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.
• Via reader Glen Gages: "Penguin fans will never let Pierre McGuire forget that he ever compared Mike Richards to Sid Crosby in the 'leadership' category. I think that's Cy 'Malkinmaniac' Clark holding the sign."
• The Pittsburgh Penguins will welcome their 25,000,000th fan during Wednesday night's game against the St. Louis Blues, at least half of whom swear they were there when Sid returned Monday night. [Penguins]
• The NHL All-Star vote totals have been released: Your top three forwards are Daniel Alfredsson, Phil Kessel and Jason Spezza; Erik Karlsson and Zdeno Chara are the top defensemen; Tim Thomas is the top goalie. Tyler Seguin (41,443) is the top write-in, with Dan Girardi (37,836) the top write-in among defensemen. Sidney Crosby (74,528) has more votes than Pavel Datsyuk, Alex Ovechkin, both Sedins and Evgeni Malkin. Huh, they must have all been cast in the last 24 hours because why else would you vote for a player who hadn't played for an All-Star game? [NHL]
• Why the Brent Sutter watch is on for the Calgary Flames. [THW]
• More Down Goes Brown brilliance: If Wayne Gretzky owned the Leafs. "For reasons nobody seems to understand, the Leafs immediately stop using their best players in the shootout." [DGB]
• Interesting news for the NHL's "Thanksgiving Showdown": "In an effort to provide an even better viewing experience for fans, the inaugural NHL Thanksgiving Showdown will feature a microphone on one of the referees (Kelly Sutherland) to capture on-ice audio for the first time in a regular-season game on NBC." [Puck the Media]
• Kris Versteeg is off to a good start with the Florida Panthers. Wait, did we say "good"? We meant the best start in the history of the franchise. [Sun Sentinel]
• Nelson Peltz is interested in buying the New Jersey Devils for "pennies on the dollar." According to Forbes: "Peltz has made a lot of money with cheap food and distressed properties." Welcome to Newark. [Forbes]
• Brendan Shanahan explains his decision not to discipline Shawn Matthias for his hit on Anton Volchenkov. [Fire & Ice]
• Katie Baker on Sidney Crosby: "If Tim Tebow didn't exist, Sid would be the most Christ-like athlete of the fall." [Grantland]
• Ray Ratto on Sidney Crosby as Tim Tebow: "In short, Crosby doesn't create the rage of rebuttal that Tebow's football detractors have. In that way, he is angst-free, except if your team is playing his team on some given evening. But he does make his fans go all gape-faced and slack-jawed just like Tebow's, and that is an inescapable fact. So it's true -- every sport should have a Tim Tebow, or a Sidney Crosby. Just because they so tug at your eyes." [CBS Sports]
• In praise of Pascal Dupuis. [Pensblog]
• Jaromir Jagr will return to the Philadelphia Flyers lineup, saying, "At my age, missing 2 games feels like losing one year of your life. … You know you don't have many left." [Frequent Flyers]
• Looking at how three-point games have fundamentally changed the standings in the NHL: "The .500 label is a misnomer: three-point games have created a new "average" mark, and that mark is ten games over .500. The new average is significantly above average." [THW]
• Chris Higgins. Ladies ... [PITB]
• Looking at the Vancouver Canucks at the quarter pole. [Canucks Hockey Blog]
• Does Alex Semin deserve the penalties he's receiving or might they be reputation-based? [Japers' Rink]
• The Chicago Blackhawks anticipate Brent Seabrook will return during their road trip. [Sun Times]
• Yikes: Matt Lombardi might need shoulder surgery that could put him on the shelf for months. [Globe & Mail]
• The tale of the Washington Capitals' Rally Balloon. [Washington Times]
• Interesting bit from Defending Big D: New owner Tom Gaglardi has been asking about Dallas Stars realignment since he met Gary Bettman in 2009. Said Bettman: "I'm well versed on Dallas' view of the world and at the last meeting in September one of the elements of our discussion included the 'Dallas issue' as it's been called and it's something we're working on." [Defending Big D]
• The Detroit Red Wings will get Ian White back on Wednesday. [Red Wings]
• Awesome headline No. 1: "Leafs take gag off Reimer." Yes, because when discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending it's best to be reminded of Ving Rhames in "Pulp Fiction." [QMI]
• Awesome headline No. 2: "Byfuglien rounding into form." [NHL.com]
• Attention fantasy owners: Might be a nice time to snag Ryan Shannon off the waiver wire. [Lightning Strikes]
• Semyon Varlamov returns between the pipes for the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday evening, as they try to shake a 2-7-1 skid. [Denver Post]
• Jonathan Bernier gets the start against the Blues. [LA Kings Insider]
• Changes the NHL should make the All-Star game, Sidney Crosby edition: "To better align with the NHL's marketing and training the game will be retitled the NHL One Star Game Featuring Sidney Crosby. All previous literature should be discarded, recidivists will be shot and have their press passes revoked." [Puck Sage]
• Finally, here's how Sidney Crosby's first goal sounded in Sweden: