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 holiday gift from our friends at Gunaxin: NHL Ice Girls celebrate Christmas. Boy do they. Inside the suit? Puck Daddy's own Sean Leahy. We assume. [Gunaxin]
• Speaking of sexy hockey ladies - here's a calendar for a good cause. [Defending The Blue Line]
• Hey, so Baby Jesus was born this weekend (or so they tell us). Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. The NHL is dark this weekend; we'll have coverage of the games tonight and then Puck Daddy's Top 20 Stories of 2011 on Saturday. On Sunday, it's an annual PD tradition. Posting will be light. Oh, and no Trending Topics today; Lambert's back Monday with WWL. Thanks for supporting this silly blog. Be safe and merry.
• Jaromir Jagr visits Madison Square Garden for the first time since leaving the New York Rangers in 2008. Said James van Riemsdyk: "He was the franchise when he was here." Something something Henrik Lundqvist something … [NHL]
• The Philadelphia Flyers have ruled Danny Briere out for the Rangers game with a bruised hand, which seriously limits his ability to sucker cross-check players off the draw.[Broad Street Bull]
• Rich Peverley sits against the Florida Panthers this evening. [ESPN Boston]
• Our (apparent, according to Marek) buddy Damien Cox on Canada's worst team. [The Star]
• How the Florida Panthers will react to Stephen Weiss's upper body injury. [Sun Sentinel]
• Sorry HBO, but Claude Noel isn't seeking to participate in "HBO 24/7 Jets [Some Other Canadian Team]: Road To The Heritage Classic." Said Noel: "I would really not want the players to think that I'm coaching for the camera. That would really bother me. I don't know how I would respond to it and I don't feel real comfortable there. … I'm not in to [realty TV] very much. I'm not into it at all. It's just not my thing." [Globe & Mail]
• Really nice piece by Colligan on the evolution of Evgeni Malkin. [THW]
• The Detroit Red Wings are expected to use their cap space to snag a scoring winger at some point; but who? [Malik]
• Interesting decision by the Dallas Stars to give rookie Richard Bachman his seventh straight start vs. Nashville: "Bachman has not posted the numbers in the last three games (1-2-0, 4.33 GAA, .854 save percentage) that he did in the first three (2-1-0, 0.90, .970). Andrew Raycroft is a veteran backup, and this clearly shows that the team is more comfortable with Bachman in goal right now." [Dallas Stars Blog]
• No suspension for Lennart Petrell, per Shanny: "Petrel/Zidlicky: viewed extensively. Although Petrel's hand is on Zidlicky's back, we do not see a shove prior to the toe pick. No S.D." [Hockey Wilderness]
• Pete DeBoer and Dale Hunter? Not exactly BFFs. [Capitals Insider]
• Why 2011 was the year of the concussion. [Post Media]
• Meg Ryan was super pissed when she hustled all the way up to the observation deck only to find Mark Howe and Adam Graves.
• Lowetide on the Montreal Canadiens language debate: "The French language issue remains, but the Habs are handling it differently. Worse. Badly. Sam Pollock somehow managed to replace his Stanley-winning coach with another guy who had an English last name and not skip a beat, and if you try to tell me the political climate was less edgy then I'll call you a liar. This is really about one thing: winning. Habs fans should stop embarrassing themselves with vicious verbal toward their English speaking coach and beg the God they pray to for the day when their French speaking GM gets the gaspipe." [Lowetide]
• Bourne heaps praise on Ken Hitchcock: "So credit where credit is due — it's not easy to evolve for any of us, and it must be harder when you've reached the pinnacle of success in your career doing things one way. Hitchcock has recognized how he needs to operate today — smarter and softer — and adapted accordingly." [Backhand Shelf]
• Shane Price feels the Team USA cuts were unfair. [Buzzing The Net]
• The Cannon fires on Scott Arniel after last night's Columbus Blue Jackets collapse: "Coaches are supposed to recognize that if your goaltender (who has a history of back issues, and just missed playing in the previous game because of back spams) spends a bunch of time after a collision clutching his back and struggling to get up after saves, it's time to pull him and put in your backup. Coaches are supposed to make it clear to the team that just because you have a three goal lead doesn't mean you stop forechecking, stop shooting, or stop skating after pucks." [The Cannon]
• San Jose Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the club has recalled goaltender Antero Niittymaki from his conditioning assignment with the Worcester Sharks. [Sharks]
• Bruce Boudreau on the Anaheim Ducks' continued struggles: "Overall, I hate to keep saying it, but I thought we played pretty solid. The difference between winning and losing is sometimes just the attitude and believing that you are going to win or believing you are going to lose." [LA Kings Insider]
• A couple days late on this, but really nice work out of Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks for military families. [Mercury News]
• Finally, Jay Baruchel joined us on Marek vs. Wyshynski to talk about this here movie: "Goon."