Vancouver head coach Alain Vigneault has had a lot of distractions to deal with over what has been a strange week for his Canucks squad. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

1. Strange week continues for Canucks

Don’t the Vancouver Canucks realize that Sid the Kid-mania invades Vancouver on Saturday, when Sidney Crosby meets up with Henrik Sedin and the Canucks in a Hockey Night In Canada tilt? In the past week, the Canucks have been preoccupied first with laser-quest, then the Alex Burrows feud with referee Stephane Auger, and finally coach Alain Vigneault had to deal with the claim that he ordered Darcy Hordichuk to fight Minnesota’s Derek Boogaard on Wednesday.

To recap, big Boogaard told a Minnesota reporter that Hordichuk claimed his coach ordered him to fight the Wild tough guy midway through the third period. Not so, Vigneault pleaded.

“No, I never did say that, and at the end of the day, I probably believe Boogaard on this one,” Vigneault said. “It wouldn’t surprise me that Hordi told him: ‘Coach told me I’ve got to fight.’ It must have been a real intellectual conversation. How smart can you be to go after a guy like that?

“I had a conversation with him [Hordichuk]. He told me he didn’t remember what he said. I had a conversation with [NHL senior vice-president] Colin Campbell because I’m on speed-dial lately and just told Colin that I never said that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he said that.”

Vigneault also backed forward Alex Burrows's allegations that Auger told him he was going to get him for the player’s embellishment leading to a five-minute charging and game misconduct call in a Dec. 8 game that was later rescinded by the league.

“I believe Alex Burrows," Vigneault said. "There's no concrete proof that what he said is true. It's just circumstantial evidence.

"But when a referee goes to a player before a game and talks about an incident that happened a month before and says exactly the same thing Alex said — except for 'I'm going to get you back' — and the league says he didn't have a reaction when that was said to him? Well, Alex was stunned.”

2. Laraque ends drought with an emotional goal

Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque remarked that he’s had difficulty focusing on hockey since an earthquake devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday. Laraque was born in Montreal, but his parents are from Haiti and he has relatives who live there.

Laraque had not scored since his days with the Pittsburgh Penguins in an Apr. 29, 2008, playoff game, but he did contribute a goal on Thursday in the Canadiens' 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars, who also have a Montreal-born player of Haitian descent, Maxime Fortunus.

"It was tough getting into the game," Laraque said. "What was going on there was going through my head.

"And to be playing against another Haitian — what are the odds of that?

"To have that happen tonight was almost a miracle.”

3. Islanders are not chasing Kovalchuk

The New York Islanders find themselves only two points out of the playoffs with 35 games remaining. But general manager Garth Snow will not disrupt his current roster to chase Ilya Kovalchuk if the Atlanta Thrashers decide to trade him because they are unable to sign the talented Russian to a contract extension.

"We're not going to deviate from our plan," Snow told Newsday. "Or break up the core of our team.”

The Islanders have a young roster, and waiting in the wings are Canadian junior team defencemen Travis Hamonic and Calvin de Haan. The only trade Snow appears to be interested in making these days is shipping out backup goalie Martin Biron for a draft pick.

4. Predators extend Trotz and staff

The Predators managed to keep it quiet for seven weeks, but Nashville general manager David Poile gave head coach Barry Trotz and his assistants a one-year contract extension in late November.

Trotz is in his 11th season with the Predators, but his contract was set to expire at the end of this season with an option for 2010-11. Nashville agreed to pick up the option for the coaching staff and add an option year for 2011-12.

"Our coaches are doing a really good job and our record is really good,'' Poile told the Tennessean. "There's certainly no reason I would want to go in a different direction, and they felt the same way about staying. We've got a good group right now.''

Trotz is eight wins shy of his career 400th victory.

5. Gonchar looking for an extension

There is a willingness on both sides for 35-year-old defenceman Sergei Gonchar to sign an extension with Pittsburgh. Gonchar’s agent J.P. Barry and Penguins general manager Ray Shero have engaged in “exploratory” talks, but won’t get down to serious negotiations until next week. Barry first wants to discuss a game plan with Gonchar after the Penguins' game in Vancouver on Saturday.