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.
Patrick Kane, Landeskoging.
• Originally said to be out 3 to 4 weeks with an ankle injury, Matt Duchene will be back in the Colorado Avalanche lineup Thursday, having only missed 9 days. [Denver Post]
• This is really cool: an interactive view of the teams that played in the Stanley Cup Final since 1927. [Robby Macdonell]
• Think Crosby will play less than 14 and a half minutes Thursday? If you're confident, you can bet on it. [Bovada]
• The San Jose Sharks only have 12 goals since Jamie McGinn was traded and he has 5 goals himself in that time, which allows for hilarious questions like whether or not Jamie McGinn was the key to the Sharks' offence. [Sharks Talk]
• Speaking of the Sharks, they announced Wednesday that the club has signed free agent college winger Sebastian Stalberg, the brother of Viktor Stalberg, to a two-year, entry level contract. [Fear the Fin]
• And the Senators have signed college prospect Cole Schneider, who has the most depressing profile photo ever. [Silver Seven Sens]
• Good stuff on Saku Koivu, who played his 1,000th NHL game on Monday. [Montreal Gazette]
• According to a study, teams that take more hits than they dish out score more goals. [Toronto Star]
• Good sign for Washington Capitals fans: Nicklas Backstrom skated today for the second straight day. [NHL]
• The New York Islanders' spot on the various NHL power rankings isn't so impressive, but John Tavares and Matt Moulson reaching the 30-goal plateau on the same night is. [Lighthouse Hockey]
• Alain Vigneault has shaken up the Vancouver Canucks' lines, bumping Mason Raymond to the Sedin line in place of Alex Burrows. Canucks fans are losing it, but it's not the worst idea in the world. [PITB]
• Which NHL suspensions cost players the most money? [Sportsnet]
• Richard Bachman gets the start for the Stars versus the Jets Wednesday. [Defending Big D]
• Craig Button updates his 2012 draft rankings. Cody Ceci jumps from 20 to 9. [TSN]
• Taylor Sports Complex in Michigan, the place where those two dozen kids all suddenly got sick at the same time, is set to re-open after a thorough scrubbing to disinfect the place of suspected norovirus. [Detroit News]
• This hockey mom caught the thief breaking into her son's arena by calling pawn shops and local businesses in the area until she found the stolen items and got the thief arrested. [The Nugget]
• Tom Kostopoulos on scoreboard watching: "My wife, I drive her crazy watching hockey games. That's all I do at home is watch hockey and watch the scores - especially at this time of year." This article also gains extra points for using Urban Dictionary to define the term "hockey widow." [Calgary Herald]
• Jack Edwards does some Monty Python. [Awful Announcing]
• The five best markets for future NHL franchises. [The Hockey Writers]
• And finally, here's Don Cherry on Coach's Corner in 1982. The biggest difference? You won't have to turn your speakers down the moment he starts talking.