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.
• At least five years before hearing, "You know, I think those boys are just a bad influence on you, sweetie." [Getty]
• Montreal Canadiens defenseman Paul Mara on Boston Bruins veteran Mark Recchi's "embellishment" comments about Max Pacioretty's injuries: "A player with a broken vertebra and has been knocked out on the ice for 3 or 4 minutes, how do you question the integrity of a hockey team and that we're embellishing it? [It] is really questionable coming from a guy who's 42 years old and has been around the league for so long. He's entitled to his opinion and we're entailed to ours, but in Montreal we really know the truth." [ESPN Boston]
• Canadiens winger Mike Cammalleri on Recchi: "I don't think those comments are appropriate by Mark. Surprised, to be honest with you. Mark's a guy who's been around a long time. I'm not sure he has a medical degree yet. I think it is what it is when it comes to the brain. These are very unclear injuries and very serious ones. I think it's a little bit disrespectful with those comments, that's for sure. A little bit surprised coming from a guy with the reputation that he has." [Boston Globe]
• Pokemon, Mortal Kombat, the movie '300' … yeah, Days of Y'Orr has the best Habs/Bruins preview of the day. [DOY]
• The three words every Minnesota Wild fan didn't want to hear at this point in the season: Playing. For. Pride. [Star Tribune]
• New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello on Zach Parise: "He will play this season, unless there is something unforeseen that happens." Because, you know, nothing unforeseen has happened to the Devils this season. But he is practicing. [NJ.com]
• New York Rangers "star" (oh, c'mon Page Six) Brandon Prust has "been getting cozy with "Gossip Girl" star Michelle Trachtenberg, [and] his beautiful girlfriend of a year, Marie-Pier Morin, who's now in Canada, burst into tears." The NY Post also reports that "he makes out with other girls all the time." Dude, you're making time with Buffy's sister, who can open portals to alternate dimensions. Stop creepin'. [NYP]
• A Brief History of Wacky Objects Hockey Fans Have Thrown on the Ice. [The Checking Line]
• Why Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne should win … the Hart?! [Predlines]
• The Washington Capitals' Charlie Sheen "WINNING" T-shirt proved divisive. The Alex Ovechkin NattyBo "Bovechkin" shirt should heal those wounds and bring us all together over love of cheap beer and all things Baltimore. [DC Sports Bog]
• Washington Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau is hoping Mike Green is back before the postseason. They'll know Monday if that's the case. [Capitals Insider]
• Jack Skille on how awkward it was to faceoff against this old Chicago Blackhawks teammates last night. [On Frozen Pond]
• Steve Lepore, on his spiffy new VERSUS blog, looks at how the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens have gone in different directions since the Heritage Classic. [VERSUS]
• You know, it wasn't until we read this post in praise of James Reimer that it hit home how rare hearing the name "Jonas Gustavsson" has been in 2011. [Maple Leafs Hot Stove]
• Fantastic Michael Farber story on the Belfast Giants. "Hockey is religion in Montreal. It can't be religion in Belfast." [SI]
• The Philadelphia Flyers are going with Sergei Bobrovsky tonight, in an effort to see if he can be the man between the pipes for them in the playoffs. If not, will it be Boosh or bust? [CSN Philly]
• The NHL takes the Jonathan Quick Magic Bullet Save to its logical end, with a frame-by-frame breakdown Zapruder film style.
• Cool bit from Behind The Net: Breaking down a game between the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues that turned out to be a stunning 4-0 ass-kicking in LA. How did that happen? [BTN]
• The Buffalo Sabres have set up a remembrance page for Rick Martin, whose memorial service was held today at HSBC Arena. [Sabres]
• What's at the heart of the Dallas Stars' late-season struggles? [Defending Big D]
• Cooper & Blue is doing a March Madness featuring terrible contracts. [C&B]
• Chewbacca and R2D2 will battle Clone Troopers at the ECHL Gwinnett Gladiators game on Saturday. [ECHL]
• Wanna see Down Goes Brown take on Ken Dryden and Charles Tator in a concussion debate? Better yet: Wanna see Down Goes Brown? [DGB]
• Finally, great job by our buddies at Benstonium to get this Pittsburgh Penguins-related spoof of one Yinzer's reaction to a tornado touching down in Hempfield Township just outside of Pittsburgh. Click the image to watch:
