Dobber checks in every Monday to force-feed you the latest fantasy hockey trends. The founder of DobberHockey.com and a columnist for The Hockey News website, he long ago immersed himself into this rollercoaster world and is unable to escape.

Well look who's back. It's Ovie!

Again I defer to Frozen Pool for this one. This time I ran the "Roto Rater" tool, which looks at the stats representative of a combination of average and standard deviation to that average over the last two weeks.

It gives more of a weighted look at how each player has done against his peers both in his position, and across the NHL.

On top — Alex Ovechkin. A spot that he usually hogged for much of his first few years in the league. Here is a look at some of the rated stat rankings (a negative number indicates that he is below average in that category over the last two weeks):

Studs...

These fellas are wielding a hot stick. Take that into consideration when you go after them in trade talks...

Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators (11-4-11-15, plus-14, 2 PIM, 48 SOG) — Everyone knew Karlsson would be a star. And most poolies figured that he would give them at least 50 points this season. The fact that he's on pace for 77 just past the midpoint of the season - nobody saw. He was plus-5 on Sunday. Plus-5. It would take Ilya Kovalchuk years to do that.

Dennis Wideman, Washington Capitals (13-5-9-14, plus-4, 4 PIM, 30 SOG) — In the 10 games that Mike Green has played this season, Wideman picked up at least a point in all 10 of them. You would think he would do better without Green in the lineup, but he's pretty much producing no matter who is on the ice.

Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes (5-3-6-9, minus-1, 0 PIM, 20 SOG) —Looks like the old Eric Staal has returned. Too bad that ugly plus/minus monkey on his back hasn't been told yet.

"Sell High" pick of the week: Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks. I don't think his value is going to get any higher than it is right now. The production is going to continue, but will the health? Let's see — 10, 8, 25, 17. Those aren't the numbers on the sweaters of the other four guys on his power-play unit. Those are his games missed in the last four seasons. To believe that this year's number will be "zero" is as much a pipedream as a Michael Frolik goal.

Duds

Somebody wake these guys up — their fantasy owners are counting on them...

Luke Adam, Buffalo Sabres (9-0-0-0, minus-2, 2 PIM, 15 SOG) — Don't worry — when Ville Leino returns to the lineup all will be — I'm sorry, I can't finish that with a straight face. Adam is doomed for this season. I think he'll finish in the high 30s for points unless the Sabres send him to the AHL before that.

Kurtis Foster, New Jersey Devils (6-0-0-0, plus-1, 0 PIM, 11 SOG) — The Kurtis Foster experiment is over in New Jersey, though it may take a few more games before the Devils admit it. So where to next? Columbus?

Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild (6 GP, 1-5-0, 3.54 GAA, 0.890 SP) — Backstrom owners are in trouble. Not just because of the poor numbers, but the Wild are suddenly fighting for a playoff spot and there is a hot, solid netminder as the No.2. Eventually coach Mike Yeo will be forced to go with the hot hand, in which case Backstrom may not see as many starts as you thought.

"Buy Low" pick of the week: Ryane Clowe, San Jose Sharks. The Sharks play more games going forward than any other team in the league. So Clowe is undervalued because he has played so few games. Last season he had a run of eight points in 14 games and another run of five points in 13 games.  So his current run of 13 points in 24 games doesn't bother me in terms of expected end-of-season results.

The Wire...

Mostly short-term grabs here, but as always some potential steals ...

Erik Condra, Ottawa Senators (5-1-4-5, plus-7, 2 PIM, 10 SOG) — Love this guy's handle. Perhaps because I was a big Peter Bondra fan and the names sound similar. He's got some of Bondra's streakiness, too. He's playing with Kyle Turris and a red-hot Daniel Alfredsson and for that reason alone he'll continue his hot play for a little while yet.

Tom Wandell, Dallas Stars (4-1-4-5, plus-5, 0 PIM, 7 SOG) — "Magic" Wandell, like Condra, is a late draft pick and late bloomer. He had one great season in Sweden, but that is the only season we can really get a lock on — before the NHL he bounced around leagues more than a '90s Edmonton draft pick. At the NHL level, he's been a dependable fourth liner with some offensive upside, but he's never been used in that role. That hasn't changed, I wish I could say different. But he's producing right now and at worst he'll give you some temporary help in the plus/minus department.

Derek Dorsett, Columbus Blue Jackets (6-0-1-1, even, 30 PIM, 5 SOG) —It's obvious which category this guy will help you with. The good thing about his recent penalty run is that he's been getting them every game, not all at once. And the domino effect of the Jeff Carter injury will see him with better linemates, which will see to it that he tops his career high of 17 points by March. That's a nice little bonus for a one-category wonder.

Raphael Diaz, Montreal Canadiens (7-0-6-6, even, 2 PIM, 5 SOG) — There are a lot of parallels between Diaz and countryman Mark Streit. He's not at that level yet, but you'll see flashes of offense here and there.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Phoenix Coyotes (12-2-6-8, plus-1, 4 PIM, 21 SOG) — He's been seeing a lot more ice time and responsibility with Adrian Aucoin being in and out of the lineup.  OEL is starting to show why he was the No.6 pick of the 2009 draft.

Jason Williams, Pittsburgh Penguins (21 points in 25 AHL games) — The Penguins are waiting to recall him because if both Dustin Jeffrey and Arron Asham return to action, they may not need him. But I think he'll get that phone call and he'll see some good ice time. With both Jordan Staal and James Neal sidelined, the Pens will look to their veteran AHLers for some offensive help much like they did last year with Brett Sterling (who went on to post five points in five games during his cup of coffee with them).

Jordin Tootoo, Nashville Predators (20-6-10-16, plus-2, 36 PIM, 57 SOG) — The Wheel of Offense in Nashville has landed on Jordin Tootoo, so ride the hot wave before they spin the wheel again. The Predators are notorious for spreading out their scoring and rotating the hot streaks through different lines week by week. We're at the midpoint and Tootoo already has his career high.

For more fantasy hockey tips, take a gander at DobberHockey. And while you're at it, follow Dobber's fantasy hockey musings on Twitter. For midseason help in your fantasy league, get some second-half projections, prospect info and more in Dobber's sixth annual Midseason Fantasy Guide.

It's been two full days since the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins met Saturday morning for the first time since the Stanley Cup Final, and clearly, little has changed. Not only do both teams maintain severe dislike for one another, but the postgame war of words remains as entertaining as ever.

After Claude Julien defended Brad Marchand's low-bridge hit on Sami Salo as an act of self-defense (Marchand apparently mistaking Salo for the much more intimidating Boo Radley), Alain Vigneault was very direct in his opinion of this interpretation of the events, saying, "That's stupid. That's a stupid comment."

Vigneault added the following:

"Marchand -- this is just my feeling on this -- some day he's going to get it. Somebody is going to say enough is enough and they're going to hurt the kid, because he plays to hurt players and in my mind if the league doesn't take care of it, somebody else will.

Julien was presented with Vigneault's comments during his morning presser, and he responded:

I think it's pretty hypocritical, everything that's been going on. It's unfortunate because, you know, sometimes you gotta look in your backyard. We all know that [Vigneault's] got the same type of players on his team and they've all done the same thing. You just have to look at Burrows putting his blade in Thornton's throat. It's so hypocritical. It's unfortunate. I guess we're stupid, we're idiots, they're the smartest team in the league.

