CALGARY Adrian Kempe Jersey , Alberta (AP) Kevin Connauton believes he’s playing the best hockey of his career.Connauton had a goal and an assist in continue his superb second half, and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Tuesday night.Connauton has 10 goals in 30 games since the All-Star break, tying him with Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman for most among defenseman since Jan. 28. The 28-year-old had just one goal in the first 42 games this year.”I’m playing a lot more confident. Using my skating, using my shot,” the 28-year-old said. ”Had a rough year last year with injuries and then sitting out. So the beginning of the year, I was still trying to get back to my game, but I think I’m back there now.”Richard Panik, Christian Fischer and Dylan Strome also scored for Arizona http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-mathew-barzal-jersey , which has won three in a row.Nick Shore got his first goal as a Flame. Injury-riddled Calgary has lost eight of nine.”I don’t think the guys are not putting the effort in, it’s just not coming easy for us right now,” veteran forward Tanner Glass said.Arizona struck first at 3:48 of the first period when Panik deflected Connauton’s point shot past rookie goaltender Jon Gillies.Panik has also been on a tear with six goals in his last 10 games.Connauton made it 2-0 at 16:39 on a nifty play at the blue line. After a fake shot that sent Curtis Lazar spinning to the ice, he wristed a shot inside the goal post on a screened Gillies.Connauton is in the final season of his two-year deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.”I’ve had some ups and downs, but you grow from those things. When you get pushed back a little bit, it motivates you and you keep driving forward and I’m excited to see what happens this summer,” he said.The teams exchanged goals early in the second period. Fischer was credited with a goal at 2:18 when a rebound off Gillies’ pad caromed in off the skate of rookie Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson.Shore put Calgary on the scoreboard at 4:32, snapping Lazar’s rebound past Antti Raanta for his first goal since being acquired by the Flames in a trade with the Ottawa Senators.It was the only puck to elude Raanta http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-nick-leddy-jersey , who had 42 saves in picking up his sixth consecutive victory. He improves to 21-16-6 on the season.Gillies had 17 stops and fell to 2-4-1.Calgary’s power play woes continued. The Flames are 0 for 30 in the last 12 games and 1 for 48 over the last 17 games.NOTES: Arizona D Jeff Chychrun (lower body) left the game late in the first period and did not return. … In a new-look first line for Calgary, Sam Bennett moved to center between Johnny Gaudreau and rookie Spencer Foo. … Arizona improves to 18-1-1 when giving up two or fewer goals.UP NEXTCoyotes: Play at Vancouver on Thursday night.Flames: Play at Winnipeg on Thursday night.— Alexander Ovechkin has announced that he will not be partaking in any of the All-Star Weekend events this season.The Capitals star stated his reason is because he wants to take that week off to rest and rejuvenate himself. He also stated that this additional rest will allow him to perform better in the second half of the season.The 33-year-old has appeared in all of the Washington Capitals 38 games this season. He also is coming off of a season where he played in all 82 games and captured his first Stanley Cup championship.advertisingCapitals coach Todd Reirden said team will decide closer to all-star break which game Alex Ovechkin will sit out. He has to miss one game for dropping out of NHL All-Star Game.— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) January 2, 2019Due to the NHL trying to have their best players at these All-Star events, for the past few seasons they have enforced this suspension rule when a player decides to skip the weekend.聽This is why Ovechkin has been suspended by the league for one game.The eleven-time All-Star will likely either sit out the Capitals last game before the break on Jan. 23,聽2019, or their first game back on Feb. 1, 2019. Which will mean by skipping the All-Star events, he will receive a nine or ten-day break from any NHL activities.Ovechkin was named as the聽Metropolitan Division captain http://www.floridapanthersteamshops.com/authentic-james-reimer-jersey , for his performance so far this season. He currently leads the league in goals with 29 and ranks 18th in the league for points.advertising SportsnetThis announcement means that this could be the start of a regular occurrence for Ovechkin if he continues to make deep runs into the playoffs each season. He is above the age of 30, which means his body doesn't recover as fast as a lot of the younger All-Stars in this league.So with a week off during the middle of the season, this could not only allow him to perform effectively for the second-half of this season. But, it could also allow him to prolong his career.Ovechkin could definitely benefit from a week-off instead of participating in the All-Star Weekend. Which could not just benefit him for this season, but every season for the rest of his career.advertisingOvechkin is the key to success for the Capitals. So if taking a week off during the middle of the season is going to help him perform consistently throughout the entire season, then missing the All-Star Weekend events shouldn't be a big deal.If this experiment is successful for him, then he should definitely consider skipping the All-Star events every season in order for him to be effective all season-long and help his team make the playoffs consistently each season.