Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • LOS ANGELES KINGS, ASSEMBLE! We like The Royal Half because there's … Continue reading ?

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • We don't wanna say the Florida Panthers are straight up trollin' the New Jersey Devils, but here's an ad for their viewing party in which Stephen Weiss  … well, yeah. • Marian Hossa gives the Nathan Horton Inspirational Visit After a Concussion to the Chicago Blackhawks. [ ESPN Chicago ] • Congratulations to the people of Vancouver for not burning down their city after losing on home ice. [ AP] • Mirtle on the Pittsburgh Penguins' future, and specifically on Sidney Crosby: "The Pens had to adjust to life with Crosby again, and there were signs of problems in those ugly late season losses to the Senators and Islanders where they allowed 18 goals in the three games that they weren't quite ready for a team as good as Philadelphia." [ Globe & Mail ] • Mr. Plank looks at the construction of the San Jose Sharks, and how it led to their first-round ouster. [ Fear The Fin ] • Helene St. James wonders if it's time for the Detroit Red Wings to trade Johan Franzen: "Johan Franzen did not have a good series, scoring one goal in five games despite playing next to Pavel Datsyuk. Franzen has eight years remaining on his contract, but his salary cap hit is a reasonable $3.9 million and his actual salary over the last three years is a combined $4 million, which would be attractive to teams worried about reaching the NHL's minimum salary cap space requirement. But the Wings aren't necessarily going to look to trade him, because which Franzen would they be trading?" [ Freep ] • Great bit from the Canadian Press on the originals of a numerically-specific Ottawa Senators fan chat that honors Daniel Alfredsson. [ THN ] • No Jaroslav Halak in the first two games of the second round for the St. Louis Blues. [ BND ] • Why the second round of the playoffs in the Western Conference won't be a ratings disaster. [ Puck The Media ] • How big are the Stanley Cup Playoffs? According to SportsCenter, slightly bigger than offseason football! (Although now that the Saints were eavesdropping on opponents …) [ Deadspin ] • Spector on Roberto Luongo's future: Could the Lightning afford him, and could Brian Burke bury the hatchet to get him? [ THN ]

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. This is the last known photo of Hartnell Swallows Guy. If you know of his whereabouts please contact your local authorities. • Ottawa Senators forward Zenon Konopka has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, and his club fined $10,000 for Konopka's conduct prior to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal at New York on Saturday, April 14, the National Hockey League announced Monday. The reason? Konopka was chirping Brian Boyle while he was speaking to NBC cameras before Game 2, during warmups. [ NHL ] • For all the talk about what the NHL needs to do or not do for supplemental discipline, why doesn't the NHLPA take any heat? [ Canes Country ] • Senshot believes the NHL is losing control of the playoffs. [ Senshot ] • Why hatred and violence are at the heart of hockey. [ On Frozen Pond] • Six reasons why the Phoenix Coyotes remaining in Glendale could fail. [ Phoenix Business Journal ] • Chris Kreider could make his debut for the New York Rangers in Game 3. [ Slap Shot ] • John Tortorella has a 73-word press conference before Game 3, including "I'm not going to answer questions about the other team." [ Globe & Mail ] • The Norfolk Admirals closed out their regular season with a three-game weekend sweep and 28 straight victories. Incredible. [ Virginian Pilot ] • Great ratings news for NBC, as playoff numbers are up a whopping 50 percent and Flyers/Penguins is giving them massive pre-Finals ratings. [ Puck the Media ] • The Active Stick brings it: "If you're a woman, and you call him Cindy Crosby, or you call them the Sedin Sisters, or you think 'Two Girls No Cup' is funny, do you know what you're doing? You are calling someone female to insult them. You are using yourself as an insult . Have a little more respect for yourself." [ Active Stick ]

