsdyk, figures to get a chance to shine on the top line, with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell.

Van Riemsdyk, who has nine goals in 32 games, replaced Jagr on the top line for much of Monday's game at Citizens Bank Park. He started the game on the fourth line.

"Obviously, you work hard and wait for breaks like that. I think I have good chemistry with [Giroux], and [Hartnell] is obviously a great player, too," van Riemsdyk said after the Flyers' optional practice in Voorhees on Tuesday. "It's definitely something that can help [me]. . . . You don't even have to think when you're playing with these guys. I just get open, and [Giroux] is unbelievable at finding guys."

"I thought he showed some jump up there," coach Peter Laviolette said, referring to van Riemsdyk. "He was more noticeable in his game."

Jagr, 39, who is third on the Flyers with 31 points, is expected to miss three to five games. He missed four games earlier this season with a groin injury.

The result wasn't what brothers Jamie and Jordie Benn wanted, but ESPN Dallas says the siblings played well in a 5-4 loss to the Red Wings.

It was Jordie Benn's NHL debut and in honor of that, Jamie Benn flew his parents down from British Columbia to see their kids play on the ice at the same time. They became the sixth pair of brothers to play together in Stars history and the first since Derian and Kevin Hatcher in the mid 1990s.

And late in the first period, both Benns earned assists on Loui Eriksson's goal.

"I'm sure we hooked up once or twice in juniors," Jamie Benn said. "I was pretty excited for this game. It was pretty special for both of us and pretty cool to play together."

Jamie Benn appeared to have some jump in his step with his brother making his debut. Jamie, who 22 and two years younger than his brother, had 20:08 of ice time and had one goal and two assists. He created chances and was all over the net. The Stars double-shifted him late in the third as they attempted to tie the score.

"Yeah, I thought it was a real good game," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "I made a conscious effort there to get 21 minutes tonight. He was going and we need to find more ice for him. In fact, we should have had a little more ice for Loui [Eriksson] and [Michael Ryder] tonight too."

Jordie Benn played 16:31 and impressed Stars coach Glen Gulutzan and his staff enough that when the team had the extra skater on the ice in the final minute, Jordie was on the ice.

"I thought he was real good, thought he was real clean," Gulutzan said.

Jordie Benn admitted that he looked at the schedule when he was told he'd be called up and saw it was Detroit.

"Obviously, they have some unbelievable hockey players, but my brother said it’s just another hockey game, don’t think about and just go out and play," Jordie Benn said. "That was a blast, a dream come true. Obviously, you want to win, but I got to play in the NHL with my brother, so that was awesome."

The Buffalo News indicates that Ville Leino was a surprise participant in the Buffalo Sabres' morning skate Tuesday and had some even more surprising news afterward when he said he might try to return this weekend from the broken foot that has sidelined him for nine games.

Leino started skating on his own Sunday and joined the team in a non-contact role Tuesday. He looked good moving around and did another half-hour of skating drills with assistant coaches after the rest of the team left the ice.

"It's his first time out, and he skated a couple times on his own," coach Lindy Ruff said prior to the game against the Edmonton Oilers. "In his case, he should be able to progress pretty fast."

"It was a lot of fun," said Leino, who was struck by a shot in the Dec. 13 game against Ottawa. "It's been a while and it's exciting to be back on the ice. Actually, I'm in a little better shape than I thought I was. They made me work to be tired and I most definitely am but it's fun."

Leino said the timetable for his injury is four weeks but that he thinks he could play Saturday night here against Winnipeg. He almost certainly expects to play next week during a home-and-home series against Toronto.

Leino had been playing his best hockey of the season centering Zack Kassian and Luke Adam when he was hurt. Leino had a goal and four assists in the seven games prior to the injury. He has three goals and seven assists for the season.

"I was starting to feel comfortable and feeling good," Leino said. "Even during the break, I've been comfortable and really excited to get back out there. And to get with the team in the morning skate felt good, so I should have a lot of energy and excitement when I get back."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune says it took a while, both agree, for Mike Yeo and Marek Zidlicky to arrive at the same point.

Yeo, the Wild's coach, is aware of the offensive skill Zidlicky, a defenseman, can bring. He knows the goals Zidlicky has scored in the past, the power plays he has run from the point, the success Zidlicky had when joining the offensive play.

But it was the timing. Zidlicky said it took him a while to learn to read Yeo's signals, to know when it was OK to jump into the play.

"Yes, yes," Zidlicky said, nodding his head. "He brought much of a new staff. So I think it took some time..."

Finally, though, it appears the time and timing is right.

Zidlicky said he's starting to play to his potential. Yeo said he thinks the veteran defenseman is playing his best hockey of the season. Yeo pointed to a two-game stretch that included the Wild's shootout loss in Nashville followed by a 4-3 victory over Edmonton as proof.

"Arguably the best games he's played for us this season," Yeo said. "You could see clearly he was engaged physically.''

Yeo said he thought Zidlicky's game was on the rise before he sustained a concussion in Columbus on Nov. 15, an injury that cost him 13 games. And it took some time for Zidlicky to get back to that level once he returned in mid-December.

But it looks as if he's getting there.

"He's been very assertive, jumping up in the play, carrying pucks," Yeo said. "He's been supporting the attack, shooting. Doing the things we definitely could use from him going forward."

Chris: "Hello Chris! A few weeks back I asked who I should pick up to replace Kari Lehtonen. Now that he's back and I picked up Brian Elliot, which helped me a lot (thank you for that), who should I drop, I have Rinne and Fleury as well. Or should I keep then all and keep Lehtonen on IR for a while until he's back to his previous form?

As usual, Thanks for the help!"

Chris: Despite fewer starts than someone like Lehtonen since Elliott and Halak are sharing a workload, Elliott is still the top dog for GAA in the NHL right now. Tough to drop him.

MAF is playing well and the Pens are deadly. Can't drop him. Rinne's numbers are not as good as Lehtonen's, but I still like the Preds' D depending on Weber's long-term status.

I'd be more inclined to just keep Lehtonen on the IR for now, if you can. That might give you time to potentially work on a trade of some sort.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.