Here are your Evening Puck Headlines and Previews: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
Preview: Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, MSG). Markus Naslund faces his old mates for the first time since leaving as a free agent. Yankee Canuck breaks down the emotions in facing the former Vancouver captain and current Ranger: "My reaction was simple: I wish he had finished his career here because I'm a envious, jealous fan who wants those who help the team - or dare I say personify them - to never leave. Anyone remember the day Burke brought Linden back? Yeah something like that. However now I do feel the Canucks are far better as Luongo's team than Naslund's."
• Ten Things Overheard During an Official Video Goal Review. "Maybe if you hold the tint knob with the pliers while I hold the tinfoil on the rabbit ears, we'll get a better look at this." [Inside College Hockey]
• Tom Benjamin on whether shots to the head reduce a player's life expectancy, and whether the NHL would ban head-shots if a player died on the ice. [Canucks Corner]
• Kostya Kennedy of Sports Illustrated nominates Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings for Sportsman of the Year. And we fully expect him to win, provided Michael Phelps gets caught wearing counterfeit Speedos in a meth lab. [SI]
Preview: Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. EST; TV: MSG, NESN). Manny Fernandez should get the start for the Bruins, as Marco Sturm is expected to miss the game due to injury. Getting Caught From Behind has begrudging respect for Boston, but hopes the Sabres can get back on track with an ugly road win.
• Montreal Canadiens president Pierre Boivin sees the Canadian dollar struggling, and worries it could return Canadian teams to economic hardship. Also, he feels the "NHL's post-lockout revenue-sharing deal to prop up weaker U.S. teams has also left Canadian organizations at the mercy of the dollar's performance." So wait, is the solution to move the Predators to Canada, where the weak dollar is causing teams to panic about their financial future? We're confused. [Sportsnet]
• Meanwhile, $45,000 gets you your own personal Zamboni. Put some rims on that sucker, maybe some leather seats ... good to go. [Steady Burn]
• Erik Ersberg will make his eighth consecutive start for the Los Angeles Kings against the Capitals on Thursday night. Somewhere, Jonathan Bernier weeps quietly to himself. [Inside the Kings]
• Anaheim's primo capologist moves to senior vice president of hockey operations, as the front office shuffle continues post-Brian Burke. Will Dave Nonis follow Burke out the door? [Globe & Mail]
Preview: Washington Capitals at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. EST; TV: CSN, FSPT). Alexander Semin, Shaone Morrisonn and Sergei Fedorov are out and Jose Theodore is in, according to Capitals Insider. Anaheim's Jonas Hiller gets the nod again for the Ducks between the pipes, and Rob Niedermayer returns to the lineup after being a healthy scratch. If the NHL got a general sports columnist to write a glowing article like this one in every American city Alexander Ovechkin visits, the League would be golden.
• Last night it was the Penguins; now, according to the Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey scoreboard, it's the Ducks losing a close one to the Capitals. Uh, glitch?
• Damien Cox believes that Alex Semin's quote about Sidney Crosby is one of the best of the season thus far. "Goodness, you do have to wonder what in the world Semin was thinking when he let this one fly." Here's a thought: Maybe the 35-or-so words about Patrick Kane that get turned into "..." whenever the quote is regurgitated would lend some context. [ESPN]
• We're going to assume this is the last time Examiner hockey writer Kitt Amundson publishes an NHL conference call transcript under her byline and deceives readers into believing she conducted an interview with Alex Ovechkin. [Japers]
• Boy, when it rains, huh? Mike Fisher and Chris Neil are out with injuries for the Ottawa Senators. [Ottawa Citizen]
• Mirtle takes a look at the projected goal totals and point totals for this season, as compared to last season. The points (27) and goals (75) improvement for the San Jose Sharks are the stuff Jack Adams awards are made of. [From the Rink]
• Jere Lehtinen is injured again for the Dallas Stars, and Brad Richards is now centering the third line. Good times. [Stars Blog]
• Finally, the Stars met up with Big Willie at the premiere of his new flick "Seven Pounds," an Oscar-bait drama. And then gave him Neal Broten's old number.
"Hey Mr. Smith: Would you mind shaking hands with Marty Turco, you know, for good luck?"
"AW, HELL NAW!"
