The stars in the sky won’t come out until after 9 o’clock but at the Saddledome tonight there will be a galaxy of stars starting at 7:30 when the Flames and Washington Capitals meet.

   Five finalists from last season’s NHL awards will be displaying theior considerable talents. Plus there are stars from this young campaign.

   The league’s big award winner last year was the Caps’ Alexander Ovechkin. He captured four awards — MVP, top scorer, top goal getter and the Lester Pearson Award.  The Caps also sport last year’s top rookie runnerup, Nicklas Backstrom, who hasn’t picked up where he left off having just one assist in 5 games.  Top goal scoring defenseman  Mike Green, who had 18 tallies last campaign, has 4 in 5 games now. Plus former MVP goalie Jose Theodore.  As well Washington coach Bruce Boudreau, was coach-of-the-year in 2007-08.

   The Flames have all-star stature in first team all-star rightwinger and MVP runner-up Jarome Iginla as well as all-star defenseman and Norris Trophy runner-up Dion Phaneuf, who should have some intriging battles with Ovechkin through the course of the night.  The Flames also sport former Vezina Trophy winner Miikka Kiprusoff, who is still looking to get in top form and former coach-of-the-year Mike Keenan.

   Despite all the star power in the ‘Dome tonight, the big stars this season for both teams have never won NHL awards.

   While Ovechkin struggles somewhat with 3 points in 5 games, Alexander Semin for the Caps has stepped up with 6 goals and 10 points, the #2 scorer in the league presently.

   While Iginla hasn’t gotten into his grove yet with 3 points in 5 games, Todd Bertuzzi has scored 5 goals in 5 games to spark the Flames offense.

   At the end of the evening, there will be 3 Stars. It’s anyone’s guess who they’ll be.

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