I'm sure the "I guess we're stupid" line is going to get a lot of play, but if you ask me, the real gem here was Julien's response to Vigneault's "He's gonna get it" comment regarding Marchand:

"We all know that that comment's been said before and it didn't turn out well, so we'll leave it at that."

My stars, I do believe Julien just made a Todd Bertuzzi reference. Brad Marchand approves of this low blow.

As an amusing aside, if the Canucks win Monday night in Florida, Alain Vigneault becomes the Western Conference's coaching representative at the NHL All-Star Game. Julien will be there as well by virtue of winning the Cup. Considering both guys could suffer a psychotic meltdown by being forced to coach a team that doesn't backcheck, things could get interesting.

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.

• In case you were a little hazy about who won the Internet today, The Royal Half won the Internet today. [TRH]

• "Three Benilde-St. Margaret's students are organizing a pond hockey tournament to raise money for their schoolmate and recently injured player Jack Jablonski and his family. Originally thought to be a small event, to which only 30 Benilde-St. Margaret students were initially invited to, it has now exploded to over 1,000 people "attending", according to the Facebook event page." [KSTP]

• Chicago Blackhawks standout Patrick Sharp will miss up to a month with a left wrist/hand injury. Well that sucks: The reigning NHL All-Star Game MVP might not get a chance to defend the crown. [Sun Times]

• The Dallas Stars are awaiting results from an MRI on Mike Ribeiro's knee. [Defending Big D]

• Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn, Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Joffrey Lupul and Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Jan. 8. Benn sparked the Dallas offense with seven points (four goals, three assists).

• Ken Campbell on the NHLPA/NHL showdown: "Fehr doesn't care what you, I, Bettman or anyone else thinks of him. His primary concern has always been his constituents and if stonewalling this proposal gives the players some extra chips in the next round of collective bargaining, Fehr is simply doing his job. And you can be assured if the players aren't happy with the job he's doing, they'll simply pay him a huge severance package and kick him to the curb. In case you haven't noticed, they have a fairly well documented history of doing that." [THN]

• Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak finally have their Bell Centre showdown on Tuesday night. Said Price: "He led the team to the conference finals, so fans were very attached to him — and it was well deserved." [Canadiens]

• When will the Nashville Predators score their elusive Goo-Goo Goal? [Preds On The Glass]

• "Dale Weise Offers Multiple Excuses for Embarrassingly Refusing to Fight Shawn Thornton." This may shock and awe you, but that headline appeared on a Boston website. [NESN]

• Dave Lozo's Vezina Trophy pick at the midway point in the season: Not Tim Thomas or Jonathan Quick or Jimmy Howard. [NHL]

• Napoleon Dynamite Producer Mike Scully Talks 'Lisa on Ice', His Legendary Hockey Episode of 'The Simpsons.' [Puck The Media]

• Buzzing The Net has five questions with Saskatoon Blades defenseman Dalton Thrower and incredibly not one of them is "dude, how awesome is it to be a hockey fighter with the last name 'Thrower?'" [BTN]

• Really interesting interview with Paul Kelly, current Executive Director of NCAA College Hockey, in which he discusses the future of NCAA games held in Canada. What about a Frozen Four in Toronto, for example? [Arctic Ice Hockey]

• In which Joel Rechlicz of Hershey attempts to fight the Phantoms bench. The target of his ire: Tom Sesito. Rechlicz crushed Sestito with a check late in the third. Sestito went to the bench instead of taking an opportunity to fight. "That's what he does," Rechlicz Told PennLive.com. "He runs his mouth and doesn't back anything up. I wasn't too surprised or shocked about it." [Some Strong Language in Crowd]

• The Edmonton Oilers recalled Magnus Paajarvi and Ryan O'Marra and are trying to get Gilbert Brule through waivers as Jordan Eberle undergoes an MRI on his knee. [Slam]

• The New Jersey Devils, a team for whom "fan relations" used to consist of a magnetic calendar night every season, are getting high praise for their use of social media. [Sports Business Daily]

• Scottie Upshall says his hip/groin/sports hernia/core injury is feeling better. [On Frozen Pond]

• Tom Pyatt gets a new 2-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Lightning]

• The Cannon on Scott Arniel's firing: "One question that pops into my mind is whether you can classify this group of players as coach-killers. Without being too dramatic, it seems as though (as they did with former coach Ken Hitchcock) they quit early on in the season. We'll never know for sure if the players tuned him out, and if so, it's strange to think that a coach has lost his room after less than two full seasons." [The Cannon]

• Stat Nerd Alert: Cool stuff on the Cap Hit of Injured Players metric. [Copper and Blue]

• Backhand Shelf says the Los Angeles Kings have hit rock bottom and finally turned the corner in a span of 24 hours.

• Jonathan Bernier will start against the Washington Capitals tonight for the Los Angeles Kings, and Dustin Penner will play barring any breakfast item-related mishaps. [LA Kings Insider]

• Minnesota high school hockey player Jenna Privette's father and coach told the Star-Tribune that his daughter had regained feeling in her upper body and that an MRI had revealed no spinal cord breaks. Great news in a grim situation. [Prep Rally]

• Mike Yeo of the Minnesota Wild on Benilde-St. Margaret's player Jack Jablonski, who is paralyzed after being checked from behind: "We feel we represent the state of hockey and the players that play hockey in this area, the people that support hockey in this area, we have an attachment to. So we feel that this is one of our own here that had this accident, and believe me, we're hurting." [Pioneer Press]

• Finally, we really enjoyed this fans' eye view of Philadelphia Flyers Winter Classic tailgating, right down to the beer funneling.

Winter Classic Tailgate from Ryan Komorowski on Vimeo.

There are two really weird moments in this line brawl and another skirmish between the Central Hockey League's Laredo Bucks and Allen American from Sunday afternoon, which produced 238 penalty minutes.

The first odd moment is at around 1:30 into the clip, where two players are brawling near an open door in the rink and one of the on-ice officials has to literally push the combatants away, lest they fall through the opening. That leads to two zebras tackling the players as they fight.

The other odd moment was when Scott Langdon of Allen skated over pulled A.J. Hau out from the collection of Laredo players celebrating their 2-1 win and tried to rag-doll him. And no one … does … anything. Finally, captain Adam Rivet skates over and breaks it up.

From Kevin Jordan of CHL Insider:

As the third period started, the tensions built between the two teams. The physical play began shortly into the period as Mark Nebus battled with Trevor Hendrikx. Matt Boyd dropped the mitts less than five minutes later with Tyler Ludwig. The Bucks took the lead when David Inman scored his second goal of the night on a powerplay at 14:04. Inman buried the puck between the legs of the Allen goaltender, being assisted by Ryan Sparling and Erik Boisvert. Once the Bucks secured the lead, the game took a very different turn. The Allen Americans head coach was ejected with only 3 minutes left in the game, after he launched a puck across the ice. With a little over ten seconds remaining, the Americans tried to bully the Bucks into a line brawl. After all the equipment was finally cleared off the ice, the Bucks held on for the final seconds to win big at home.

