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.
• Really busy day here today on the blog. Coming up: A Pavel Datsyuk interview via Dmitry; Jersey Fouls (one word: Snuggie); and the next edition of the Girls Guide To Choosing Your Stanley Cup team, featuring the San Jose Sharks. Check back early and often, and thanks for reading.
• The Carolina Hurricanes are back in the playoffs for the first time in two seasons, so 850 The Buzz and 620 The Bull have taken the opportunity to transition from "30 Days of Madness" to (we kid you not) "2 Stations - 1 Cup". And suddenly we take back everything we ever wrote about the Hurricanes' third jerseys. [850 The Buzz; H/T to Puck Buddy Mike S.]
• Ilya Kovalchuk Coolness Part One: He took off his visor before fighting. Ilya Kovalchuk Coolness Part Two: He beat the living snot out of Bryan McCabe last night. Seriously, McCabe was so beat-up, he had to double check that Kovalchuk wasn't actually the Toronto media. [Hockey Fights]
• The Columbus Blue Jackets are still feeling the euphoria of the first playoff berth in franchise history. So what better time to pen a column calling for the trade of captain Rick Nash this summer before he signs with the Leafs. Say, what's the yellow stuff in your Cheerios, Columbus? [Toronto Star]
• Congratulations to the New York Islanders for being absolutely terrible. [Lighthouse Hockey]
Sports
• Evgeni Malkin now has a four-point lead over Alexander Ovechkin in the points-scoring race; but that might not be enough to snag the Hart Trophy. [CBS Sports]
• Should the NHL go back to four divisions in two conferences? Better question: Should Pittsburgh Penguins really be allowed to play in the Lemieux Division? [THN]
• Nucks Misconduct encourages Vancouver Canucks fans to wholeheartedly embrace the Edmonton Oilers as they play the division-leading Calgary Flames this weekend. Advice: "Become religious, as you pray not only for an Oilers win, but for someone to take out Kiprusoff's knee(s)." [Nucks Misconduct]
• Marian Hossa leaves the Detroit Red Wings' game against the Nashville Predators with an injury. Or as George James Malik puts it: "His recurring groin injury flared up and the Wings decided he should just sit for the rest of the game instead of tweaking it further." Let's see what shape it's in for the postseason. [Snapshots]
• Will Joe Sakic return to the Colorado Avalanche after seeing his season end early? Take your time, Joe. Just, maybe, not as much time as last year. [Sportsnet]
• Toronto Maple Leafs forward and noted Kostitsyn-basher Mikhail Grabovski gets connected to the Russian "gangster" that's caused all sorts of headaches for the Montreal Canadiens. We do we get the feeling that by the end of this mess in Montreal, it'll be faster to list the players who don't have some connection to organized crime or illegal narcotics? [Globe & Mail]
• The Top 10 Dumbest Moments in the Battle of Ontario. [Down Goes Brown]
• Wrap Around Curl passes along this screen capture from "The Office" in which Wayne Gretzky plagiarizes a Michael Scott quote. Does that make Dwight Jari Kurri or Mark Messier?
• George Richards nails the problem with the Florida Panthers missing the postseason: "[Jacques Martin] gambled that the team he was watching in February would be the same -- or even better -- in March and April." And he lost. [On Frozen Pond]
• Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane hopes he can make the U.S. Olympic team. Which is like Clooney hoping he makes the People magazine list of pretty people. [NHL.com]
• Good stuff from Fear The Fin, as they present the San Jose Sharks blogosphere awards. Evgeni Nabokov for the Vezina? Boucher wuz robbed! [Fear The Fin]
• On Frozen Blog soaks in the fun at the Frozen Four, as the BU fans take over the Verizon Center. We'll be in the house for the championship game on Saturday, offering some preview stuff for it as well. [OFB]
• What does it say about special teams when the two worst power plays in hockey both make the Stanley Cup playoffs? [Puck Stops Here]
• Ryan Kennedy asks Drew Stafford of the Buffalo Sabres about rawking out to the new Mastodon album. [THN]
• Finally, Second City Hockey presents what we're sure will become an instant-legend hockey video meme as the postseason progresses. Even if we're still not sure what the hell this Martin Havlat-as-faith-healer clip is all about:
