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.
• After his thrilling shootout goal last night, Mike Ribeiro of the Dallas Stars put his finger to his lips to signify that he'd quieted the crowd. But he did it while skating near the Los Angeles Kings bench, and that didn't sit well with Derek Armstrong: "I understand that it's a show, but you know what? If you want to be a show, go to the other corner. If he wants to do that, that's fine, because the fans love it, but you can't do that coming to our bench. He's a really good player and he made a really good move. Just doing it to our bench, I don't think that was right." Ribeiro later apologized. [Inside the Kings]
• Hey, we have a Marian Gaborik sighting! From Jacques Lemaire! "He's alive. I saw him." [TwinCities.com]
Preview: Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSS, CSN). Coach Bruce Boudreau said on Monday that the Hurricanes would be ready for this division matchup, after losing to the Caps last week. Is Alexander Ovechkin's first goal since early October the start of his offensive rally? Ten billion fantasy owners want to know.
Preview: St. Louis Blues at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSMV, MSG). The hook for the AP's preview for this game is that the Sabres haven't beaten the Blues in Buffalo for 13 years. We're sure that's keeping the Buffalo players up at night. They should have Donald Audette come and speak to the team, spinning tales about success against the Blues so many moons ago.
• You know, this KHL boogeyman would be more threatening if it, you know, could afford to pay its players. [Sports By Brooks]
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• Alan Muir of SI pulls down his drawers and takes a dump on the Florida Panthers. "Can a club that's led in scoring by Keith Ballard go 15 games over 500?" Hey, any of those fish in a barrel still breathing? [SI]
• Two Stanley Cup rings from the Montreal Canadiens were stolen as part of a million-dollar heist. Police describe the Ottawa Senators as "persons of interest." [Kuklas]
• Boston radio show wants to get Aaron Ward written into the All-Star Game. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSOH). Pascal Leclaire is off IR, but he'll be the backup tonight for rookie sensation Steve Mason. The Jackets are now yet another team with three good goaltending options. The Coyotes are looking for their third straight win, which would be a franchise record. (Kidding.)
Preview: New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. EST; TV: MSG). Both teams are coming off losses to the Edmonton Oilers and that goalie with 47 letters in his last name. No Scott Gomez tonight for the Rangers, as he's out with a leg injury. The Devils are starved for offense, so naturally they'll dress seven defensemen tonight.
• Patrick Kane says his teammates are giving him grief, but he refuses to shave his "beard" until his point-scoring streak ends. The Hawks are no doubt hoping for the full ZZ Top. [Tribune]
• A postmortem on the San Jose Sharks' first home loss last night to the Nashville Predators. [Two for Elbowing]
Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: FSFL). Honestly, the Lightning just look disinterested as a team for long stretches of their games. If there was an iota of chemistry on any of their supporting lines, it could be a dangerous team. The Panthers are starting Craig Anderson tonight in goal.
Preview: Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. EST; TV: NESN, CSNC). Big, emotional night in Chicago, as the team retires jersey No. 3 for both Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson. The Blackhawks are looking for their longest winning streak in seven years tonight, which would be five in a row.
Preview: Colorado Avalanche at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. EST; TV: TSN). We don't want to jinx Roberto Luongo by telling you that he's just 11 minutes away from breaking his own club record for longest shutout streak. Oops. Leave it to the KB to somehow connect Luongo's chase of history with former Yankees flameout Kevin Maas.
• The Puck Daddy fantasy team plan is coming together: Ondrej Pavelec has been recalled by the Atlanta Thrashers, two days after his demotion, because Kari Lehtonen is fighting back problems. [Blueland Blog]
• Finally, The Two-Line Pass gives us this video of another NCAA shorthanded goal anomaly: Niagara scores three short-handed goals in 1:09. Goodness.