You read that right: Dwight Mullins, former Saskatoon Blade and Minnesota North Stars pick, as given two game misconducts for abuse of officials, sending a puck across the ice in protest. Good times.

s/t reader Mike Matthews.

On Sunday night, we wrote about an incident involving Anaheim Ducks fans and Columbus Blue Jackets players who were seated in the penalty box in the third period — an incident that delayed their game for roughly five minutes and led to the ejection of spectators.

Reader Alan is a season-ticket holder for the Ducks and attended last night's game. He didn't see the initial flashpoint between the fans and Derek MacKenzie, Derek Dorsett and Jared Boll but saw the aftermath.

Here's Alan:

"It was obvious the fans got under Boll's and Dorsett's skin.  There were three players in the box at that time; after bush league play on Columbus' part on the ice.

"I watched for 5 minutes as Boll primarily stood up and was jawing at the fans and even motioned that he would squirt water on them at one point.  It appeared that Boll was challenging the fans to extra activities and further instigated the whole thing.  Boll had every opportunity to stop and he chose not to.  Referees stopped the game for more than 5 minutes and was talking to the players in the box.  To me they were warning the players not to interact with the fans.  I think Columbus should have received a deal of game as well.

"At no time did I see anything wrong with what the fans were doing.  They made no obscene gestures or was throwing anything.  It appeared to be smack talk between them.  The fans got a reaction and the players fueled it.

"The first two guys that got escorted out, both in Orange, were sitting right next to the girl in the Orange in your picture;  directly behind the penalty box.  She refused to leave with the two other guys initially and was eventually led out by police.  I did not see her once stand up or confront the players, the other two guys in Orange did, but I assume she was with them.  The guy in the hooded sweatshirt in your picture was actually sitting in the second row behind the penalty box and he appeared to be the one that got under Boll's skin the most and was verbally jawing with all the players in the box."

So there you go. A little yelling, a little squirting and police involvement. A good night at the 'ol barn if there ever was one.

Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins has said of his clipping-penalized hit on Sami Salo of the Vancouver Canucks: "If that's an illegal hit, I'll take that out of my game."

Say goodbye to the self-defense hip-check, Mr. Marchand. The NHL and Dept. of Player Safety head Brendan Shanahan suspended the Bruins forward for five games on Monday, citing Salo's concussion, Marchand's previous run-ins with the NHL and their belief that there was nothing defensive about the hit:

Do you agree or disagree with five games for Brad Marchand?

From the NHL:

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has been suspended for five games and will forfeit $152,439.02 for clipping Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo during NHL Game #598 in Boston on Saturday, Jan. 7, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Marchand, who received a two-game suspension in March 2011, is classified as a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Accordingly, he forfeits his salary based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (185). The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 18:47 of the second period. Marchand received a major penalty for clipping and a game misconduct.

Marchand will miss games Jan. 10 vs. Winnipeg, Jan. 12 vs. Montreal, Jan. 14 at Carolina, Jan. 16 at Florida and Jan. 17 at Tampa Bay. He will be eligible to return Jan. 19 at New Jersey.

Here is Shanahan's explanation for the video impaired:

"Marchand skates towards Salo along the boards. Rather than delivering a shoulder-to-shoulder check, Marchand drops down dangerously low into Salo's knee area, lifting Salo up and over to cause an injury."

… "While we understand that in certain circumstances, a player may duck or bail instinctively in order to protect himself from an imminent, dangerous check, we do not view this play as defensive or instinctive. Rather, we feel this is a predatory, low hit delivered intentionally by Marchand in order to flip his opponent over him.

"Further, Salo is not coming at Marchand with great speed or with a threatening posture. He does nothing to indicate that Marchand is about to be hit illegally or with excessive force. To be clear, we do not consider this to be a defensive act where there are no other options available to Marchand.

"As a matter of fact, the exact scenario played out 16 seconds earlier, as Marchand was able to deliver and absorb a clean shoulder to shoulder check to Salo. While this hit was a clean play, Marchand shows clear frustration. That may have led Marchand to believe that Salo might seek retribution, that is not a defense for clipping a player."

Again, you have to respect the job the NHL and Shanahan do with these videos. They clearly show it was a clip, as Marchand went for the knees. They clearly show Salo wasn't attacking Marchand in a "predatory" manner, but that one could safely assume Marchand was approaching Salo in such a manner. They show the interactions between the two seconds earlier (although, again, Marchand could claim he was concerned about the second hit after he had a go at Salo earlier in the shift).

But more to the point: They're clearly attempting to draw the line between what Marchand did here and what he did against Daniel Sedin during the 2011 Stanley Cup Final and what a player like Mike Richards did in defending himself with an elbow when Pat Kaleta ran him last season.

There still is room for questionable reactions to illegal attempts to injure. They just don't see Marchand having been in that situation, despite the case stated by the Bruins and the player.

Five games is five more than I would have given him. I saw it as an attempt at a hip check that missed the mark. It's something he's done before.

Maybe's the Neanderthallic, Scott Stevens fanboy approach to the play; but when I heard five-game suspension, I think about Rene Bourque chicken-winging Nicklas Backstrom. I don't think about this play — and I'm also not suspending to the injury, but understand why the NHL does.

Shanahan's explanation was completely reasonable. The punishment was well-argued. We just see the play differently, and would have left it at a game misconduct.

But for all you predatory hip-checkers in the NHL — what, all five or six of you left? — the bar is set.

Back by popular demand, here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.

The Steve Ott Bobblehead doll will forever change our lives. [s/t Brandon Worley]

Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Florida Panthers, 7:30 p.m. What, no pregame ceremony to welcome Keith Ballard back to Florida? This could be a trap game for the Canucks, what with all the emotions wrapped up in that Boston win from the weekend.  Roberto Luongo when facing the Panthers since his escape from Florida: "In four games against them since the trade, he's 3-0-1 with a 1.68 GAA, including a 31-save shutout in his last visit to Sunrise, Fla., on Feb. 11, 2010."

Preview: Washington Capitals at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 p.m. Battle of The Teams That Fired Their Coaches Because They Weren't Living Up To Expectations! The Kings are 5-1-3 under Darryl Sutter, while the Capitals are 9-7-1 under Dale Hunter. No Backstrom or Green for the Capitals; Tomas Vokoun gets his sixth straight start. Sutter's trying to get Kopitar rolling by shaking up the lines. If Dustin Penner scores, we damn well better see a pancake on the ice.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock.

Evening Reading

• Terrific post by the Puck Buddys on a gay player competing on a "perennial powerhouse high school team in the upper Midwest." [Puck Buddys]

• Nashville Predators GM David Poile on the lack of progress in talks with defenseman Ryan Suter: "We'll be prepared, if we feel that we weren't going to be able to sign Ryan, and if we thought we were in a position that we had to or should trade him. I'm certainly hoping that doesn't happen, I don't want that to happen, but I want to be prepared for that." [The Tennessean]

• Colby Cosh on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the hyphenated name revolution in the NHL. [MacLeans]

• Twelve stories to watch in the second half of the NHL season. That Crosby fellow sounds interesting. [NHL]

• Finally, to help feed your emotions on Brad Marchand's suspension, it's the great Mason Raymond hit comparison video! (Which means absolutely nothing because it was pre-Shanahan!) [YouTube]

Puck Daddy Reader Comment of the Day:

JC Hinds on the Penner Pancake affair:

"Rick DiPietro will point and laugh once he's off oxygen."

Bold Prediction: Luongo shuts out the Panthers.

After suspending Brad Marchand for five games earlier on Monday, Dept. of Player Safety sheriff Brendan Shanahan returned with another slightly less contentious Shanaban: Jean-Francois Jacques of the Anaheim Ducks getting dinged for three games after an illegal hit to the head of R.J. Umberger of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

From the NHL:

Anaheim Ducks forward Jean-Francois Jacques has been suspended for three games and will forfeit $23,780.49 in salary for delivering an illegal check to the head of Columbus Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger during NHL Game #613 in Anaheim on Sunday, Jan. 8, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Jacques, who was suspended on Sept. 24, 2011, is classified as a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Accordingly, he forfeits his salary based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (185). The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 14:17 of the third period. A major penalty for elbowing was assessed on the play. Jacques will miss games Jan. 10 vs. Dallas, Jan. 12 at Calgary and Jan. 13 at Edmonton. He will be eligible to return Jan. 15 at Vancouver.

His previous offense was for leaving the bench in the preseason to initiate a fight with Mike Duco.

Evidently, the going rate for this kind of hit is three games. That's what Max Pacioretty got for nailing Kris Letang in the noggin back in November, even though Letang was injured on the play.

It's just a hit that's not longer allowed under the current rules; plus, the shooter's been given the 'right of way' in this situation, which is the right course of action for the NHL even if old school nudniks like my radio partner Jeff Marek disagree.

For the Ducks, it was a bad news/good news situation with supplemental discipline on Monday. From Ducks Blog:

"J.F. hit a player that was vulnerable after shooting the puck and he needs to be more aware in those situations," Ducks GM Bob Murray said. "We will accept the league's ruling and will move forward."

The Ducks did catch a break as defenseman Francois Beauchemin was not suspended or fined for his hit on Jackets center Jeff Carter in the neutral zone. Carter suffered a separated shoulder on the play.

Puck-Rakers called it "a blindside hit on Jeff Carter that left the Blue Jackets center with a separated shoulder." What say you?

The Los Angeles Kings had been struggling offensively entering their game against the Washington Capitals on Monday night. But when defenseman Jack Johnson scored in the second period, it was the third tally for the goal-starved team in the game.

Why, it's almost like a higher power was watching over the Kings' offense … so, naturally, Johnson decided to celebrate his goal by Tebowing.

Here's the Los Angeles feed:

Yes, it's the latest collision between hockey and the pose popularized by the Denver Broncos' Messianic quarterback Tim Tebow. Colton Orr of the Toronto Maple Leafs performed one during Leafs Nation Fan Night in Dec. 2011. Rocco Grimaldi of North Dakota Tebow'd after scoring his first NCAA goal.

Of particular interest here: Jack Johnson attended Michigan. So did this guy named Tom Brady, who was a bit of a quarterbacking legend there. You may have heard of his NFL team, the New England Patriots; they face Tebow and the Broncos next weekend in the AFC playoffs.

Say, what happened to being a Michigan man and proud of it?!

UPDATE: Per Lisa Dillman of the LA Times, Johnson said that some of his Michigan buddies were in town and they watched the Denver game against Pittsburgh. They asked him if he'd Tebow if he scored against the Capitals. "I said, 'Sure deal.' Then I ended up scoring and I thought, 'I've got to pay up,'" said Johnson.

Brad Marchand has an as-told-to blog on ESPN Boston this season, and the latest edition covers the Boston Bruins' grudge match against the Vancouver Canucks last weekend and his hit on defenseman Sami Salo, along with its aftermath.

On the clipping call that eventually became a 5-game suspension for clipping, Marchand said:

It technically wasn't a clip. Clipping is when you hit someone at the knees and I did not hit him at the knees. Anyone that has seen the video will see that I hit him in the upper thigh under the buttocks.

They can call it a clipping, but they obviously don't know the rules of hockey. I felt like I was trying to protect myself and get low and he went over me. It was very unfortunate that he was injured on the play.

This is pretty much the same defense Marchand made prior to his meeting with Brendan Shanahan and, oddly, is still the one he's making after slo-mo video revealed the Boston Bruins forward made contact much closer to the knees than the "upper thigh."

The juiciest part of the blog was Marchand's response to Canucks Coach Alain Vigneault.

Vigneault responded to the Salo hit by saying of Marchand: "Somebody is going to say enough is enough and they're going to hurt the kid, because he plays to hurt players and in my mind if the league doesn't take care of it, somebody else will."

Marchand, on ESPN Boston:

Their coach [Alain Vigneault] came out and said I play to hurt players. He obviously wanted to take a shot at me and stir the pot for the hearing [Monday]. It just shows the class he has or lack thereof. I really am not going to respond or bite into what he's trying to feed me there. I hear Twitter was filled with comments about me today.

For anyone that wants to call me someone who takes cheap shots, they can say what they want. It doesn't affect me. I don't care what people who don't know me and I don't know them and they have no meaning to me, I don't care what they say. I don't really care what my reputation is. I just want to play. I'm doing this as my job. I love this team. I'm just trying to be a player and I don't care what my reputation is really. I'm not out there to hurt guys. When I'm out there, I play a hard-nosed game and play hard. If guys are soft and don't like it, then that's fine. I'm not out there to please anybody. I'm out there to do my job.

Yeah, so about that whole "supplemental discipline as a deterrent" thing…

Marchand knows the only two realistic defenses for his actions are (a) that it was a legal check and (b) that it was self-defense. Video evidence seems to refute the former; the NHL and Shanahan dismissed the latter on Monday.

But it's the line Marchand's going to continue to sell as this controversy continues to simmer.

No. 1 Star: Marcel Goc, Florida Panthers

The forward's power-play goal in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and provided the margin of victory in the Panthers' 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks. He poked the puck past Roberto Luongo during a flurry of shots. Said Goc after the game to the AP: "It wasn't a pretty one. It wasn't anything fancy, but it worked." Goc also assisted on the game-tying goal by Dmitry Kulikov about five minutes earlier in the second period.

No. 2 Star: Kyle Clifford, Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have been struggling scoring goals lately. Where else would they turn for offensive support than Clifford, who hadn't scored a goal since Oct. 20? He tied the game at 1-1 in the first period with his second of the season, and then had the primary assist on Jack Johnson's insurance goal in the second period to help the Kings to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals. Clifford finished at a plus-2.

No. 3 Star: Marcus Johansson, Washington Capitals

One of the lone bright spots for the Caps, Johansson scored 1:34 into the first period and then had a layup off a Kings' defensive breakdown in the third period to give him nine goals on the season.

Honorable mention: Anze Kopitar, Jarret Stoll and Justin Williams had the other goals for the Kings. Jonathan Bernier made 20 saves. … Dale Weise opened the scoring for the Canucks in the first. … Scott Clemmensen made 25 saves.

Did you know? Jack Johnson honored a certain Denver quarterback after his goal. No, not Jake Plummer, the other guy.

Dishonorable mention: Tomas Vokoun was yanked for the third period after giving up four goals on 27 shots. … The Caps and Canucks were 0-3 on the power play. … Alex Burrows took an interference penalty with 29 seconds left in the game to give Florida a power play. … Brooks Laich was a minus-2 and gave away a goal to the Kings with a turnover in his own zone.

Monday night's Washington Capitals' loss to the Los Angeles Kings was the midpoint in the 2011-12 season for the NHL.

Although not every team has played 41 games, there's enough of a sample size to pass out some awards and hand out some superlatives for the season.

Please hand out some awards of your own in the comments.

The Awards That Actually Exist

Hart: Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers. He wouldn't win the Art Ross, as Henrik Sedin leads the NHL with 49 points. But he has 48 in seven fewer games than Sedin and has been the most impressive offensive player in the NHL this season — revitalizing Jaromir Jagr in the process. Jonathan Toews and Phil Kessel are also in the conversation.

Vezina: Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings. The Red Wings' Jimmy Howard saw his GAA inflate recently, leaving Quick as the goalie that's both a workhorse (35 starts) and a winner (18-11-6) and has the glamour stats (1.93 GAA, 6 shutouts). It's a race with Howard, Henrik Lundqvist and Tim Thomas, but Quick's winning it for now.

Norris: Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins. Our buddy Corey Masisak of NHL.com nailed this one: Shea Weber was cruising to this award earlier in the year, but the concussion and the slip in dominance for he and Ryan Suter has opened the door for Chara, who has 25 points and is a plus-27. And that must be an awfully big door.

Calder: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers. Now out with an injury, the Nuge may very well be passed soon in the rookie scoring race by Adam Henrique of the Devil. Henrique and Matt Read of the Flyers are the only two rookies that can match Nugent-Hopkins' impact on their respective teams, but until proven otherwise it's RNH's trophy.

Jack Adams: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis Blues. Extraordinarily competitive field, with rookie coaches and veteran coaches vying for the prize. We'd give it to Hitchcock, who has gone 18-5-5 since taking over the St. Louis Blues and transforming them into the playoff team they should have been. Kevin Dineen is right there with him, but there's probably a little too much made of him transforming last year's team into a division leader when last year's team doesn't play in Florida anymore. John Tortorella will be right there as well.

Selke: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks. Killing it with a 61.3 faceoff winning percentage and the best two-way player in the NHL right now. Patrice Bergeron's right there with him for this.

Lady Byng: Who cares.

• • •

Best Surprise (Team)

Due respect to the Florida Panthers, but the Ottawa Senators were picked by many to battle the Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders for last in the East. Instead, they're in a playoff spot despite giving up more goals than they've scored. Kudos to Paul MacLean.

Worst Surprise (Team)

The Washington Capitals played poorly enough to get Bruce Boudreau fired and Dale Hunter hired, and still can't seem to find the consistency and fire they lack. They trail the Panthers by six points, and are a point behind Winnipeg in the Southeast.

Best Goal

Sure, it does require a "but it was against the Blue Jackets" caveat, but Jamie Benn's undressing of their defense en route to a nice snipe at the end was a dynamic tally.

Biggest Surprise Player

Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues. He was already playing good hockey before Ken Hitchcock took over. But through 21 games, he has a 1.62 GAA and a .940 save percentage, which are Tim Thomas numbers.

Worst Surprise Player

With 10 points in 30 games and one goal in his first 14 games with the Buffalo Sabres, Ville Leino went from Pegulaville to Bustburgh.

The Green Jacket

Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes, for posting the most impressive golf score of the first half of the season: 23-under par! Good show, ole chap — we're pretentiously clapping for you.

Most Underrated Player

Dan Girardi of the New York Rangers played outstanding hockey without partner Marc Staal. He's a shutdown guy, he blocks shots, he gives you a little offense. And he'll likely finish 700 votes behind Erik Karlsson for the Norris.

Most Easily Predicted But No Less Impressive Stat

The Winnipeg Jets using their rabid fans and travel advantage to produce a 14-6-1 home record, which has them near the playoff bubble.

Best Winter Classic Moment

Sadly for the actual game, nothing could match the excitement of the alumni game with Eric Lindros's return to Philly and Bernie Parent getting between the pipes.

Best HBO 24/7 Moment

Gee, that's a tough one.

Best Trade

Mark Letestu to the Blue Jackets for a fourth-round pick. A spare part for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the time, Letestu scored 10 points in 25 games for the Jackets. Lord knows the Pens could use him again with their injuries.

Best Redemption

Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs going from last-picked in a fantasy draft and watching his former team win the Stanley Cup to being a Hart contender and energizing Joffrey Lupul's career.

Best Redemption Part Deux

Matt Cooke of the Penguins going from public enemy No. 1 to a Lady Byng candidate.

Best Coaching Change

Ken Hitchcock for Davis Payne with the St. Louis Blues, as was stated in the Jack Adams entry.

Worst Coaching Change

While Bruce Boudreau nearly won this award for going 5-9-2 since replacing Randy Carlyle, a late entry stole the prize: Scott Arniel getting canned by the Columbus Blue Jackets in favor of interim coach Todd Richards, simply because it's completely pointless this deep in the season and with Columbus so far out of the playoff picture.

Best Shanaban

Eight games for Andy Sutton, after he hit Alexei Ponikarovsky from behind. The epitome of "doesn't get it," Sutton was suspended twice in the first half of the season for a total of 13 games. Take heed, Brad Marchand.

Worst Shanaban

The errant stick on Matt Calvert that somehow earned Pierre-Marc Bouchard, a boy scout of a player for the Minnesota Wild, a two-game suspension.

Best Taunt

Sorry, we know we're supposed to crucify Arron Asham for his "go to sleep" celebration given that Jay Beagle suffered a concussion and Asham himself called it classless … but we marked out. Better than Artem Anisimov's forced rifle shot on a meaningless goal against Tampa, any day of the week.

Worst Taunt

Krys Barch's "slip on a banana peel" line comes close, but Wayne Simmonds getting  caught on video calling Sean Avery a, uh, "fat head" (or so the Flyers claimed to the NHL) was embarrassing.

Dumbest All-Star Vote

All due respect to the Ottawa Senators fans flooding the ballot box so the locals appear in the All-Star Game, but we don't want to live in a world where Sergei Gonchar garners 603,628 votes and ranks above both Nicklas Lidstrom and Zdeno Chara in the fan voting.

Best Fight

This punch-fest by Jay Rosehill of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brian McGrattan of the Nashville Predators on Nov. 17 still hasn't been matched — and neither has McGrattan's "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!" motion at the end.

Best Excuse

Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins missing a team breakfast and earning a one-game scratching in Winnipeg, claiming that his alarm clock didn't go off because it was set to "Boston time." In which case, you know, he would have been awake hours earlier.

Worst Excuse

Milan Lucic decides to run over Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres, and talks about his own wellbeing: "If you look at the video I was cringing after the play because I was winded because it was such a hard collision. He got a good piece of me as well."

Biggest Pariah

Randy Cunneyworth, Montreal Canadiens, whose greatest sin was being hired on an interim basis to replace Jacques Martin and being a mono-linguistic Anglophone. But that didn't stop fans and politically motivated crap-disturbers to protest his hiring.

Best Rant

Brian Burke's THE RATS ARE RUNNING THIS LEAGUE speech.

Biggest Fall From Grace

Has another NHL player seen his stock fall more than Ryan Miller this season, both in performance and respect?

Best Game

The Vancouver Canucks at the Boston Bruins on Jan. 7, 2012. Nasty, fun, entertaining and let's have seven more like it in June, shall we boys?

Worst Game

The Philadelphia Flyers at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 9, 2011. Look, the stall to battle the 1-3-1 was a clever tactic that made for squirm-inducing television. But it also made for garbage hockey between two teams on national television.

Biggest Bummer (Currently)

That Sidney Crosby returned from months of concussion rehab, lit up the hockey world with a 4-point night and looking very much like a star again … until concussion-like symptoms returned and Crosby went out again after Dec. 5. Flat out depressing for a hockey fan.

Biggest Bummer (Harbinger of Doom Division)

That the NHLPA's refusal to consent to realignment could mean we're back in labor war hell later this year.

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Fans and players squawk at the penalty box. It's a fact of hockey life. Sometimes the language crosses whatever line either party seeks to establish in the moment. Sometimes a player will give a little water bottle dousing to a taunting spectator.

So with that established, we're really not trying to make a federal case out of the incident between a few Anaheim Ducks fans and three Columbus Blue Jackets players on Sunday night. But in the interest of fairness, we asked for eyewitness accounts of the incident, and the fans involved reached out; and this was an unusual situation, what with the game being delayed for five minutes until the fans were escorted out of their seats.

Bradley B. Mugar owns Anaheim Jewelry & Coin and is a season ticket holder for the Ducks "since Day 1 in 1993," having paid deposits since before they even knew the team was coming. He said he and his family have never been ejected from a game, and that his wife Susan has been "embarrassed and publicly humiliated."

What went down between the fans and players?

Here's Mugar in an email sent to Puck Daddy and copied to several individuals within the Ducks organization and at the Honda Center:

"I was sitting four seats in and my wife was sitting on the aisle, my son was sitting next to her and his friend next to him. However, my son was sick for the first two periods and resting in the car. He came in the rink just prior to the incident and here is what happened.

"There were two players in the box (Derek Dorsett and Derek MacKenzie) and my son stood up to heckle them. Before he had a chance to, the security guard (Alfred) told him he had to sit down. Ryan (my son) asked, 'What? We can't heckle the players?' The security guard said 'you can say whatever you want, just as long as you're sitting in your seat.' So my son sat down and started to heckle the players who were already having a hissy fit in the box.

"All heckling was clean and no foul language was used on our part. And all the fans were heckling. The player somehow made eye contact with my son who is a big guy and when he stands up I'm sure he looks even bigger

"Jared Boll entered the box and heckling continued by all the fans. Even the lady in front of us was shaking the glass between the penalty box. The game was stopped basically because of Boll and Dorsett going crazy (Derek MacKenzie was minding his own business the whole time.) and the NHL sent Honda Center security to escort my son out of the Rink.

"At this point Dorsett called my son's friend a 'faggot' and told him to meet him outside after the game, and he was going to kick his ass. My son's friend said nothing and is very shy. I went to the back when security took my son back and while they were talking with him about what happened I had to use the restroom so I asked the NHL rep I think are you removing my son, and he said I'm not sure yet. I told him I had to use the restroom and when I got back he was gone and the rep was still standing there. I asked him if I could go back in the game and he said yes go ahead. When I got in there my wife and our friend were gone and all the fans around us said they took your wife and other son (they didn't know he was our guest) too and they didn't even do anything. It's beyond me why they would take them out and say it was OK for me to go in.

"Earlier, security had arrived to remove my son and my wife stood up and blocked my son from leaving because she knew it was bogus. All the fans were furious that security was doing this. Even to the point that they were yelling at security to leave. Other fans close to us told my son not to go because he had done nothing wrong. Eventually my son left with security and as he was leaving Boll yelled to him, 'your mom's a bitch' and squirted his water bottle through the gap in the glass.

"My son's friend left without any confrontation, but my wife was not inclined to leave because she had done nothing wrong. She ended up leaving because the game had become not fun anymore and she did not want to be there anymore. As I came back from the restroom I asked the security guard at the top of the aisle if I could go back down and he said "yes". When I got to my seats my family was gone.

"Basically what happened here was you have some players that are frustrated with their season taking it out on fans. You have NHL officials/ refs that would rather kick out fans instead of getting their professional athletes to calm down, really poorly managed security and Loyal fans/season ticket holders getting kicked out and embarrassed in front of their peers.

"Within 10 minutes of being kicked out my whole family including members that weren't even at the game started getting calls and texts from people that saw the incident. It is embarrassing and it hurts our reputation because all they see is my family getting escorted out by security and police. They don't know the true story."

So there you go. Obviously, some accusations here that are likely to garner the Blue Jackets a bit of criticism, but keep in mind it's one father/husband/Ducks fan's word.

And now hopefully well move on to pressing issues like the trading of Ryan Getzlaf and the firing of Scott Howson …

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The combination of Jordan Staal's knee injury and James Neal's broken foot, along with the continued absence of Sidney Crosby, had people tossing around the word "devastating" for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the next few weeks. Even The Pensblog was speechless.

But here's something we all underestimated: James Neal is a hockey player. He's made of sterner stuff than to let a little thing like a broken foot get in the way of shouldering some of the offensive load for his team.

Of course, it helps that the initial diagnosis was much graver than the actual diagnosis.

Sam Kasan of the Penguins reported that both Neal and Craig Adams, the ace penalty killer who hurt his knee in practice earlier this week, both said they're good to go for tonight's tilt against the Ottawa Senators.

From Kasan, Coach Dan Bylsma relayed the following:

First test on Neal showed fracture. MRI showed pre-existing condition. Has bone bruise but can play. For Neal, with time it will get better. He felt relieved. Just bone bruise should heal as days go by.

Dave Molinari of the Post-Gazette said the Penguins could also have Dustin Jeffrey available after a setback from knee surgery. Hey, now the Penguins only need Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Paul Martin and Jordan Staal to get healthy. Or find a forward and a goalie for a really awesome pickup team as they heal …

There are a few players in the NHL that have been through concussion-related hell and then returned as effective, key players for their teams. Patrice Bergeron is one of them. One hopes Marc Staal is another. Then there's Pierre-Marc Bouchard of the Minnesota Wild.

Bouchard was more than just a very good player who returned from a prolonged absence as a standout player for the Wild; he was symbolic of the fact that NHL players can bounce back from brain injuries, and was "an ambassador for the game, speaking out for more concussion awareness in the league" according to First Round Bust, in its (rightful) lambasting of the media for leaving Bouchard off the Masterton Trophy short list.

This season, he's appeared in 37 games and has 22 points for a Wild team starved for offense. But now that season's been interrupted: Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reported today that Bouchard "has been sidelined with concussion-like symptoms." And they're related to an illegal hit the NHL deemed unworthy of supplemental discipline at the time, enraging Wild fans.

