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.
• (Ed. Note: Click image for the animaged .gif) If you watched Game 2 on NBC last night, chances are you heard the rustling of black-and-gold pom-poms as Eddie O and Pierre McGuire ranted about a "non-call" on Marian Hossa that precluded the Detroit Red Wings' second goal of the night. Well, the Chief at Abel To Yzerman presents a CBC angle of the play in question, in which Pascal Dupuis's stick was broken, and ... well, unless there's something in the rulebook about a player's stick breaking because he smacked it against another dude's skate, there's no penalty to be called. [A2Y, and we were guilty of the phantom slash chatter, too, so we take back everything we said about Marian. Expect that he has a girl's name.]
• From Mike Babcock down to Kirk Maltby, how the Red Wings are in Sidney Crosby's head. [USA TODAY]
• Are the Wings hiding the true extent of Pavel Datsyuk's injuries? [Snapshots]
• Jim Balsillie's lawyer said the billionaire isn't interested in the Columbus Blue Jackets as a fallback if he doesn't get the Phoenix Coyotes. Because Gary Bettman doesn't care nearly as much about the BJs. [Calgary Herald]
• New Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher offers a rather amazing Q&A that deals with a ton of off-beat stuff, like favorite cartoon characters, which were Scooby-Doo and Shaggy: "They were the sideshow. There was the ghost mystery going and they had their own dog and pony show going on, and it all came together at the end. I just loved it." Is this Chuckie telling us he can party? [Pioneer Press]
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• The debate over whether the New York Islanders should select John Tavares or Victor Hedman with the No. 1 pick is heating up. [Lighthouse Hockey]
• The fact that Hedman has already inquired about the quality of women in New York impresses us. Although with the rookie salary cap, he better stick to the Island ... [NYI Point Blank]
• Note: We've got Game 2 reaction from the Penguins coming up, as well as a special treat: a must-read Q&A with Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull that covers everything from beer to Ovechkin to beer to how much the Lady Byng sucks to beer.
• Just a reminder that the new contest, "The No-Foil Stanley Cup Replica Competition," is in full swing, and you can enter new or previously created No-Foil Cups.
• Tom Benjamin takes the knives out for Gary Bettman in a classic bit of snark: "That's the lesson thinking people drew from the Phoenix fiasco. Gary Bettman doesn't tell the truth about any of the league problems. He blames the media, the NHLPA, Paul Kelly, Russians, the GMs, Jerry Moyes, and the city of Columbus, but he doesn't tell the truth." [Canucks Corner]
• The NHL's security detail is quizzing Washington Capitals brass on the steroid scandal. Bill Daly doesn't exactly seem convinced that this is BALCO with skates: "While there seems to be no evidence to this point that would substantiate any of the claims, it's something we feel we have an obligation to follow up on." [Washington Post]
• The Montreal Canadiens make a call for fan artwork, prepare for 10,000 crudely drawn images of Carey Price with five dozen cigarettes in his mouth. [Habs]
• Japers takes on Mike Green's performance this season and postseason with the Washington Capitals. Great stuff, although we expected a, ahem, weightier debate. [JP]
• Much to her sadness, Lindsay began to realize that the neon pink headband did nothing to distract the fans from the fact that she was The Ice Girl With the Tentacles for Fingers. [Getty]
• Tony Cruz of Vancouver, British Columbia, has won a trip for two to the 2009 NHL Awards in Las Vegas where he will present the Scotiabank/NHL Fan Fav Award at the 2009 NHL Awards. The value of that trip, when the hefty price of awards show tickets is factored in? $1.3 million. [NHL]
• Great piece by Jeff Klein of the New York Times regarding the Red Wings' success in the face of economic hardship in Detroit. [NYT]
• Scott Burnside sees similarities between these first two games and the first two games in 2008. Crosby believes the Pittsburgh Penguins must simply play their game and they'll be victorious. [ESPN]
• How an evil genius would run a hockey arena. [On Goal Analysis]
• Tracking the offseason rumors for the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes, especially when it comes to pending free agents Nikolai Khabibulin and Martin Havlat of Chicago. [Spector]
• Alexandre Giroux scored an overtime goal to complete a hat-trick and give the Hershey Bears Game 1 of the Calder Cup final 5-4. The Moose sound confident that they know what ails them. [Sun Media]
• Great, long analysis of the two-headed monster GM spot with the Dallas Stars and its various triumphs and tragedies, along with a look at the hiring of Joe Nieuwendyk as GM. [Defending Big D]
• Finally, a scintillating debate about the Penguins and Red Wings in the Finals:
