By Allan Muir

If there’s one thing Hallmark’s on top of, its birthdays. So no surprise then that the Hallmark Channel is ahead of the curve when it comes to honoring Gordie Howe, who celebrates his 85th birthday on Sunday.

The U.S. cable net traveled to rinks around the NHL to gather best wishes for Mr. Hockey from current stars like Teemu Selanne, Dion Phaneuf, Dustin Brown and Nail Yakupov, among others.

Of course Hallmark has a vested interest in this. It’s promoting the U.S. premiere of “Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story,” on May 4. The bio-pic, which stars Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1) and the great Kathleen Robertson (Beverly Hills, 90210) focuses on Gordie’s return to action at age 45 to play with his sons Mark and Marty in the World Hockey Association. And, being the Hallmark Channel, there’s probably a love story angle as well.

Should be worth a watch. In the meantime, check out the video and see which players were smart enough to refer to him as Mr. Howe.

Evander Kane of the Jets has been a lightning rod for controversy this season. (Jonathan Kozub/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

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

• So apparently Evander Kane was talking about social media, not Winnipeg when he threw down the racism card. I’m thinking he’s probably not through with having to explain himself.

• Don Cherry on Kane: “When you act like he acts… if his name was O’Shaugnessy, he’d still get criticized. To say it’s racial is ridiculous.”

• Better news out of Winnipeg: Zach Bogosian could make his season debut tonight for the Jets.

• Here’s the story on Philly prospect Nick Cousins that started it all. And here’s part of the backlash. I don’t think every story about Cousins needs to mention in the lede that he’s been accused of rape, but Frank Seravalli clearly missed a more interesting column on the pervasiveness of attitudes like Ian Laperriere’s.

• David Clarkson continues to prove the doubters wrong in New Jersey. One week after my Team Canada roster prediction post, I’m ready to make a change. At this pace, Clarkson is definitely in the mix. He might be the NHL’s best ugly-goal scorer.

• Jonathan Quick could use a strong game against Columbus to rebound from last weekend’s devastating loss to Detroit. Watching him play, you have to wonder if he’s 100 percent after off-season back surgery.

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Still defying time, Ducks winger Teemu Selanne is gunning for a rare win in Chicago. (Warren Wimmer/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

7:30 CST, CSN Chicago, Prime

The Set-up

The league-leading Blackhawks kick off a season-long seven-game homestand after tearing through a 4-0-2 road swing. The red-hot Ducks play the fourth leg of their six-game roadie having won five of their last six.

Keys to the game

Blackhawks: This stacks up to be the toughest test of the season for the Hawks, who not only face a hot team, but the challenge of getting up for the first game back after a long, successful road trip. It’s almost inevitable that they’ll struggle early after dealing with the distractions and pent-up demands of home life. (HACKEL: Road sharpened Hawks’ focus.)

Ducks: As a group, they have to provide better support in their own zone then they have during the past few games. Rookie goalie Viktor Fasth finally sagged under the pressure in their last outing. Tying up the middle and reducing second and third chances will be critical. They’ve proved their ability to come from behind. Might be nice to grab an early lead for a change.

The first period: Chicago tends to strike early and hold the lead. They’re outscoring opponents 16-8 in the first, while the Ducks have given up 17 and  scored just 11. This thing could be decided after 20 minutes.

Starting goalies: Corey Crawford (7-0-2, 1.62, .935) vs. Viktor Fasth (5-0-0, 1.72, .932)

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