From Russo at the Star Tribune:

According to GM Chuck Fletcher, Bouchard hasn't felt comfortable since the Zach Bogosian check into the boards last month in Winnipeg. Late in last week's Vancouver game, Bouchard was checked again and has been experiencing symptoms.

Fletcher said Bouchard's symptoms aren't near as severe as when he was out with post-concussion syndrome during the year-plus away, Fletcher did admit they were being vague with Bouchard's injury, but he did suffer a groin strain as well against Vancouver.

We want to be encouraged by the fact that his symptoms "aren't near as severe" as those from his year-long absence from the NHL. But they said the same thing about Crosby and … well, it's been a month as of last Thursday.

From Bryan Reynolds of Hockey Wilderness:

This is terrible news, both for the team and for Bouchard. He is irreplaceable within the organization, as you can call up as many David McIntyre's as you want, but none of them will be Pierre-Marc Bouchard. This is also just another black mark on the league as the players continue to drop with concussions.

Here's the hit from Bogosian that rattled (and bloodied) Bouchard:

The NHL Department of Player Safety ruled at the time that "Bogosian did not run at Bouchard and that Bouchard turned just prior to the hit"; blogger Bruce Ciskie felt that a cross-check was a cross-check.

Again, the Wild said he "didn't feel right" after this hit, but that another check in a game against the Vancouver Canucks was more directly related to his current symptoms.

But if you ever wondered about the Pandora's Box of suspending to the injury in the NHL, riddle us this: Had the Wild reported that Bouchard was out indefinitely with a re-occurrence of concussion-related symptoms following that game, what are the chances Bogosian gets suspended?

About as good as Pierre-Marc Bouchard missing the Wild's next game …

It's a Tuesday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Stars: Bernie Federko, to chat about the late Ron Caron, former GM of the St. Louis Blues.

• In which Marek and Wysh reveal their NHL Awards at the midpoint of the season.

• What the NHL All-Star Game means to us.

• Brad Marchand's suspension and his response to said suspension.

• More concussions in the NHL. Sigh.

• Puck Headlines and Talking Points

Question of the Day: "What are your feelings on the NHL All Star Game?"

Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski.

Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner.

Like many fans, I was stoked when the NHL announced radical realignment for the 2012-13 season.

More reasonable travel! Guaranteed visits from very team to every city! Divisional playoffs! Huzzah!

But they didn't tell us what the playoffs would look like, exactly. And the more I weighed the bloody excess of divisional playoffs against the current model, which has consistently provided thrilling playoff races and playoff series without considerable inequity, I started to have buyer's remorse.

I don't think I was alone. As was noted on Monday's "Marek Vs. Wyshynski", an unnamed team executive inferred to my radio partner that the NHL had second thoughts about realignment. Maybe it was teams recalculating their travel or wondering if the path to playoff revenue just became more arduous.

To that end, the question becomes maddening:

When have you ever seen the NHL back away from a fight with the NHLPA?

When the NHLPA declined to offer consent, the NHL decided not to pursue realignment for the 2012-13 season.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was on Hockey Unfiltered with Todd Lewis last weekend, and said: "Our CBA specifically allows us with the right to make decisions like that, gives union a chance to deny consent in a reasonable way."

The remedy for that denial is arbitration, to Daly said: "We've not made a final decision whether we will bring in arbitration."

But it didn't even need to come to this point, according to Daly, who said:

"We could have unilaterally implemented this.  And probably could have done so in a way that would have insulated it for next year because I'm not sure they could have gotten an arbitration award in time to reverse our schedule. But we chose not to do that, and one of the reasons we chose not to do that is because we don't want to be overly confrontational with the players association."

Once more, with feeling: The NHL that was willing to cancel a season during collective bargaining now won't realign its teams out of concern for the NHLPA's feelings.

The NHL that battled the NHLPA over the Ilya Kovalchuk contract — the kind of long-term deal that could have been settled in the next CBA — was willing to pull a punch here. The NHL that's still in the quagmire in Glendale gave up realignment.

Does that seem like the NHL you know and fear?

Look, there's no question both sides are using this moment as the opening salvo/bear poking for the next CBA negotiation. It's very political. But that doesn't mean it's also unpractical.

Stu Hackel of Sports Illustrated has a dizzying collection of player quotes about the spiked realignment plan, including their concerns about travel and the playoffs. Minnesota Wild player rep Matt Cullen's words resonated:

"There's going to be realignment. I think it's just a matter of trying to do it right instead of rushing through it. There's a lot of information we don't have, and the league is still learning it, too. To be honest, I don't think it's a big scrap. It just a matter of needing more time.

"The travel, from the limited stuff we got, could be potentially worse for some western teams, including Winnipeg," Cullen added. "Without knowing, and it's late in the game, it's obviously hard to come up with a full schedule on a month's notice. Without knowing what that looked like, it's hard to consent or not consent when the potential is there for worse travel."

The earliest the NHL could have given a schedule to the teams and players was May. That's far too late to really know what the repercussions of this new format were, in the time frame the NHLPA was given for approval.

Is there really any reason to make this a process of several months rather than a couple of years? To wait for two additional expansion teams to balance out the conferences? To wait to see what time zone the Phoenix Coyotes will play in next season? To simply flip the Winnipeg Jets for the Columbus Blue Jackets for now with a vow to the Red Wings, Stars, Predators and Wild that their time zone dilemmas will be dealt with down the line?

Why did we need radical realignment for next season?

The cynic in me says this: Because the NHL anticipated that the NHLPA would bargain for a formal voice in the process, as it previously expressed a desire to have more input on team relocations and expansion, it tried to jam it through now.

But again, that's the cynic in me.

I'm still captivated by divisional play. I still want to see Wings and Jackets and Predators and Stars and Wild and Avalanche fans get more amenable travel schedules and TV team. I'm a little iffy on the change in playoff format.

Maybe you're with me, maybe not. But is there anything wrong with taking a step back and making sure we aren't creating additional problems with this solution?

Meanwhile: Do you really believe there's nothing more to Gary Bettman avoiding a fight with the NHLPA?

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.

• This was tweeted by George Richards of the Miami Herald last night with the message: "Watch those #NHL record books! #Canucks coach/staffer rips #Bruins Chara covers in #FlaPanthers press box." Draw your own conclusions. [@OnFrozenPond]

• Jonathan Toews said the Chicago Blackhawks are not "in a panic mode by any means" despite falling to fifth in the West. "We're not worrying about it. All the good teams go through stretches like this." [Between the Circles]

• Claude Giroux will be an All-Star. Scott Hartnell is having a career year. The Philadelphia Flyers coach says it's "criminal" if Hartnell isn't on the team. What, no Jagr? [Broad Street Bull]

• Brad Marchand says that despite his defiant comments in his blog last night, he understands what the NHL is trying to teach him via its 5-game suspension: "I have to do something else next time." [Bruins Blog]

• Finally … Jaroslav Halak … HAS COME BACK TO BELL CENTRE. [Gazette]

• Finally … Michal Roszival … HAS COME BACK TO MSG. [Daily News]

• No Pavel Datsyuk for the Detroit Red Wings tonight, as he battles a lower body injury. How did he get hurt? "It's secret information. KGB tell me, don't tell nobody." [Freep]

