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.
• And this is why they wear masks. [AP]
• Jeremy Roenick thinks it's panic time for the San Jose Sharks, and has decided to lend his unique brand of motivation to Patrick Marleau: "Right now I'd be scared. I'd be mad. I'd be huffing like a raging bull right now. I'm not sure that Patrick Marleau can do that. I don't know if he has it in him to bring this team into the playoffs. I'd like to see him get angry, show some passion." [NHL.com]
• For the big Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks showdown Thursday evening, Kari Lehtonen is in goal, but Brenden Morrow is still on the mend with Saturday's game against Anaheim a possibility. [Dallas Stars Blog]
• Jack Johnson on facing the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night: "I've got a lot of guys on the [Kings] who'll probably be lifelong friends, but we're no longer teammates. They're the enemy [Thursday night]." [Dispatch]
• Huzzah! Jonathan Toews is skating again. [ESPN Chicago]
• Huzzah! Sidney Crosby is still skating and taking a bit of contact in practice! [Post Gazette]
• Boo! Brandon Dubinsky's hand injury and sinus pressure (huh?) will keep him out of the New York Rangers' lineup. [Blueshirts Blog]
• Meanwhile, Jakub Voracek is out after his Kronwalling and Jaromir Jagr is a gametime decision vs. the Florida Panthers. [Broad Street Hockey]
• Danny Briere wasn't trying to call out Ilya Bryzgalov for a lack of leadership, you guys. From Peter Laviolette: "In talking to Danny that's not what he meant. [It was] the way the article was written and the way it came across. Danny tried to say that today in the newspaper, because Danny felt bad on the way it came across. And you know how it works: they get in there, there's a scrum, you talk for five minutes and they might take 15 seconds, 20 seconds, they might take the words that they want and the sentences that they want. I'm not saying that they made up something — they didn't — but a lot of times you can take what you want and use it in context of a story that you have in your mind or whatever. But Danny was forthright with me and to Bryz. He went up to him and said, 'Listen, that's not what I mean. What I meant to say was you're playing great, you've been great in the room, great with the guys, your personality's been super.'" [Sports Radio Interviews]
• It's the return of Tanner Glass Fighting Bears. [Pass It To Bulis]
• Heartwarming stuff here: Alex Ovechkin grants a wish. [CSN Washington]
• Today's must-read: Patrick Burke's Ask Me Anything on Reddit. [Reddit]
• NBC's Sam Flood on the Pierre McGurie-led "Inside The Glass" position during broadcasts: "When we launched this in hockey, the Canadians made fun of us and said what a dumb idea. Guess what? It's the template that everyone uses now in hockey. Hockey Night in Canada has a person inside the glass. TSN has a person inside the glass. So what was first thought of as a whacky idea from Americans turned out to be the gold standard for covering hockey." [Puck The Media]
SAFDFADSSAFDDSA
• Justin Bourne's got nuthin but love for Marty Turco. [Backhand Shelf]
• Ryan Miller: The Motion Picture. [Buffalo Wins]
• Can Dustin Tokarski help the Tampa Bay Lightning make the playoff dance? [Lightning]
• Things are looking pretty good for the Ottawa Senators earning a playoff spot: "Generally, it takes at least 91 points to make the postseason in the Eastern Conference, but the magic number is trending to be lower — perhaps 88 or 89 points — this season, considering the inconsistencies of Winnipeg, Washington, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Toronto. If that continues, the Senators might need to only win five or six of their final 14 games to get in." [Senators Extra]
• Raw Charge with a quick survey of opinions on what they'd change most about the NHL. [Raw Charge]
• Portland deals with the emergency recall of Sven Bärtschi to the Flames. [Buzzing The Net]
• Congrats to Fedor Tyutin, who could miss the rest of the Columbus Blue Jackets' season with a broken hand. [Puck-Rakers]
• "Benoit Pouliot will most likely be in the lineup against Buffalo. Claude Julien said Pouliot was looking good after an optional morning skate." [Bruins Blog]
• The case for Adam Henrique to win the Calder: "If I had to pick an overall winner for the Calder Memorial Trophy, I would pick Henrique. He still manages to put on goals on a line with two of the best shooters of the league. He also has taken virtually no penalties and can kill penalties with flair. He wins almost 50% of his faceoffs and plays against top lines night after night. Adam Henrique, in my eyes, is the definition of proficient. Who do you, the reader, think will win the Calder Memorial Trophy?" [In Lou We Trust]
• Ryan Kennedy chats with Boston Bruins prospect Dougie Hamilton. [THN]
• "The Calgary Flames Ambassador's are proud to announce their eighth annual Celebrity Roast presented by ATB Financial raised over $225,000 in benefit of the Flames Foundation for Life and Missing Children of Canada. Over 500 people gathered at the Westin Hotel on March 7th to roast and pay tribute to the Calgary Flames Special Assistant to the General Manager and Flames alumnus Craig Conroy." [Flames]
• Great post by The Active Stick: "I'll stop calling you a [expletive] if you stop talking to me like I'm an idiot: making friends with advanced stats geeks." [The Active Stick]
• Nice work by Dirk Hoag on the surging attendance for the Nashville Predators: "In a nutshell? The building is indeed filling up (average paid attendance currently stands at 15,992), while the 'comps', or tickets given away for free each game are down. It's not like discounts are driving the increased figures, either. Year-over-year, ticket prices (net of tax & seat user fees) are up 5.8% over this period of time, compounding the financial gain of having extra people in the building." [On The Forecheck]
• The launch of Mind Check is today from the Vancouver Canucks and BC Mental Health services, in memory of Rick Rypien. [Mind Check]
• Finally, here are Pavel Datsyuk and Kris Draper playing hockey with a sports beverage. Datsyuk = Master Thespian.