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.
• [Expletive] is getting weird with the Sedins, man.
• Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos reports that Milan Lucic will not be suspended for his boarding major on Jaroslav Spacek and will play in Game 7 for the Boston Bruins. [@RealKyper]
• In case you were wondering if the Montreal Canadiens were in a Game 7 tonight: "As they did during last year's playoff run, police will close Ste. Catherine to all vehicle traffic as of 8 p.m. between Guy St. and McGill College Ave. in an effort to funnel crowds of Canadiens fans down the major thoroughfare following the game. Whether those fans will be celebrating a big win or mourning the end of their hockey season remains to be seen." [Gazette]
• The hell is wrong with the Boston Bruins' power play? [Boston Globe]
• The Top 10 players who made the most impact in Round 1. [THN]
• Good piece on Guy Boucher, who leads the Tampa Bay Lightning into his first Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7 tonight in Pittsburgh. "Never mind that he's younger than his team's goaltender, or new to the league. His team fought all year. It deserved to climb back into this series from 3-1 down. It deserves a night like this. And so does Guy Boucher, for the job he has done in one short season." [Tampa Tribune]
• Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik on the biting eye-gouging accusation from Boucher: "You try to play against their skill guys as hard as you can. You try to make it miserable for them. But it's kind of a childish accusation. It was kind of a little wrestling match on the ground with a couple headlocks. I don't know where that came from. That's him probably just trying to pull attention away from the [Ryan] Malone hit [on Pascal Dupuis] or just trying to start something going into Game 7. It's disappointing and childish on his part." [Post Gazette]
• David Shoalts on how the NHL will pull off its latest attempt to save the Phoenix Coyotes, which is to bring down the asking price: "The fact this still will require a hefty contribution from the Glendale sharpies means any new deal has no guarantee of success. And that is why most people in the know still think this team is headed to Winnipeg." [Globe & Mail]
• Who should win the OHL playoff MVP? [Buzzing The Net]
• Why Jonathan Toews doesn't deserve the Selke. [Houses of the Hockey]
• Blackhawks writer: Hey, if we can't beat the Canucks, at least we can get pissy about their quasi-conceited postgame quotes! [Chicago Now]
• More reaction to Henrik Sedin's chatter about the Blackhawks not belonging in the series. [The Hockey Writers]
• Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman: You're on notice! "Being a puck possession team is great but this club needs to add physicality, size and experience. The pounding the Hawks defensemen and forwards continually absorbed is costly. Changes are needed and it won't be easy. Bowman has to execute a better plan for next season than he did last summer and now salary cap restraints won't be as severe." [Hockey Independent]
• Breaking down the Mike Fisher vs. Ryan Kesler matchup that could be a key in Round 2. [On The Forecheck]
• Good times for Nashville Predators fans: "For about three hours, it didn't matter if you liked the Vols or the Dores. For about three hours, it didn't matter if you were an Alabama or an Auburn fan. For about three hours, it didn't matter if you cheered for the Titans or the Colts. For about three hours, the city of Nashville had one voice. We were able to get on the backs of guys named Weber, Suter, Legwand and Spaling to name a few." [Tennessean]
• Todd McLellan on Joe Thornton: "There are a lot of things that people outside our locker room don't see, and for him to get the winning goal, to have the 'C' on to settle the team down … keep in mind that he's known for his offense, but he was a heck of a penalty killer. He blocked a lot of shots in the series and he won a lot of key faceoffs. He broke up plays on the backcheck. He's doing a lot of things away from the puck to make him a successful player." [NHL]
• Looking at Alexander Burmistrov's rookie season with the Atlanta Thrashers and whether he was mishandled. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]
• Say, the NHL might want to look into this: "The number of Europeans in the NHL in 2010-11 continued the steady decline and is now the lowest in eleven years." [IIHF, via Malik]
• Miley Cyrus puts the foil on. Via Joe Siclari: "Looks like Miley is putting on the foil, or really excited about the Nashville Preds moving on to the next round. Who knows? Maybe just redneck brass knuckles. Puckheads can only speculate." [The Superficial]
• Mike Knuble of the Washington Capitals will return "in the second round at some point." [Capitals Insider]
• Via CSN Philly: "Jeff Carter said he was feeling a little better with a badly sprained right knee. He said he feels he can return to play in the second round of the playoffs. Whether that is at the beginning remains to be seen." [CSN]
• Ciskie on the Sabres: "Blame Ryan Miller all you want, but it should have been 4-0 in the first period. He kept them in the game as long as he could, but he had no help, and he was screened by teammates on at least two of the goals he allowed. That's not effective defensive hockey. Miller wasn't at his best in this series, but let's be honest. The only reason it went seven was Philly's own atrocious goaltending ... atrocious goaltending we can only hope bites them in the second or third round." [The Ciskie Blog]
• Satire: Not the best bet for Buffalo's mayor. [WNY]
• The Florida Panthers ink Keaton Ellerby to a 1-year deal before he reaches RFA status. [The Litter Box]
• The Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and New York Rangers will receive 2011 Environmental Quality Award. Why? "Since October, the Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Sabres have combined to divert 14 tons of food waste from reaching landfill while providing 21,000 meals to local food banks." That's a lot of old popcorn right there. [NHL]
• Down Goes Brown with a hockey fan's guide to the UFC. [DGB]
• Finally, via Barstool, Jack Edwards takes a brave stand against diving, which is the root of all the world's evils.