• Dallas Stars forward Steve Ott has received a stern phone call from the NHL to knock off the shenanigans. [Defending Big D]

• The Phoenix Coyotes have claimed Gilbert Brule on waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, because one project with a slim chance of ever succeeding in the NHL deserves another. [QMI]

• So this is what has become of Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. [Buffalo News]

• Down Goes Brown with a hilarious midseason mark winners/losers post. "Loser: Columbus Blue Jackets - General manager Scott Howson has been so inundated with around-the-clock phone calls about trading star winger Rick Nash to a contending team that he eventually had to tell Rick Nash to stop phoning him." [DGB]

• The Minnesota Wild need more goals from Dany Heatley: "Heatley is capable of carrying a team with his scoring. The Wild is 10-2-1 when he scores. Four of his goals have tied the score. He has three game-winning goals and scored six times in the third period, both team highs. The Wild needs more of that. Heatley knows it, but he's also careful not to force it." [Star Tribune]

• No, seriously, whoever created this on All Recipes in honor of Dustin Penner is a friggin' genius. [All Recipes]

• The Tampa Bay Lightning are wary about losing defensive ace Adam Hall for an extended period of time. [Lightning Strikes]

• The strugglin' Edmonton Oilers won't have defenseman Tom Gilbert until February. [Copper and Blue]

• Justin Bourne teaches you how to play wing in the D-zone better than he ever did. [Backhand Shelf]

• The lessons the Washington Capitals can learn from their unsuccessful power play. [Japers' Rink]

• How Tim Thomas is the Voltron of legendary goalies. [Sportsnet]

• The Oilers will miss Jordan Eberle for 2-3 weeks with a sprained knee. [Oil Patch]

• The St. Louis Blues mourn the passing of former GM Ron Caron. [Blues]

• Steve Simmons on Jonas Gustavsson of the Toronto Maple Leafs not digging his "Monster" nickname: "It's not like I go around and call myself that when I'm with new people. It's one of those names. If you have a good game, media can use that, and if you have a bad one, media can use that, too. For me, I don't really care about it ... I don't have a problem with that." [Slam]

• The five most annoying tweeters during a sporting event. [Hairballs, s/t Wayne]

• If you're a hockey blogger, you can probably relate. [Tapeleg]

• Finally, via Leahy, watch until the 1:17 mark; that's where you see what not to do to a referee.

The Montreal Canadiens' surprising run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2010 can be attributed to one man and one man only.

(OK, Mike Cammalleri did help a bit.)

The pair of 7-game series wins over the top-seeded Washington Capitals and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins was the announcement that that Jaroslav Halak had officially arrived.

Of course, we know that a month after his final game with the Canadiens, GM Pierre Gauthier had to choose between his two restricted free agent netminders and decided on the younger one who, in his eyes, had more long-term potential.

And when the Departed One returns to Bell Centre on Tuesday night for the first time since May 22, 2010 -- Game 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers -- he'll step out on the ice to a louder than usual crowd chanting his name, no question about it. There will be no derision sent Jaroslav Halak's way, and nor should there be. The Canadiens' 2010 playoff run was memorable because of Halak's heroics in slaying of two conference powers.

But for as much as Gauthier was killed for dealing Halak, as well as the return of Lars Ellers and Ian Schultz, things worked out for both sides after the June 2010 trade that sent Halak's rights to the St. Louis Blues.

Last season, Carey Price, who saw his No. 1 job usurped by Halak during the 2009-10 season, put up career-best numbers in wins (38), goals-against average (2.35), save-percentage (.923), and shutouts (8). After signing a 4-year, $15 million deal with the Blues after the deal, Halak played well posting career highs in games played (57), wins (27) and shutouts (7) in his first year as a full-time No. 1.

This year, both are experiencing frustrating seasons in different respects.

Price and the Habs sit a disappointing 12th in the Eastern Conference, costing Head Coach Jacques Martin his job in December. Halak and the Blues struggled out of the gate, and as the club was going through a head coaching change of their own, free agent signee Brian Elliott claimed the No. 1 job in St. Louis by winning 13 of his first 15 starts. Since December, however, Halak has rebounded, not losing in regulation in nine starts winning five of eight, but the job for now, still remains Elliott's.

(Kudos should go to Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock for understanding the sentiment that will be inside Bell Centre with Halak's return. Elliott posted a shutout over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, but Hitchcock is bending his rule that a goaltender who does so will play the next game.)

After the "Ja-ro!" chants end and the puck drops, Halak will be another returning hero wearing opposing colors. For as much as some Habs fans wish Halak well, the game is an important two points for both teams. Montreal is in the midst of attempting to derail a tailspin and St. Louis is currently fighting for the top spot not only in the Central Division, but also the Western Conference.

It would be only fitting that Halak channels his 2010 playoff performance for a one-night-only show in front of the Montreal faithful, who wouldn't mind it -- as long as the Canadiens score one more than the Blues.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Ever since Benilde-St. Margaret sophomore Jack Jablonski was paralyzed after being accidentally checked from behind in a game on Dec. 30, 2011, the tributes and support have flooded in from the hockey community.

One of many fundraisers held for Jablonski occurred during a Blaine-Wayzata high school hockey game over the weekend. That school's JV team was playing Benilde-St. Margaret's JV team when Jablonski suffered his catastrophic spinal cord injury.

Blaine resident Mark Nowicki organized a "Chuck-a-Puck" fundraiser, in which spectators bought numbered pucks, tossed them at the center ice dot and the one closest to center ice won a share of the pot — with the rest of the money benefiting the Jablonski family.

What happened next has been called a miracle on ice.

Surreal occurrence No. 1, according to Aaron Rupar of City Pages: The puck that landed in the dot during the between-periods contest had a No. 13 on it — the lone puck to have Jablonski's high-school hockey jersey number on it, out of 160 pucks purchased.

Surreal occurrence No. 2 … well, this was just extraordinary. From Rupar at City Pages:

A few minutes later, Nowicki learned the parent of a Wayzata JV player bought the #13 puck, then gave it to someone else.

Who was that someone else? None other than the very same Wayzata player who checked Jablonski into the boards, changing both of their lives forever.

According to City Pages, the player plans on giving the puck to Jablonski.

The fundraiser netted the family $1,246; the unnamed JV player won $200, and will give it over to the fund for Jablonski. More from the Star Tribune on this amazing story.

Support for Jablonski had come from all over the hockey community. On Monday, members of the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks visited him in the hospital. Jablonski has received a phone call from Wayne Gretzky and an autographed jersey from Sidney Crosby as well.

From a fundraising perspective, there have been collections during hockey games and there was a recent golf outing dedicated in his honor. The Minnesota Wild announced on Tuesday that Hockey Day Minnesota 2012 will be dedicated to Jablonski and will raise money for his family.

(Meanwhile, let's not lose sight of the fact there's a second Minnesota hockey player that's facing paralysis after a hockey injury: Jenna Privette of Lakeville, a senior at St. Croix Lutheran High School in West St. Paul, who still has no feeling in her lower body after being checked from behind. As the AP noted, she arrived at the hospital with Jablonski's number painted on her cheek, as the game she was competing in was dedicated to him.)