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Meet "Mishka," the 2013 IIHF U20 world champions mascot and the Russian word for pedo-bear …er, teddy bear. [ IIHF ] "The Rangers and Boston College junior Chris Kreider, the 19th overall pick in the 2009 draft, have agreed to terms on an entry-level contract, the Record has confirmed.  Kreider will join the Rangers for practice tomorrow. By doing so, he'll automatically burn up the first year of his three-year entry deal regardless of whether he plays in the playoffs." [ Rangers Rants ] • St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott is out with an upper-body injury that Ken Hitchcock said makes him "day to day." Said Hitch: "We've been nursing it for a week or so. He got a lot of work in the first 45 minutes ... It's more maintenance. It's not a big deal. We knew how long this day was going to be and we just felt like, 'Man, why cool a guy down?'" [ STLToday.com ] • No Daniel Sedin at Vancouver Canucks practice today, which calls into question whether he'll play in Game 1 or whether he's just wearing Henrik's kit to throw off everyone. [ Vancouver Sun ] • Roberto Luongo's meta tweeting spree continues. [ PITB ] • Attention New Jersey Devils fans: DUCK! "The City of Newark has reduced its police presence at The Rock in the latest in the fight between Booker and Vanderbeek. Turns out the city has paid $10.8 million on police protection at the Prudential Center since 2007." [ NJ.com ] • Your odds for the 2012 NHL Draft Lottery, which will be held at 8 p.m. and feature a live blog via your pals at Puck Daddy. [ NHL ] • The Leafs made the world safe for Jay Feaster and Brent Sutter to apologize for the Calgary Flames missing the playoffs. [ Flames ] • Congrats to Tim Peel for being a playoff ref, and to Steve Miller for the chance to "misplace" more series winning pucks. Better luck next year, Stephan Auger.   [ NHL ] • Does regular-season success mean anything in the postseason? Via Fancy Stats Greenberg: "Since the lockout, teams that have a better head-to-head regular season record over their first-round playoff opponents (measured here as win percentage) have won 77 percent of those series — quite a hefty margin." [ WaPo ] • What if the Stanley Cup Final is the Bruins and the Red Wings? [ What If Sports ]

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Hey, remember Deron Quint? Played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks among others? He's with Traktor in the KHL now. And he looks like this. • Not sure if Cory Schneider was a political science major, but boy does he know how to play the game in speaking about Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks' starting job. Schneider said Luongo's the starter, case closed. "I'm competitive. Trust me, I would love to play. I would love to play every single game I could. But Roberto has been one of the best and most consistent goalies the last decade. If it was a scenario that was grossly unfair or one that wasn't the right decision, then I'd probably be more upset. But what [Luongo] has done speaks for itself and I have a tonne of respect for him, I'm behind him 100 per cent and he deserves everything he gets." [ Province ] • Meanwhile, why is there a goalie controversy? Schneider's better. [ Fan Attic ] • Jeff Carter skated for the Los Angeles Kings, but would only indicate he'd be ready for the start of the playoffs. Even though his absence could potentially cost them that chance. Tough break. [ LA Kings Insider ] • Jose Theodore isn't the only ex-Capital looking to take down Washington tonight. [ Capitals Insider ] • Scott Harntell on the Buffalo Sabres: "You play games and it comes down to this is their Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to get in. They're gonna be hitting, they're gonna be skating, they're gonna be fighting." [ CSN Philly ] • The Boston Bruins wide their collective brow as Johnny Boychuk has but a mild knee sprain. [ Bruins Blog ] • Incredibly, Adam Proteau believes there's virtue and honor to being a Lady Byng winner: "If the Byng is such a terrible comment on the caliber of a player's game, why don't we create the anti-Byng award? We could present it to the thinnest-skinned NHLer, the mega-macho hothead who can be thrown completely off his game with a couple whacks across the ankles or a cross-check in the small of the back. That sounds like a player every Stanley Cup contender could use, doesn't it?" Actually, it sounds like Tim Thomas and/or Milan Lucic. How'd that work out? [ THN ] • Bourne explains why Doc Emrick needs to be more of a prick. [ Backhand Shelf ] • This Macleans piece on the CBC and NHL negotiations should be called "When Gary Bettman got all Gary Bettmany on the CBC and got on their nerves." [ Macleans, via Allan Walsh] • The 10 longest title droughts in the National Hockey League. No. 1 is ... a tie? [ The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit ]

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • Hey, remember Deron Quint? Played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Columbus Blue … Continue reading ?

