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.
• Country music star Vince Gill, during a first intermission performance, tried to get the Nashville Predators fans in the crowd to chant "Perry is a sissy" last night during Game 4 against the Anaheim Ducks. Perry had a goal and two assists in the win. And this is Vince Gill, from a 1996 concert at Honda Center (then The Pond). [NHL.com]
• Martin Erat will miss Game 5 for the Nashville Predators for what's being called a "high hit" by Jarkko Ruutu, who had a hearing with the League scheduled today. [NHL.com]
• Our first Eulogy hits on Friday. Be prepared.
• Pittsburgh Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma with the Sidney Crosby Update: "There is no timetable. If you were under the impression that he was moving closer, he's got to pass the next stage of what he can do. That has not happened yet." [Penguins]
• Buffalo Sabres Coach Lindy Ruff on the Philadelphia Flyers: "I just feel that they're doing a lot of whining. I didn't hear any whining when they had ten power plays in Philly and I didn't hear any whining when the power plays in the first game were lopsided, but all of a sudden there's all this whining that we're getting away with murder, that's a bunch of crap. That's for the media, that's for the officials to read, that's for here let's get the next call, that's a bunch of crap, let's just play." [WGR, via Dave Davis]
• Troll bait from the Daily Herald. [Daily Herald]
• We score this one to Kevin Bieska in his war of words with John Scott. [The Province]
• No Brent Seabrook tonight, per the Blackhawks.
• Check out the big Colin Campbell interview from TSN Radio yesterday. He sounded like your crazy uncle, but he schooled the hosts something wicked. [TSN Radio, and a transcript from Mirtle]
• The Awl presents all 30 NHL goal horns. We'll go ahead and ask the goalies in our readership to avoid this post. [The Awl, via Dan]
• Today's must-read: The great mystery of the 2010 Game 6 Stanley Cup Finals game-winning goal puck. [Outside the Lines]
• Ilya Bryzgalov would rather play in the KHL than Winnipeg. Which is a little hilarious and a little sad, all in one overrated goaltending package. [QMI]
• Joey Junior Blackhawks Reporter gets a Q&A with Time Out Chicago Kids, and was asked if he gets to talk to the players: "Yeah, they're pretty nice when I talk to them. Oh, I almost forgot some players—Stalberg. And Klinkhammer. On Thanksgiving, John Scott wanted a pet. And I told him I wanted a real puppy for Christmas. And on Valentine's Day, he told me, 'I might have a girlfriend.'" [Time Out Chicago Kids, via oksoda]
• Jordan vs. Metzer on the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, and about the Arron Asham juggernaut. [Beasts of the Southeast]
• Ryan Smyth on how the Los Angeles Kings will get their groove back: "We're in control of our destiny. It's a seven-game series and we, as a group in this locker room, believe that we can win." [LA Kings Insider]
• Dennis Wideman says there's no timetable for his return from a leg hematoma for the Washington Capitals. [Capitals Insider]
• Why we love Ian Walker, Part 13,141: He gets to make a pot reference in a story about the optimism locally for the Vancouver Canucks: "Then again, don't forget it was also 4/20 — a counterculture holiday, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis, for those of you on the East Coast — so by mid-afternoon most of the province was too stoned to even remember the score from the previous night." [Vancouver Sun]
• Stat Nerd Alert: Looking at the best defensive forwards in the NHL. [Behind The Net]
• Breaking down the other options for Phoenix Coyotes relocation. [Pegasus News]
• Problem No. 1: Detroit did not play in this series. Problem No. 2: They were never up 3-1. Problem No. 3: Hockey on ESPN. (stick-tap Nicholas Wenck)
• Awesome preview for the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens Game 4: "It's simple to diagnose: it sucks. Bruins have been 0-11 for the series and the power play doesn't look like it's getting any better. Good thing Chiarelli gave away the farm for f--king Kaberle right?" [Days of Y'Orr]
• Kerri from Some Like It Blue on the MSG vs. Verizon Center battle: "For instance, there's no way a "can you hear us?" chant or any other blip of originality breaks through the flashy and pre-programmed atmosphere. Heaven forbid they all don't wear matching #8 jerseys!" [SLIB, via Eric Roitman]
• Breaking down the GM of the Year Award field. Who will win "the Silver BlackBerry"? [The Hockey Writers]
• The Islanders want to save the planet. [Islanders]
• Please remember the Mandi Schwartz donor drive. [Yale]
• Fantastic piece on how the Stanley Cup Playoffs reach all the way to Afghanistan. [OC Register]
• Cool contest, via Puck Daddy reader Ch M: "Contest is simple; predict the Stanley Cup winner this year, number of games of the Final, and Conn Smythe winner. Prize is a 10-11 Panini Crown Royale hobby box with retail price of around 87.99 at a card store." [The Hobby Talk]
• Finally, James Neal made history last night: