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.
THE KINGS ARE UP 3-0 AND WON AT HOME! TAKE ME, JESUS! IT'S THE RAPTURE! [Getty]
• Speaking of which, here's an LA Times piece on Los Angeles Kings fans in the team's Game 3 victory over the Blues. Jarret Stoll: "To get that standing ovation, the way they were cheering at the end, I had chills going through the pile at the end. It means a lot to us in here. We have a lot of pride and a lot of respect for our fans." [Times]
• The St. Louis Blues' lack of depth is the reason they're down 0-3. [Globe & Mail]
• Cam Neely doesn't see the Boston Bruins trading either Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask this summer: "We're very happy with our goalies. We have two strong goalies in both Tim and Tuukka. I think a lot of teams are probably envious of what we have here. It's an area were we feel pretty comfortable." [CSN NE]
• Bourne thinks it's stupid for Barry Trotz to sit Alex Radulov and Andrei Kostitsyn: "The Predators lost Games 1 and 2 with them in the lineup. They won Game 3 with them out of it. I get that. But three games is an incredibly small sample size. If you want to go back through the regular season schedule, I'm sure you can find games they won with them in the lineup, and games they lost with them out of it. But they kept dressing them both when they could because it gave them the best chance to win." [Backhand Shelf]
• Will the Edmonton Oilers trade their No. 1 pick? [THN]
• Interesting bit on "money puck" from ESPN: "Spending in the NHL actually matters MORE since the Lockout: NHL fans lost an entire season due to hard-line owners seeking a tight salary cap. So it's shocking that since the empty 2004-05 season, payroll is linked even more with winning. Before the lockout, a 10% increase in spending was worth about 5.8 team points (roughly three wins) over a season. Since the lockout, that number has ballooned to 9.2 points. The Wharton researchers theorize that this counterintuitive trend is a result of the CBA's producing a tighter range of spending between teams. 'Each dollar became that much more valuable,' they concluded." [ESPN]
• Alex Burrows may have suffered a concussion over in worlds. [Province]
• Scott Hartnell on the New Jersey Devils, speaking volumes: "I don't think we thought we were going to win four straight, but definitely they've played a lot stronger and a lot harder than me personally would have thought they'd come with." [Fire & Ice]
• Speaking of Hartnell, the animated gif of the week. [Hartnell, via Félix Lévesque]
• Can the Philadelphia Flyers stop the New Jersey Devils' cycling game? [Orange and Black Pack]
• The Predators and Coyotes posted the second-lowest rating of the playoffs in their Game 3. [Puck The Media]
• In praise of Matt Hendricks, who played out of his mind good against the Rangers in Game 3. [Capitals Insider]
• Olli Jokinen underwent successful surgery on May 1 to repair a tear in an abdominal muscle, after reporting discomfort on March 22 when the team played the Minnesota Wild. Although at the time his discomfort was attributed to having to watch the Minnesota Wild. [Flames]
• Big news for Texas hockey: Former Dallas Stars greats Mike Modano, Eddie Belfour and Craig Ludwig are now minority owners in the Allen Americans, while Richard Matvichuk will be assistant GM and assistant coach. [Defending Big D]
• Guilty Pleasure Alert: When The Puck Stops Here and his commenters go at it, as they have over a Steve Yzerman/GM of the Year post. [TPSH]
• Peter Regin gets a chance at redemption with the Ottawa Senators. [Sens]
• Via St. Louis Game Time: "Since the Blues clearly haven't come up with anything, I've come up with a list of ways to put the puck past Quick." [Game Time]
• Finally, here's the headbutt from Braydon Coburn on Alexei Ponikarovsky that got some people up in arms Thursday night. It's like he's an angry bull pushing his head into the Devils' forward rather than a "butt," but you be the judge.