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.
• A bit of New York Rangers controversy from Eric Roitman: Did the team Photoshop out the pro-Sean Avery banner fans hung during their home opener at MSG in the 360-degree "FanCam" images? [5-Hole]
• No Avery in the lineup for Thursday night's tilt against the Anaheim Ducks. [ESPN NY]
• Has Alex Ovechkin ever been benched in an extra attacker situation before, like he was for the Washington Capitals last night? "When I was little kid. So I'm right now back to young age again. So thanks, Bruce. He reminds me of this one. I was I don't know, probably 14. Again it's something that happens, I don't know. I didn't talk to him yet. We'll talk or not, I don't know. It's just how I said, frustrating, and that kind of situation pisses me off but it's good for the team and I have to respond for it." [Capitals Insider]
• Patrick Kane and Dan Carcillo are in a Movember mustache showdown. [@88Pkane]
• Meanwhile, the red-hot Viktor Stalberg is playing up with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp moves in with Kane and Marian Hossa, and Carcillo skates with the fourth line. [@TramyersCSN]
• If you've not read it, amazing piece by Dejan Kovacevic with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who says: "I'm going to be the player I've always been. That's my goal. That's why it's important that I'm 100 percent when I do come back. I'm going to get hit again. I know that. That's part of how I play. And hopefully, I'm going to give hits more than I take." [Tribune-Review]
• Why Ville Leino has been a bust thus far for the Buffalo Sabres. And by "bust" they mean "being compared to Tim Connolly in Buffalo." [Broad Street Hockey]
• Niklas Kronwall appears OK after the Mikko Koivu hit last night. [Malik]
• Some very talented bloggers have started a new venture called Puck Drunk Love. Today's whimsy: Around the NHL in 33 bands. The New Jersey Devils are Wu-Tang Clan: "They come from undesirable areas around New York. Have experience dodging caps. They are lead by fearsome men with a knack for identifying talent. Reached the height of their success in the 1990's but were often criticized for their negative influence on the game. Some of their former members have had run-ins with the law." [Puck Drunk Love]
• Your fighting majors leader? Zenon Konopka of the Ottawa Senators. [Hockey Fights]
• Neate Sager on another hazing situation, in the U.S. [Buzzing the Net]
• Ryan Kennedy on which overachieving teams are for real: Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators or Edmonton Oilers? (10 of the next 12 on the road for the Oilers. We're going to learn something here.) [THN]
• Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the 18-year-old who scored a goal in his first NHL game and led all rookies in scoring with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 11 games, has been named the NHL Rookie of the Month for October.
• Duncan Keith is out Thursday for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Florida Panthers. Technically he's day to day with an upper body injury. [ESPN Chicago]
• Steve Ott's wonky hip has created a domino effect for the Dallas Stars' lines: "Moving Michael Ryder down to the Jamie Benn line, moving Loui Eriksson to the left wing and moving Adam Burish to the Mike Ribeiro line." [Dallas Stars Blog]
• Hey, Alex Steen: Why is the St. Louis Blues power play so horrendous? "Right now, we're over-thinking it," Steen said. "We're hesitant. We're not quick enough. It's just a tad too slow with the reads, the reactions, the passes and support. I think the last couple of games we've been a little bit better and it feels like we're starting to gel. It's chemistry between the five guys on the ice, that's what makes it happen." [STLToday]
• The skinny on NCAA hockey on VERSUS/NBCSN. [Puck The Media]
• Examining the Calgary Flames' interesting in Kyle Turris. [Matchsticks]
• Will Colten Teubert, who went to the Edmonton Oilers in the Dustin Penner trade, make his debut against the Los Angeles Kings this week? [Rich Hammond]
• The Carolina Hurricanes lose their Juice for a month. [Canes Now]
• Looking at Sheldon Souray's impressive resurgence with the Dallas Stars. [Defending Big D]
• Chris Clark is back with the Bruins … the P-Town Bruins. [Bruins Blog]
• Jesse Spector on the Columbus Blue Jackets' struggles and the future of their coach and GM: "While defenseman James Wisniewski was serving his eight-game suspension at the start of the season, Jeff Carter suffered a foot injury that still has the center on injured reserve. It would be unfair for Columbus to clean house without having given the offseason plan time to come together." [Sporting News]
• The many injuries of Eric Lindros. Really fabulous, insightful stuff here. Also kinda gross in a surgery channel way. [Backhand Shelf]
• Jack Skille's head-shot has Tobias Enstrom on the shelf for the Winnipeg Jets. [QMI]
• Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins on his relationship with PK Subban: "We played together before. But on the ice and off it are two completely different things. When you're on the ice, you're doing a job. You hate everyone you're playing against. [You have] no friends out there. Sometimes, you have to do that stuff." [WEEI]
• Martin Brodeur returns for the New Jersey Devils, and coach Pete DeBoer thinks they're primed for a run of success. [Fire & Ice]
• How the playoffs make goalies look better than they are. [Brodeur is a Fraud, via On The Forecheck]
• Meet the man behind HockeyDB.com. [Maki]
• Finally, the final word on the Lokomotiv plane crash, and the details are brutal: