Like millions of Canadians who partied deep into the night and awoke to the sound of their alarm clocks on Monday morning, the NHL is getting back to work.

The league emerges from its two-week break Monday looking to capitalize on the buzz from an entertaining Olympic tournament capped by Canada's instant-classic overtime victory over the United States on Sunday in Vancouver.

It'll be tough for the NHL to match that kind of excitement, but there promises to be plenty of action with the trade deadline just two days away and playoff races about to heat up over the final six weeks of the regular season.

Gold medal-winning coach Mike Babcock will try to bring some Olympic magic to his Detroit Red Wings, who find themselves struggling outside the playoff picture as they re-open the NHL slate Monday night with a road game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Every Canadian club back in action Tuesday

The schedule resumes in earnest on Tuesday, when 24 teams return to action, including every Canadian club but Calgary.

Detroit is one of several teams battling for the final few post-season spots in the Western Conference. With 68 points, the Red Wings are tied with Dallas for the dreaded No. 9 position with 21 games left in the season.

Seventh-place Nashville (71 points) and eighth-place Calgary (69) hold the final two playoff seeds, but the Flames have faded badly in the New Year, losing 15 of 20 games since Jan. 6.

Anaheim (67 points), St. Louis (65) and Minnesota (64) are in the hunt, while Columbus (60) is on life support. Edmonton (44 points) can't do much but hope it lands the No. 1 pick in the June draft after losing 17 of 20 since the start of 2010.

Vancouver has its sights set on winning the Northwest Division title. But the Canucks, who are tied with Colorado for top spot with 76 points, must still survive the end of their brutal 14-game road trip that coincided with the Olympics.

The Canucks have six games left on the trip, which resumes Tuesday in Columbus. Roberto Luongo should be back in goal for Vancouver after backstopping Canada to Olympic gold.

Pens hope for more Crosby magic

In the Eastern Conference, the surging Ottawa Senators are battling the Buffalo Sabres for first place in the Northeast Division, with Ottawa holding a one-point lead after winning 14 of 16 before the break. The Sabres, though, have the Olympic MVP in goalie Ryan Miller.

The Montreal Canadiens are digging in for a playoff push that promises to come down to the wire. With 64 points, the Habs are clinging to the last spot, one point ahead of Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers and two up on Atlanta. Sixth-place Philadelphia (67 points) and seventh-place Boston (65) are within Montreal's reach.

The Toronto Maple Leafs (49 points) sit last in the conference, and GM Brian Burke may be looking to make more deals before Wednesday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline in order to build for the future. Burke traded for defenceman Dion Phaneuf and goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere before the break.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins hope captain Sidney Crosby has more heroics in store after his overtime goal Sunday won Canada the Olympic gold medal over the United States. The Penguins trail New Jersey by a point in the Atlantic Division race.

Crosby's chief rival, Alex Ovechkin, surely can't wait to get back on the ice with the Washington Capitals after he and his Russian teammates were embarrassed by Canada in the quarter-finals in Vancouver.

With Ovechkin beginning to run away with the scoring race with 89 points and tied with Crosby for the league lead in goals with 42, the Caps are making a mockery of the weak Southeast Division.

As second-place Tampa Bay trails by a whopping 17 points, Ovechkin and company can turn their attention to the Presidents' Trophy for the NHL's best record. Washington (41-13-8) leads San Jose by a point in that race.