Ryan Miller, the 2010 Olympic tournament MVP, will return, but will he be the No. 1? (Luis Acosta/AFP/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The opening of the Sochi Games is just a year away, and while there’s still no formal agreement that NHL players will skate in the men’s hockey tournament, all signs point in that direction and league officials are to meet with the IIHF on Feb. 14 and 15 to discuss the matter.

SARAH KWAK: Ovechkin, Russia thirsting for redemption

Coming off a surprising silver medal performance in 2010, Team USA will ice a competitive squad that is stacked in net, young and mobile on the blueline and aggressive, if not particularly deep, up front.

Here’s how we see Team USA lining up in Russia.

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By Allan Muir

“Well, the referee thought he saw something that we’re not seeing there.” — Detroit Red Wings’ broadcaster Mickey Redmond

That tells you all you need to know about the phantom match penalty assessed to St. Louis’ captain David Backes in Friday night’s loss to Detroit. When the other team’s announcers can’t find a way to defend it, you know you’re looking at a bad call.

Backes was tossed after receiving the match for head contact at 9:38 of the third with the score tied at three. Pavel Datsyuk scored on the ensuing power play, and the Wings went on to win 5-3.

So it wasn’t just a bad call. It was a game-changer. No wonder Blues’ fans are incensed.

No one is saying the officials don’t deserve the occasional mulligan. The speed of the game, the gurgling mass of chaos and the need to keep an eye on 12 players spread out over a 200-by-85 sheet of ice means there are going to be the occasional blown calls.

But this wasn’t a bang-bang, depends-on-the-angle, 50/50 play. This was a referee reacting to a result — defender Kent Huskins struggling to the bench — and making a snap judgment on the violation that must have proceeded it.

Too bad he missed it. Nasty and violent, sure, but Backes’ shoulder to Huskins’ chest was as clean a hit as you’ll see.

Look for the match penalty to be rescinded by the league at some point today.

Henrik Zetterberg scored three goals and his second assist of the game set up Pavel Datsyuk’s tiebreaking goal.

By Allan Muir

A guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• Philadelphia coach Peter Laviolette said forward Wayne Simmonds was “suffering from a touch of whiplash” after a vicious elbow to the head from Capitals’ defender John Erskine. They’re expecting a suspension in Washington.

• In St,. Louis, they blamed it on a phantom penalty on David Backes. In Detroit, it was all about Henrik Zetterberg’s five-point night. Either, the Blues still can’t buy a win at the JLA.

• With a pair of five-point efforts just six games into the season, it’s fair to say Buffalo Sabres’ forward Thomas Vanek is pretty good at hockey.

• Just because Roberto Luongo is playing his best hockey in years doesn’t mean there’s a goaltending controversy in Vancouver.

• Winger Brandon Saad had “a special game” but he couldn’t stop the Chicago Blackhawks from dropping another game in the shootout. Read More…