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.
• No Henrik Zetterberg for the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 against the Coyotes, and he's not sure about Game 2. [AP]
• Oh, it get worse: "The Detroit Red Wings could be faced with playing most if not all of their first-round series against Phoenix without leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg, who still isn't even able to skate." [Freep]
• The Toronto Star had results from a study by the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation at the University of Toronto that used potential gate revenue to determine that "there are six Canadian markets where a new NHL team would thrive, the report found, citing Greater Toronto as the best one." Up is down, left is right, hamburgers eat people … Damien Cox is completely right about how much bunk this is. [Cox]
• Which Dustin Penner will the Los Angeles Kings get in the first round? "Some nights, Penner looked active, mobile and aggressive. Other nights, he looked rather passive." [Kings Insider]
• Oh, Danny Briere you scamp and/or ass-coverer: The Philadelphia Flyers forward told WGR in Buffalo that Chris Pronger will not play in Game 1 of their series against the Sabres and said it was "very possible" Prongs would miss the first round. Later, he told reporters in Philly that he was having a laugh with WGR, and that he "had no clue" about Pronger's status. [Frequent Flyers]
• Your NHL officials for the first round. What, no Stephane Auger? [NHL Officials]
• Very interesting Stat Nerd post on how the "Simple Ranking System" for offensive hockey can determine the winners of each series. This methodology has gone 23-7 in the last two postseasons. If it's accurate again … well, bad things for the Capitals and Ducks, man. Bad things … [Every Facet of the Game]
• Michal Neuvirth will get the nod for Game 1 in the Capitals' series against the New York Rangers. [CSN Washington]
• Five keys for the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers series. [NorthJersey.com]
• Everything you ever wanted to know about the Eastern Conference playoffs but may have never cared to ask. [The Checking Line]
• Chicago Blackhawks blog gets the 411 on why the Vancouver Canucks are a different team this postseason. [Blackhawks Up]
• Interesting John McDonaugh profile, taking us through the Blackhawks president's tenure and the turnaround of the franchise. [Modern Luxury]
• Kris Versteeg is under the impression that Philadelphia Flyers fans still hate him. [Philadelphia Sports Daily]
• Senator Dick Durbin takes a stand against the IIHF holding its 2014 world championships in Belarus until President Lukashenka "releases all the country's political prisoners," many of whom were arrested during Belarus's December 19 presidential election. Co-signed by Peter Stastny. [RFE]
• Columnist Bob Hunter on the Columbus Blue Jackets and GM Scott Howson: "There isn't anything in the responses - anything - that indicated that Howson is up to making the substantial changes that seem necessary to make the Blue Jackets winners." [Dispatch]
• Rebuttal from a Jackets blog: "The Dispatch appears to think that there is some inherent inalienable right that they have to dig into the details of every potential deal and the inner workings of Howson's strategic goals." [Ten Minute Misconduct]
• Interesting take on the state of Toronto sports radio. [Scarlett Ice]
• The NHL Postseason Fan Fun Factor for each playoff team. [Red Light District]
• In the same tradition, a guide to picking your NHL Playoff Team. [Dirty Dangle]
• Rob Ullman's pinup playoff preview is va-va-voom-ah-oooooo-gah! [Atom-Bomb Bikini]
• Finally, this clip has been out for a bit but it's new to us: "Red & White," the billionth "Black and Yellow" parody out there, this time for the Detroit Red Wings. "Lookin' all around/we Hockeyyyyyyytoooooown." OUR EARS … THE GOGGLES, THEY DO NOTHING. (Via Weston Corbitt)