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.
• Via Katherine of Chicago on Flickr, this is a Picasso sculpture of Brad Marchand in Chicago, with a Chicago Blackhawks helmet on it. Katherine writes: "I assume the 11 means 2011, but overhearing passersby, I wasn't the only one who at first wondered if it was a player number!" OK, so not a tribute to John Madden then. Got it. [Flickr]
• Guy Boucher claims that Brooks Orpik attempted to poke Steven Stamkos in the eye during Game 6. A suggestion for Mr. Stamkos, going forward: Try this technique. [Lightning Strikes, via Empty Netters]
• The Buffalo Sabres' lineup is going to be a mystery heading into Tuesday night's Game 7. John Vogl reports that Patrick Kaleta is "definitely out with what's believed to be a hand injury." Mike Grier and Jordan Leopold are game-time decisions, as is Jochen Hecht. Derek Roy? He's in. [Sabres Edge]
• The average ticket price for tonight's Game 7 in Vancouver: $324 on the secondary market. The average price for the Flyers/Sabres Game 7: $163. [Philly.com]
• The Kurtenblog doth not hath faith in Roberto Luongo for the Vancouver Canucks: "Sure, it's tough to come off the bench with no warm-up, but even a goalie that's been sitting on a block of ice shouldn't make practically every save look like he's trying to stop a Phil Niekro knuckleball. In other words, we respectfully disagree he should be starting Game 7. But we're hoping for the best!" [KB]
• Steven Ovadia on why Roberto Luongo should think of himself as part of a collaboration rather than as a star: "Not all goalies can do it alone. Apparently Luongo is one of those goalies. The sooner he comes to terms with that, the sooner Vancouver can move past the Blackhawks." [Puck Update]
• Luongo vs. Schneider: The tale of the tape. [Pass It To Bulis]
• The good news: The Montreal Canadiens have an orchestra playing the national anthem, and they've never lost when it has. The bad news. Chris Lee is the referee for Game 6. [Hockey Inside/Out]
• Bummer for the Habs: David Desharnais, who was all over the ice in Game 5, will miss Game 6 with a knee injury, according to reports. [NHL.com]
• We'll have our Masterton Trophy analysis next, but one Minnesota Wild blog feels that leaving Pierre-Marc Bouchard out of the final three (Ray Emery, Daymond Langkow, Ian Laperriere) is a "joke." [Hockey Wilderness]
• Fear the Fin on Terry Murray's handshake snub of the San Jose Sharks after the Game 6 loss for the Los Angeles Kings. It appears he shook the hands of the San Jose coaches, but didn't take part in the handshake line. Which doesn't make him a bad person, per se, but does make him Randy Carlyle. [Fear The Fin]
• Former NHL enforcer Shane Churla was arrested on Wednesday for a road rage incident in Wisconsin in which he punched a car door. No, not Todd Ewen; he punched an actual car door. [Star Tribune, via Kukla]
• It's either the Detroit Red Wings or the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 2 for the San Jose Sharks. Either way, we all win. [Sharks]
• "Tom Gaglardi has agreed to a price and most of the terms for buying the Dallas Stars — and if he can steer it through bankruptcy court with the bankers in charge of the sale, the Vancouver businessman will be the NHL team's new owner." Whew … that Mark Cuban talk was making us worried about locker room access for electronic media. [Globe & Mail]
• Looking at the Washington Capitals players who took a step forward in their series against the New York Rangers … and the ones for whom expectations exceeded play. [Japers' Rink]
• Braden Holtby is back up with the Capitals. [Capitals]
• The five greatest games of the New York Rangers' 2010-11 season. [Scotty Hockey]
• An in-depth look at officiating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and all of its flaws. [Matchsticks and Gasoline]
• Via Lightning Strikes, Ryan Malone talks about his elbowing penalty in Game 6 that should have been a major. [Lightning Strikes]
• Is there going to be a Return of the Winnipeg Jets (or Whatevers) on Friday? [QMI]
• Johan Franzen skates and hopes to be ready for Round 2. Ruslan Salei misses Detroit Red Wings practice. Mike Babcock says it's "just a boo-boo." And no, there can't be anything more amusing than hearing Mike Babcock say, "Boo-boo." [Red Wings]
• Guy Gadowsky only sounds like a game show host. He's actually the first head coach in the history of Penn State's Div. I hockey program, leaving Princeton after seven years. Said the coach: "I think the Canadian hockey players are going to love it here. They're just going to eat it up." [CHN]
• The Royal Half offers a sad assessment of the Los Angeles Kings' 43rd season without a Stanley Cup. [The Royal Half]
• Finally, two of our favorite fans, K-Maxx & Shelly-D of "Cheerin' for My City" fame, are now in 8th grade and dropping this track for the Canucks. Believe!