Where was Kovie?

Any hound worth his or her salt knows when it comes to the Atlanta Thrashers, there's one constant: stars Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov leave the hotel together. Or, at least they used to do that.

It raised eyebrows and questions yesterday when Kozlov, the Thrashers' elder statesman, left the hotel alone. Kovie, we soon realized, was nowhere to be seen.

Though we did get a glimpse of him as he briefly walked outside the team's hotel, he must have slipped out a back or side entrance and caught a cab after apparently missing the team's bus to the Thrashers' morning skate.

Thankfully, order was restored after the skate, as Kovalchuk signed this Team Russia puck on the way back to the hotel. And, yes, Kozlov was with him.