Posted under NHL

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • WHOA … we just had the weirdest dream in which the Florida Panthers had a Stanley Cup Playoffs commercial that featured the phrase "the Tallon blueprint." [ On Frozen Pond ] • Chicago Blackhawks star Jonathan Toews is in the position Nicklas Backstrom was in recently for the Capitals: It's his call on when he returns from a concussion. [ Sun Times ] • Bob Smizik lays the smack down on Mike Milbury: "His comments about Crosby could just as well have come from a loony, alcohol-sated Flyers fan as from someone who is supposed to have knowledge and insight into the game." [ P-G ] • Milbury shows up again in this must-read Wall Street Journal piece about how the New York Islanders have cut Pat LaFontaine out of their history because of his friction with Charles Wang. Pathetic. [ WSJ ] • Bourne, who obviously has a little connection with the Isles franchise, torches Wang. [ Backhand Shelf ] • Kudos to James Wisniewski for seeing this thing to the end for the Columbus Blue Jackets: "I'm also pretty (upset) at the way things have gone. It didn't start well, the middle wasn't good at all, and now the end has been tough. But I'll be (darned) if I'm going to just sit out the rest of the season. I want to be out there." [ Dispatch ] • Get ready for more 6:30 p.m. start times for playoff games this postseason. [ Puck The Media ] • Congrats to Don Waddell for winning Worst GM in the NHL since the lockout. [ Copper & Blue ] • Danny Briere complains that Joe Vitale of the Penguins was trying to hurt him … on a clean, open ice body check. Hey Vitale, next time no surprises: Butt end of the stick off the draw. That's the Briere way. [ Frequent Flyers ] • Hockey jerseys in Africa, where they're a status symbol. (We seem to recall a larger story on this in recent years; still an interesting photo essay). [ Times Colonist , via Brad Tribbeck]

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. • WHOA … we just had the weirdest dream in which the … Continue reading ?

Posted under NHL

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. (Ed. note: No Marek vs. Wyshynski radio show today. It will return Tuesday as long as Wysh survived Wrestlemania.) • Via Dave Isaac comes this photo of Wayne Simmonds after yesterday's game. Simmonds' face had an eventful weekend taking a puck off it on Saturday and then fighting Deryk Engelland on Sunday. • Simmonds, for all that, was rewarded by being named the NHL's 1st Star of the Week, along with Zdeno Chara and Mike Smith. [NHL] • Meanwhile, Ilya Bryzgalov, Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Miller were named the NHL's 3 Stars for the month of March. [NHL] • Mike Milbury on the end of yesterday's Flyers-Penguins game : "I can remember being on such a perch, or at least trying to climb over the boards to get at somebody to make a point. And I thought Dan Bylsma should have taken off his skirt and gone over there." [ CBS Philly ] • The Flyers are now 5-0 when they visit CONSOL Energy Center. What's the secret? According to Peter Laviolette it's the ribs the team gets from a joint in West Virginia. [ Post-Gazette ] • Tom Jones hits on a point that was brought up often after yesterday's end-of-game shenanigans between the Penguins and Flyers: "Viewers also could have expected more from [Pierre] McGuire, who was stationed between the benches, smack dab in the middle of the yelling and trash talking. One could only guess there was plenty of cursing and threats, but McGuire at least could have given us more of a clue to the gist of the argument. One of the advantages of being between the benches is hearing what is being said. So take advantage of it." [ Tampa Bay Times ] • Detroit Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey will have a hearing with the NHL this afternoon after his elbow to the head of Tomas Kopecky of the Florida Panthers. [ NHL.com ] • Hey, who cares if only two Canadian teams are making the playoffs, business is booming says Damian Cox: "Five of the league's top eight franchises in average attendance are Canadian clubs. All seven Canadian teams are reporting 100 per cent capacity this season, evidence that Canadian hockey fans, apparently, are far more willing to pay to watch bad hockey than Americans." [ The Star ]

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Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media. (Ed. note: No Marek vs. Wyshynski radio show today. It will return … Continue reading ?

Posted under NHL