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.
• Martin "Li'l Marty" Brodeur at age 5, playing goal during a street hockey game. He has since improved his five-hole coverage. [SI Vault]
• After missing the last four games with a concussion, Claude Giroux plans to return to the lineup Wednesday night versus the Dallas Stars. Since we're used to Hart Trophy candidates missing around 11 months with concussion, some are asking if this is too soon. [Philly]
• Mike Richards has been cleared to play as well. [Sportsnet]
• The tiny, apple-growing village of Metula is home to Israel's only regulation hockey rink. This is cool stuff. [WSJ]
• Scott Burnside counts down his top 5 Vezina Trophy candidates as we close out 2011. [ESPN]
• Chris Ballard on Rich Lam, the photographer that shot Vancouver's kissing couple: "Without his flash, Lam had to work with the available light, in this case a fluorescent haze from a nearby parking garage and the orange glow of fires. This forced him to use a lower shutter speed—1/40th of a second—which with his 200mm focal length meant even the slightest movement would blur the photo. Using an ISO of 6400 and an aperture of f2.8, he pressed the shutter, getting off two shots with the cop in the foreground and four more of the couple alone before a woman ran in to help. The moment was gone. It was 10:22." [Sports Illustrated]
• Adrian Dater on the death of the slapshot whilst coming down the wall. [Denver Post]
• Via Kukla's Korner, video of former Nashville Predators' associate coach Brent Peterson underdoing deep brain stimulation as part of his treatment for Parkinson's Disease. [WKRN]
• Breaking down Daniel and Henrik Sedin's long give-and-go play versus the Minnesota Wild. Watch to the end for the Ryan Kesler slewfoot nobody saw. [PITB]
• Lambert previews the World Juniors. [Backhand Shelf]
• During the holidays, Tuukka Rask moonlights as Rudolph's backup. [Reddit Hockey]
• Previewing some of the faces Los Angeles Kings fans can expect Darryl Sutter to make behind the bench. [The Royal Half]
• Mike Zigomanis says the nude photos that have surfaced on isanyoneup.com are not of him. [Slam]
• The Vancouver Canucks signed crooner Michael Buble to a one-day contract so he could join them for practice Tuesday. He took a shot on Roberto Luongo and hit the post. Said the man who got married less than a year ago: "It was the greatest day of my life." I hear that. [Vancouver Sun]
• Previewing Episode 2 of Flyers-Rangers 24/7. [Broad Street Hockey]
• Is Sidney Crosby the most influential sports figure of 2011? [CBC]
• Peter Forsberg clarifies his comment that the Swedes threw a game against Slovakia en route to winning the Olympic gold in 2006. You see, it's not so much that they tried to lose, it's that they didn't try. [ESPN]
• Five men are charged with stuffing 132 pounds of marijuana into hockey gear bags and smuggling it into Minnesota on a small plane. Sweet plan, except for the fact that, as guys from Minnesota should know, hockey bags don't exactly mask odor. [Fox Twin Cities]
• I love this thread at Reddit: If you could go Space Jam on any NHL player and steal his powers, who would it be and why? [Reddit Hockey]
• And finally, starting at 2:35, poor Jarome Iginla politely struggles to make sense of a reporter who is also struggling to make sense. Unless you're talking to a theatre manager, repeating the phrase "setting up the play" about 50 times isn't very helpful. [The Score]