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.
• First order of business: In a thread earlier today, one of our favorite posters "carl_vs_mastershake" suggested that Puck Daddy commenters be heretofore known as "The Sloppy Seconders," adding "seriously don't even consider it Greg." Too late. Pass or Fail: PD commenters heretofore known as Sloppy Seconders.
Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSPI, MSG, Yahoo! Sports). Sometimes, all you need to get those juices flowing for a critical division showdown is an image and some words from The Pensblog: "The Rangers have played every night of the regular season it seems like. Some Pens fans circles hate the Rangers more than the Caps or the Flyers. And we're okay with that. We can't stand Ranger fans."
• Bob McKenzie of TSN believes the Stars could do everything from voiding or buying out Sean Avery's contract to burying him in the minors, depending on how the NHL rules on his indefinite suspension. All together now: for a sex joke. [TSN]
• Rick Tocchet expresses optimism about the Tampa Bay Lightning. Or does the hockey equivalent of Jim Carrey's "so you're saying there's a chance?" line after Lauren Holly tells him "not if you were the last man alive" in "Dumb and Dumber." [Lightning Strikes]
Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. EST; TV: TSN). Scarlett Ice has a live blog tonight. The key to this one could be the Thrashers' fore-checking against a Senators defense that has had trouble moving the puck. Ondrej Pavelec get the nod between the pipes for Atlanta. Ben Wright is wondering "if the NHL is looking at Josh Gorges' hit to Bryan Little's head last night." Probably not, as neither of them have dated Elisha Cuthbert ... yet.
• Alan Bass of The Bleacher Report interviews former NHL President John Zeigler about a few topics, including why he wasn't a commissioner. "My title as President is basically the same as Commissioner, in fact when I took the job, they wanted to know if I wanted the title of Commissioner and I said no, because the league needed to be changed and needed to be run like a business and needed to be perceived as a business for us to get the business straightened out. [Bleacher Report]
• Pension Plan Puppets presents Cribs: Mikhail Grabovski Edition. [PPP]
Preview: St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. EST; TV: FSMW, FSNO). St. Louis Game Time will be covering this one live, and is wondering about the Blues' goaltending. "Just from observing the two goaltenders, Mason is playing with a confidence that's overflowing to the players on the ice in front of him ... Legace is going the other way." Has anyone asked the Wild if they're cheesed off that the Blues stole their third-jersey design?
• Strange days in Phoenix, as the Coyotes are suddenly wondering about their goaltending as Ilya Bryzgalov struggles. Might we have an Al Montoya sighting? [Fanster]
Preview: Anaheim Ducks at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. EST; TV: FSW, CSNC). This could be a fun one. The Ducks are playing smarter hockey, and their special teams are responding. Speaking of Anaheim ... well, let's just say there were plenty of sloppy seconds in the NHL before Sean Avery opened his yap:
• That's from the brilliant Earl Sleek of Battle of California.
• At this point, we're rather convinced that Danny Briere wants to personally sabotage the Puck Daddy fantasy team. [700 Level]
• Five better coaching candidates for the Carolina Hurricanes job than Paul Maurice. [The Two-Line Pass]
Preview: Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN). If the Stars are upset over this whole Avery thing, they're playing the right team. Not because Edmonton is an easy game, but because there's always Stortini if someone needs a hug.
• Alex Frolov gets a benching by the Los Angeles Kings. [Inside the Kings]
• Finally, if you grew up in the 1980s and had HBO, then you may remember "Animalympics." Here's the ice hockey portion, followed by other sports. (Thanks to PD reader Mike.) Man ... it's childhood all over again. We're going to steal beer from our dads and watch "Tron."
