Here are your Morning 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.
• Center Brad Richards was injured in last night's Dallas Stars win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team is calling it an "upper body injury," which really all depends on how low his broken wrist dangles on a given day. Sportsnet is claiming Richards will be lost for "6-to-8 weeks" even if he doesn't need surgery. [Sportsnet]
• His injury means increased ice time for Mike Modano and Mike Ribeiro, and likely means a promotion for Joel Lundqvist, Steve Ott or Brian Sutherby to a more prominent scoring role. But Mike Heika reports that "a tight internal budget will be restrictive" for the Stars as the trade deadline approaches. [Dallas Morning News]
• Meanwhile, Dallas Stars Blog is asking fans for their Save Our Season line combinations with Richards out. [DSB]
• Bottom line: Can't the Stars overcome anything if Marty Turco continues to give them what he's given them for several weeks? From Razor: "When it comes to vacuuming up slop, dirt and accidents Dyson and Hoover have nothing on Marty Turco's goaltending right now." [Razor With an Edge]
• San Jose Sharks broadcaster Jamie Baker has a message for fans concerned about the team's recent slump: "For those of you pressing the panic button, keep on pressing it but you are exposing yourself as someone who doesn't study the game and your being a drama queen." Well, that's sweet. [Seagate]
SportsWrap
The top sports headlines of the day
• Newsday's Marc Herrmann asks New York Islanders fans to take comfort in the way the Pittsburgh Penguins went from worst to first as a franchise. Of course, it helps when you have a goalie that doesn't have the durability of Sam Jackson wearing purple and owning a comic book shop. (/geek) [Newsday]
• Blogging at its absolute finest: Tapeleg brings us the Los Angeles Kings' Armenian Heritage Night, from cultural pride to a Marty McSorley sighting. Seriously, this is epic stuff. [Jerseys and Hockey Love]
• Quick math: There are 10 teams that Tomas Kaberle to whom would accept a trade. It is "believed" all of these teams are in the Eastern Conference. One of them is obviously not the Toronto Maple Leafs. That means there are four Eastern Conference teams for whom Tomas Kaberle will not play. Any guesses? [Toronto Sun]
• It's Justin Pogge time for the Leafs. [Globe & Mail]
• Did the Montreal Canadiens deal with the Atlanta Thrashers after something fell through with the Colorado Avalanche? [Mile High Hockey]
• According to Mirtle's numbers, it appears the Selke will be headed to the Minnesota Wild this season as Miiko Koivu and Antti Miettinen are both having outstanding defensive years. Missing from the list: Zetterberg and Datsyuk (!). [From the Rink]
• There are two things Canadians look forward to more than anything: Their three days of summer, and Pierre McGuire's picks for Team Canada in the next Olympiad. Point of debate: Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo as the top two goalies ... but Carey Price over Steve Mason? Scandal! [TSN]
• How the St. Louis Blues fought their way to a win over the New York Rangers. [St. Louis Today]
• The Jumbotron that the NHL installed for the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field partially blocked the view from one Wrigleyville rooftop club. That club's owner is now withholding a payment to the Chicago Cubs out of protest. At least no one stole his Zetterberg jersey and sold it on the men's room ... [Snapshots]
• You know, it's one thing to say that it's time for the Philadelphia Flyers to trade Danny Briere. But who, exactly, is taking him? [Delco Times]
• Karl Alzner, quote machine, has been returned to the Hershey Bears by the Washington Capitals. [Capitals Insider]
• If you're interested in hearing your humble blog editor on FAN 590 last night, here be the link, matey. [FAN 590]
• Steve Lepore takes a rather humorous tour of the Center Ice free preview, including this observation: "John Tortorella is still ornery. During the intermission of Sens/Preds on TSN, he called the Senators ‘gutless' for what they said about Craig Hartsburg after he was fired, and suggested that they should've just ‘shut their goddamn mouths.'" [Puck The Media]
• For the Bucci fans (you know who you are), a fresh interview with Homer McFanboy. [HMcF]
• Finally, via Just Jared and Sens Town, we told you last night that Carrie Underwood would be at the Nashville Predators game to watch her boy toy Mike Fisher skate for the Ottawa Senators. Well, the Jumbotron caught her and ... well, just watch:
