Ovechkin said. But this is probably one of the special days. And as soon as y

The New England Patriots have a history of falsifying injury reports. This according to former linebacker Brandon Spikes and cornerback Aqib Talib. In an interview with WGR Buffalo, Spikes, recently signed by the Bills, alleges that he was placed on injured reserve last season and didnt know why. "I heard they put me on IR and stuff like that," Spikes said. "That was just a false report. Thats just how things go there. Almost like what happened with Talib and his hip." After signing with the Denver Broncos, Talib claimed that he never had any sort of hip injury as was reported multiple times by the team last season. "The Patriots have their way of reporting stuff, but I havent had a hip problem since Tampa," Talib said last week. "The injury I had was actually a quad injury. It was reported as a hip injury, but thats how they do things." When Spikes ended the season last year on IR, the Patriots stated that it was a mutual decision between the player and the team, but Spikess agent denies this was the case. "The teams decision to place Brandon on injured reserve was not a mutual decision, nor need it be," said Gary Uberstine in a statement. "Brandon had every intention to keep playing throughout the playoffs, despite the pain he was experiencing throughout the season." The NFL expects teams to report their injuries accurately. It is unknown as of yet whether or not the league intends to investigate these allegations. Nikita Kucherov Jersey .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament. Ryan Callahan Jersey .com) - Joe Pavelski scored twice to lead the San Jose Sharks in a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers to split a home-and-home set. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Vincent-Lecavalier-Jersey/ . With the team he supported as a child on the verge of reaching the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 19 years, Ba instead scored the goal that knocked them out. Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey . The team let Keaton Ellerby, James Wright and Matt Halischuk become unrestricted free agents after declining to make them qualifying offers. Ellerby, 25, appeared in 51 games for the Jets last season and had two goals and four assists. Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad.WASHINGTON - Alex Ovechkin remembered what Troy Brouwer said earlier this season about the Winter Classic and took it to heart.Brouwer said, Its a good time to show up and make a show, Ovechkin recalled.Brouwer scored the game-winning goal as the Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday at Nationals Park. But that wouldnt have been possible were it not for Ovechkin playing some of his best hockey and scoring earlier in the afternoon.Ovechkin skated like a man possessed and was one of the best players on the ice. Thats no surprise given the eyes watching from the stands and across North America with the superstar on centre stage.Alex, the bigger the stage, the bigger Alex is. Alex, hes a rock star, coach Barry Trotz said. Alex has this ability, as the great stars do, that you want to keep your eyes on him. Even if hes not doing anything good, bad, or indifferent, you want to watch him. And thats what star power does. You want to watch those guys out there.Ovechkin made the most of the brightest the spotlight can really get during an NHL regular season. The 29-year-old had five shot attempts in the first period and ended with 13, flying around the ice with a purpose.After banging home the rebound of a point shot from Mike Green, Ovechkin jumped into the glass as part of his signature celebration and ignited a crowd of 42,832 that fillled the ballpark.ddddddddddddI always have fun, Ovechkin said. But this is probably one of the special days. And as soon as you see a puck go in, its a great feeling because you want to get success and you want to win.Ovechkin drives the Capitals success as the face of the franchise and has been the leader of the core of Green, Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Laich for the past decade. Playoff success has eluded this group, but absent a couple of tough series, the 2004 No. 1 pick has performed and is a point-a-game scorer in the post-season.Itll be a few months until Ovechkin and his teammates get another chance to get past the second round. For now, they know they just need to keep winning games.The Winter Classic is just one of 82 regular-season games, but Ovechkin was instrumental in the Capitals winning for the ninth time in the past 13 games.Theres a lot of players in this league who want the big stage, but when theyre put in the spotlight, theyre not as big, Trotz said. I think that the great players of their generation, and Alex is one, is that, when the stage is very big, you know what youre going to get and youre going to get a good performance, a great performance.Asked about stepping up in big moments, Ovechkin said: I just like when I play against great teams and especially if its a great atmosphere.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '