• Wondering how Daniel Alfredsson was so open for the game-tying goal last night? The photo above pretty much explains it, but here's a full breakdown. [Pensburgh]

• Good news for Boston: Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden are back at practice. [Boston]

• The Buffalo Sabres have signed up for another year of John Scott. [Sabres]

• Led by Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Sweden took home the gold medal at the World Hockey Championships. They celebrated with a bunch of gold helmets. [PITB]

• With the gold medal, Sweden moved from fourth to first the IIHF's world ranking. And Switzerland moved up to seventh. [IIHF]

• Viktor Stalberg and Michal Handzus will be in the lineup for the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3. [Chicago Tribune]

• AHL president David Andrews thinks NBC should mention the impact his league has had on the Bruins' young defensive guns. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

• Speaking of the AHL and the Providence Bruins, the league has announced that Graham Mink has been suspended 2 games for the match penalty he earned in this brawl. [AHL]

• Are the Washington Capitals losers or chokers? According to the data: chokers. [Washington Post]

• There weren't a whole lot of positives for the Sabres this year, but the play of Kevin Porter was one of them. [Rant Sports]

• Wojtek Wolski heads to the KHL. [Dmitry Chesnokov]

• The Anaheim Ducks have signed William Karlsson to his ELC. [Ducks]

• Ales Hemsky's days as an Oiler are numbered. [Edmonton Journal]

• Handing out some alternative awards, such as the best sitter for the guy that served the most penalties for teammates. [On the Forecheck]

• Gary Bettman does an interview on CNBC, and explains why you should buy a hockey team. [CNBC]

• Vote for Joffrey Lupul for the NHL 14 cover, or this could be your groin. NSFW for language.

Or in a sewer.

With a mutated rat that knows ninjutsu as a sensei.

Since 1984, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have symbolized those four disparate traits in comics, cartoons and movies:

Leonardo (blue mask): The measured, valiant leader of the group. Strong and fearless.

Donatello (purple mask): The scientist who prefers to use intellect rather than his bo staff to solve conflicts. A bit shy.

Michelangelo (orange mask): The pizza-gobbling free spirit of the group whose “Cowabunga” launched a million T-shirts.

Raphael (red mask): The temperamental bad boy of the group. And he speaks with a New York accent!

On a recent Marek Vs. Wyshynski podcast, there was a spontaneous discussion about the TMNT template being applied to NHL teams. For example, we all know Jonathan Toews is the Leonardo and Patrick Kane is the Michelangelo of the Chicago Blackhawks – but who is their Raphael?

We asked the Puck Daddy readership to check in with their choices for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles proxies for all 30 NHL teams. Here are the Eastern Conference choices for hockey heroes on a half shell. The West will follow on Wednesday.

We received more submissions for some teams than others, so we’ve limited the entries to two for each team. Enjoy, dudes:

Boston Bruins

Leonardo: Zdeno Chara

Donatello: Patrice Bergeron

Michelangelo: Brad Marchand - I mean, really. No other player in the NHL can even come close.

Raphael: Shawn Thornton

- Andrine Belliveau

Buffalo Sabres

Leonardo: Thomas Vanek. Wikipedia: “Leonardo is depicted as the eldest brother and the calmest of the four. Throughout the various media, he is depicted as the leader of the four turtles and the most disciplined.” Coincidentally, TV is my favorite Sabre and Leonardo was my favorite turtle.

Donatello: Ryan Miller. Wikipedia: “In all media, he is depicted as the most intelligent of the four turtles, often speaking in technobabble with a natural aptitude for science and technology.” Yup.

Michelangelo: Steve Ott. Do I even have to? Wikipedia:” In the original comic books, Michelangelo was initially depicted as fun-loving, carefree, and, while not as aggressive as Raphael, always ready to fight…most of the traits that have become synonymous with the character, such as his playfulness, empathy, and easygoing nature.

Raphael: Patrick Kaleta. Wikipedia: “He is generally the most likely to experience extremes of emotion, and is usually depicted as being aggressive, sullen, maddened, and rebellious.” That about sums it up.

Bonus Characters!

April O’Neil: Either Erica Halbrook or Noureen DeWulf

Casey Jones: John Scott – Wikipedia: “Casey wears a hockey mask and cut-off biking gloves and carries his weapons in a golf bag over his shoulder. His weapons include baseball bats, golf clubs, cricket bats, and hockey sticks. He is a master of stealth, as he has never been caught by the NYPD despite his bizarre appearance.” Too easy.

Master Splinter: Darcy Regier. He even looks rat-like!

Enemies!

Bebop and Rocksteady: Chris Neil and Milan Lucic. Hulking, lumbering idiots - you always want the Turtles to beat them.

Baxter Stockman: Brad Marchand. He created the Mousers to kill rats, Brad Marchand looks and acts like a rat.

Shredder: Daniel Alfredsson. A compliment really, he tends to shred the Sabres D.

Krang: Gary Bettman. An evil brain that tries to take over Earth. Pretty close.

- Jim Durolek

Leonardo: Thomas Vanek. Easily the most skilled, But also the one that tends to disappear in entire episodes leaving the rest of the team to try and figure it out on their own.

Donatello: Ryan Miller. The elder Statesmen, The smart intellectual force on the team who's unafraid to say it like it is, but in ways you may not understand because you're not on his level. Also he loves the color Purple.

Michelangelo: I had a toss up between Steve Ott, for being a party dude on the ice, and Drew Stafford for being a party dude off the ice. I'm going to lean towards Steve Ott though because Michaelangelo actually helped the team where as Stafford isn't even sure he's playing hockey during a game.

Raphael: Patrick Kaleta, He gets angry, everyone blames him for everything whether it's his fault or not and he tends to run around on his own and get into trouble with the Shanabanner (Master Splinter).

- Gregory Kashmanian

Montreal Canadiens

Leonardo: Brian Gionta (Leader = Captain)

Donatello: Carey Price (Very Analytical approach to goaltending, Uses his brain power to keep calm and get the job done)

Michelangelo: P.K. Subban (Looks good in Orange and a Party Dude)

Raphael: Brandon Prust (Angry, Cool but Rude)

- Tony Healey, Jr.

Leonardo: Brian Gionta leads the pack.

Donatello: The brains of the operation is Harvard alum Donatello Louis Leblanc, missing right now in the AHL dungeon.

Michelangelo: Colby Armstrong and there is no way you can convince me otherwise.

Raphael: Of course there's PK "Raphael" Subban; the coolest one

Michael Therrien is Splinter, while the Shredder is of course Pierre Gauthier

- Ash Slaughter

Ottawa Senators

Leonardo: Daniel Alfredsson (fearless leader)

Donatello: Colin Greening (smart, Greening is a Cornell grad)

Michelangelo: Jason Spezza (carefree)

Raphael: Robin Lehner (bad boy, aggressive)

Master Splinter: Coach MacLean

Shredder: Matt Cooke (literally)

- Amy Bell

Leonardo: Milan Michalek - Something about this goal/celebration makes me think of him as Leo. Also, Milo rhymes with Leo.

Donatello: Erik Karlsson - Smartest guy on the ice. I mean, he'd have to be to invent whatever it is that lets him come back 2 months after severing his Achilles (Time machine, robotic tendon, cloning, etc).

Michelangelo: Matt Kassian - From his twitter feed, acts like a fun-loving goofball. Seems like he'd enjoy wacky pizza toppings. Pretty sure he yells Cowabunga when he drops the gloves with someone.

Raphael: Chris Neil - Kind of a jerk, but most people like him anyway (at least in Ottawa). Kind of a hot-head and goes off to do his own thing (and get into trouble) at times.

Splinter: Daniel Alfredsson - Wise old player, taught the young'uns in the ways of Hockey. When the going gets tough, they all look to him to guide them and kick ass.

- Murray Robb

Toronto Maple Leafs

Leonardo: Gonna have to go with Dion Phaneuf for Leo. He's older than many of his teammates and despite his haters, I'd say he still qualifies as a decent leader.

Donatello: I wish I could say Carlyle fits here because he 'uses his knowledge' to solve conflicts. But I'm still not sure how I feel about him. Can't say Grabo because, well, he bit someone. My final answer is Jake Gardiner because he doesn't particularly like to play physical - see 4 hits in 8 GP - which is, I imagine, partly why the "I <3 goon coach" has him in the press box.

Michelangelo: Absolutely Nazem Kadri. Obviously all he did over the summer was eat pizza and relax based on the reports from the Marlies. Oh and I think he just had his 17th birthday.

Raphael: Too easy - Joffrey Lupul He's a straight up bad-ass. Remember back in the day when he swindled all those ladies with the other Flyers party boys? He says what he wants when he wants to and is one of the most aggressive Leafs every night.

- Kristy Reinhardt

New Jersey Devils

Leonardo: Martin Brodeur for sure. Leader and oldest turtle.

Donatello: Ilya Kovalchuk (I guess). This is maybe a stretch.

Michelangelo: Patrick Elias. Joker.

Raphael: David Clarkson. Loyal and aggressive.

- Matt Law

Leonardo: Marty Brodeur - old, steady, old, lead by example type that isn't overtly outspoken. Also old. Probably at this point a little underrated for what he can do because he's been wielding that katana for so long.

Donatello: Patrik Elias - Wiley and cagey. Seems like more of a pacifist who just happens to be involved in violent activities. Better in a supporting role than wearing the 'C.' For some reason I can see him wielding a bow staff in real life for no apparent reason.

Michelangelo: Stefan Matteau - young, brash, has the tools just needs the maturity.

Raphael: David Clarkson - Fiery, some times (read: most times) to his own detriment. Frustrating when pride seems to get in his way and he doesn't see the big picture. Also, whether it's April or every post pubescent female devils fan (all 14 by my last count), seems to be one with the ladies.

And I would love to end by comparing Lou to Splinter as the wise sage whose wisdom you don't really understand until it becomes abundantly clear on its own, but who are we kidding, he's more of a Krang.

- Colin Rafter

New York Islanders

Leonardo: John Tavares

Donatello: Evgeni Nabakov

Michelangelo: Matty Moulson

Rafael: Matt Martin

- Patrick W. Lehmann

Leonardo: John Tavares

Donatello: Kyle Okposo

Michelangelo: Casey Cizikas

Raphael: Matt Martin

- Steve Zee

New York Rangers

Leonardo: Ryan Callahan, fearless leaders. seems to always wanna motivate the other guys and keep moral up. the very idea of leading by example.

Donatello: Dan Girardi…usually the quiet thinker, Girardi seems to quietly be amazing as one of the top D-men in the league. Donatello depicted as the problem solver, just watch Girardi on the PK blocking shots.

Michelangelo: Carl Hagelin or Michael Del Zotto, seemingly young and carefree. Can imagine either of them going around consistently saying "cowabunga" and eating pizza.

Raphael: Ryane Clowe or Arron Asham … trying to be the little bad-ass with an attitude, had this been last year hands down it would be Prust. I also think back to the Ninja Turtles movie from 1990 and recall Raph being in a tub, lethargic from like half the movie and that just seems to remind me of Richards this season. Also Brian Boyle wishes at this point he was the bad-ass, but the sleeping issues are the least of his issues the season.

- Leigh Cuomo

Philadelphia Flyers

Leonardo: That’s a hard one, because he’s the leader. Uh…geez...let’s
just say Claude Giroux and move on to the next question.

Donatello: Ilya Bryzgalov as is obviously, because Donatello appreciated the
huMANgusness of the universe

Michelangelo: Scott Hartnell, because it’s really easy to imagine him
saying “Cowabunga, Dude” or "bodacious."

Raphael: Zac Rinaldo is because he likes to punch things. See also: Wayne Simmonds. See also: Jay Rosehill. Really, just pick whoever isn’t so beat up that they can still skate.

Bonus players:

Kimmo Timonen as Vanilla Ice singing The Ninja Rap.
Casey Jones: Mike Richards. [insert bitter memories of better times here].
Sarah Baicker is The Flying Mutant Ninja Turtles’ version April.
O’Neil. There’s no room for discussion on this.
Splinter: Position vacant. Applicants welcome.
The Foot Clan: The Penguins. Or the Bruins. Or the Rangers. Or all of the above.
Shredder: Dan Bylsma. Or Claude Julien. Or John Tortorella. Or all of
the above.

- Alli Jessing

Pittsburgh Penguins

Leonardo: This is clearly Sidney Crosby. He's the undisputed leader of the crew and by far the most disciplined. He doesn't like taking credit as leader and he's the calmest of the four. Give Crosby a blue mask and that's pretty much him. Except, without, you know, the ooze turning him into a mutant thing.

Donatello: As the brainy one of the group, this clearly has to go to Harvard grad Craig Adams. Ever see shots of them on the plane? The rest of the guys are playing video games; Adams is reading some sort of novel about the current socio-political climate or econ.

Michelangelo: Definitely the most carefree and fun-loving turtle of the group. He's playful and easygoing and once stopped a bunch of thieves from stealing the toys of orphaned children. This has to go to Marc-Andre Fleury. Besides, how amazing would it be to hear him attempt to say "Cowabunga!" in his Franglish gibberish?

Raphael: Evgeni Malkin. Raphael is the hotter-headed younger brother of Leonardo and often depicted as moody, emotional, and by far more hot-tempered than his more even-keeled older sibling, though they are equally talented in their art. How well does this describe Malkin, who has prodigious talent but is definitely prone to letting his emotions get the better of him on the ice?

- Alisha Grauso

Leonardo: Leo is the eldest of his peers, is an incredible student and is very well-educated. Takes instruction better than any other member of the team. A leader that commands respect, but does it honorably, and never casts a bad light on the group. Lives the right way and keeps himself on the straight-and-narrow as a leader. He is: Craig Adams.

Donatello: Has vision and intelligence for the objective at hand that nobody on his team, or possibly nobody in the world possesses. He sees angles and solutions nobody else can see. He's soft-spoken, but leads by example. He can use his bow/stick unlike anyone else, inflicting damage to the opposition in any number of directions, positions, and angles. A thinking man's favorite, but gets down and dirty in the muck with the best of them. He is: Sidney Crosby

Michelangelo: Goofy, fun-loving, always with a smile, Michelangelo is among the same age as the group, but always looks and acts like a kid. Distinct, endearing accent. Never gets too low, no matter the circumstances, and boosts morale of his teammates. Let's stuff roll off his shoulders. Often carries many boxes of pizza. He is: Marc-Andre Fleury.

Raphael: Sullen and moody but an incredible warrior that will give his all and his entire body to the cause. Makes rash decisions that either end incredibly or awfully with seldom middle ground. A fiery presence that can usually be found in the middle of a scrum. Almost never cracks a smile, yet many females tend to like that about him, I've found. He is: Kris Letang.

And as a bonus, Master Splinter, is, of course, 66. And April O'Neil is Dan Potash.

- Luke Irwin

Carolina Hurricanes

Leonardo: Leonardo is a natural leader. He is brave and strategic. So, yeah…we don't have anyone to fit that role in Carolina.

Donatello: Jay Harrison is often cited for being the team genius, so he is a natural fit for Donatello.

Michelangelo: There is no one better to play Michelangelo than Canes’ own comedian, Chad LaRose. Forever young and personable.

Raphael: The brooding and surly Tim Gleason fits the fierce and sarcastic nature of Raphael.

- Kristina Kelly

Leonardo: Eric Staal - Obvious leader and emotional too (see stupid stupid end of game penalties, his freakish screams when scoring goals, etc) Imagine the moment when Leonardo talks to Splinter's flame spirit. Only E. Staal could be in that scene from the 'Canes.

Donatello: Riley Nash (Previously Brandon Sutter). With the departure of Sutter, Nash is my pick for the smartest/headiest player on the team now. He transitioned to the team very well out of Charlotte and looks to stick on the roster starting with next season. This was my hardest pick, as the 'Canes no longer have a super hockey smart player in my opinion anymore (excluding Semin).

Michelangelo: Jeff Skinner. I'd be pretty awesome to imagine Skinner as the most party-ready Turtle, especially with his epic hairstyle that he started the season with. With the teenie-bopper like following he has around here, he'd be all about the girls and pizza. (Hey! Its the Babe from the News!)

Raphael: Alex Semin. He pretty much lines up exactly with Raphael from the movie - sort of quiet and to himself yet has amazing talent and skill when he wants to apply it.

Bonus!

Splinter: Rod Brind'amor. He's the bad-ass teacher of the team now. He has some supreme skills, but now he's become older and less mobile. Even though he's Rod the Bod he needed that stick to be his cane to get around the ice at the end of this career.

Casey Jones: Tim Gleason. He just seems to fit the character to me, with the more literal physical instead of skilled playing style. More Brutal than the turtles, with more grit to his battles.

-- Matthew Kuekes

Florida Panthers

Leonardo: Tomas Kopecky

Donatello: Brian Campbell

Michelangelo: Kris Versteeg

Raphael: Erik Gudbranson

- Paige

Tampa Bay Lightning

Leonardo: Vinny Lecavalier as the leader of the bunch.

Donatello: Used his staff as a weapon much like Steven Stamkos.

Michelangelo: Was a big goofball as is Teddy Purcell. I had the opportunity to meet Teddy a few days ago and asked him to clear up the pronunciation of his name (per-suhl vs per-cell) and he replied "It's per-suhl and my mom gets really mad when people get that wrong."

Raphael: Was a sarcastic wise-guy with a bit of a mean streak in him at times. Easily fits as Bugsy Malone although Bugsy isn't as "dark".

BONUS:

Master Splinter: Sami Salo - Because they're both creepy old dudes.

April O'Neil: Eric Brewer - Mostly because "traffic cone" wasn't a TMNT character.

- Jay Marrero

Washington Capitals

Leonardo: Nicklas Backstrom

Donatello: Troy Brouwer

Michelangelo: Alex Ovechkin

Raphael: John Erskine

- Cory The Horse

Leonardo: Brooks Laich

Donatello: Nicklas Backstrom

Michelangelo: Alex Ovechkin

Raphael: John Erskine

- Tom McRann

Winnipeg Jets

Leonardo: The Jets leader, and Captain, Andrew Ladd. Oldest and wisest. Two Cups.

Donatello: Least violent, most creative, Alex Burmistrov. Kid has hands, stays out of the box. Shows up with some flash every once in a while, but spends a lot of time in the shadows of the vets

Michelangelo: Easy. Big Dustin Byfuglien. Fits the description perfectly.

Raphael: Aggressive nature? Check. Not afraid to throw the first punch? Check. Kane goes harder than any Jet, and seems to like the bad boy image. Hangs out with Mayweather and Lil Wayne ya know (I guess).

We can't forget about Master Splinter.

Claude Noel is the Jets Splinter. Noel always has a few gems full of wisdom and insight stated simply at his press conferences. Adopted father of these former Thrashers.

- Dan McArthur

Leonardo: Andrew Ladd - Look at this Tuesday's game against Tampa Bay. Look at his stats this season. Leads on the ice. Leads off the ice, in the dressing room and in the community. Loved by all of Winnipeg. Wears blue.

Donatello: Kyle Wellwood - My section had previously dubbed him "The Professor", AKA "The Dad" of the team. Seems like the most likely guy on the team to be into science and technology, and looks the part - has been seen wearing a dapper (suede?) jacket with elbow patches for one of the in-game charity video montages. Also, Donatello is described on Wikipedia as "the least violent turtle, preferring to use his knowledge to solve conflicts". The only check I've seen him throw this season was when he dodged out of the way of someone aiming for a bodycheck on him... into someone else.

Michelangelo: Dustin Byfuglien - Likes fun (See: boating). Likes pizza (See: him).

Raphael: Claude Noel - Have you seen a Noel post-game presser? Dry wit and sarcasm.

The latest and greatest victim? Rookie Chad Ruhwedel, who played his second NHL game on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was given the postgame interview treatment on MSG Network and … well, there was a John Scott cameo that has to be seen to be believed.

Not just John Scott dancing. Nope, it’s John Scott dancing shirtless in a Buffalo Sabres logo fur coat, looking a little Dan Harmon meets John C. Reiley.

As Die By The Blade writes:

“Ruhwedel is totally oblivious, and kudos to Brian Duff, ever the professional, who somehow manages to hold his reaction down to a smirk.”

Oh, but Scott's interview invasions don't end there.

Here’s Scott “getting lost” during an interview with Steve Ott back in March:

And here’s Scott popping up like a gopher behind defenseman Mark Pysyk:

So we’ve gone from “Kes-lurking” in Vancouver to Scott-Spotting in Buffalo. I think Scott wins on dexterity but Ryan Kesler might still win for overall creepiness.

s/t @hawknut

Goals by Bryan Bickell and Marian Hossa ended Brian Elliott's three-game shutout streak and it was Crawford who was the one on Sunday doing the blanking. Crawford recorded his third shutout after making 30 saves as the Blackhawks shutout the St. Louis Blues 2-0. Hossa's goal was the insurance marker, coming shorthanded right off an offensive zone faceoff:

No. 2 Star: Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

Howard earned his third shutout of the season with a 22-save performance as the Red Wings blanked the Nashville Predators 3-0. The win moves Detroit ahead of the Dallas Stars and into eighth place in the Western Conference. Henrik Zetterberg scored his ninth of the season in second period and would later assist on Justin Abdelkader's empty-netter. Dan DeKeyser recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Zetterberg's goal, which came after a nice bounce off the boards behind Pekka Rinne:

No. 3 Star: Jhonas Enroth, Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres netminder made 32 saves as the Sabres remained in the hunt for the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Goals from Tyler Ennis, Jochen Hecht and Kevin Porter helped moved Buffalo four within a playoff spot with five games to go. Ennis' power play goal opened the scoring for the Sabres thanks to a lovely behind-the-back pass from Thomas Vanek:

Honorable mention: Chicago has won five in a row and lead the NHL with 68 points ... The Blackhawks are 22-2-0 when leading after two periods and 23-1-2 when scoring first ... Johan Franzen recorded his 300th career point on a third period goal ... John Scott's video-bombing of post-game interviews continued Sunday night as he showed his dance moves and hairy chest behind rookie Chad Ruhwedel:

Did You Know? "This marks just the second time since the 2006-07 season that Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has missed consecutive games when healthy." (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Tampa is 1-4-1 in their previous six games and 1-6-1 in their last eight away from home ... The Blues were 0-for-3 on the power play and have only scored on 6 of their last 72 opportunities ... Nashville has dropped six in a row.

Preview: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET

Another visit to Buffalo for the Boston Bruins. Will John Scott singlehandedly win the game by beating someone up again? (Follow-up question: Did he even do that last time?) The Bruins are rolling right now at 8-1-2, and they're rolling even harder on the road, with four straight wins. Buffalo will cross their fingers that Tuukka Rask will completely to be a dud against them. He's been pulled twice in his last four starts in Buffalo, with a 3.62 goals-against average.

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET

Here we have a match of two teams that have made me feel dumb this year. I thought the Flyers would be better. I thought the Devils would be worse. I know nothing. Danius Zubrus is out and Alexei Ponikarovsky makes his debut for the Devils, who have won five straight over the Flyers, dating back to last postseason. Something tells me Flyers remember that series. (Also, Wysh is at this game. If you see him, tell him to come home.)

Preview: San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. ET

The last time these two teams met, both were streaking into the season. Chicago won, putting the second loss in San Jose's win column, and San Jose immediately fell off a cliff. They've lost every game since, and six straight. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are still unbeaten in regulation at 10-0-3, so the Sharks have an excellent opportunity to end two streaks with one win. They'll be buoyed by the fact that Chicago is without Corey Crawford, who's day-to-day with an injury that looks and quacks like a concussion.

Preview: Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. ET

Ryan Kesler returns for the Canucks and he'll be the centre of the hour. That is, unless Henrik Sedin has a multi-point night, in which case, he becomes the scoringest, pointiest player in Canucks history. Kari Lehtonen would like to make a little personal history of his own, however. He's never won a game in Vancouver.

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Goalie Post.

Evening Reading

• Shouldn't be necessary, but Bruins' coach Claude Julien comes to the defence of Matt Cooke: “I’ll be bluntly honest. I looked at the play. If you look at in slow motion, sure it’s going to look deliberate. But in normal speed I don’t believe it was deliberate. But I can understand why Bryan Murray is upset. If I lost a player like that I’d be upset too, but sometimes when you’re upset you’re not being realistic." [CNNSE]

• Still not necessary, but teammate Sidney Crosby stands up for Cooke as well: "With Matt’s history, he probably gets a tough call on that one. I think that’s unnecessary.I think we all saw the play and know what happened and know that it was an accident. If you ask anyone that understands the game at all, they’ll tell you that it’s pretty hard to try to intentionally do what he did. Unfortunately, his past creeps in and people probably give him a hard time. He’s really tried to clean up the way he plays and I think he’s done a pretty good job with that. His past gives him a tough guy, but he’s made a strong effort of making sure that he’s better.” [Canoe]

• How Ryan Kesler's return could soften the blow of the Canucks' inevitable regression. [PlayNow]

• Jean-Sebastien Giguere is taking a brief personal leave from the Avalanche. [Denver Post]

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: Not that it even matters what post it's from, but "Brad" took issue with the Eugene Melnyk post:

#$%$ you mooney...your a #$%$ idiot!!!!...i/d like to find out where you live!!!!!!

All right then.

Bold prediction: San Jose's streak ends, which means Chicago's does too.

Over the summer, most teams in the Northeast Division took part in the very odd trend of trying to muscle up as a means of competing with the Boston Bruins.

The Sabres signed slugger-not-a-skater John Scott and traded big ol' softie Derek Roy for rough and ready Steve Ott. Montreal backed a dump truck full of money and years into Brandon Prust's driveway for somewhat mystifying reasons. The Maple Leafs added borderline guys with lots of penalty minutes like Mark Fraser and Frazer McLaren (though the latter was claimed on waivers a few weeks ago). The Senators didn't do any of that, and good for them.

But isn't it funny that the most embarrassing period of any game this season came as a direct result of trying to keep up with Boston's toughness, but did not in any way involve the Bruins? It came, instead, in a game involving Montreal, which is odd considering that apart from Prust, the number of Canadiens you'd expect to get involved in any sort of rough stuff can more or less be counted on zero fingers.

But on a team of roughnecks built — not altogether successfully — with "truculence" and "being tough to play against" in mind, who would have thought that Nazem Kadri, of all people, would be the one that ended up sparking the whole mess? It was Kadri who railroaded Alexei Emelin with a good, hard, clean hit as the Habs defenseman, who was wearing a full cage after being hit in the face with a puck last month, tried to clear the zone.

As the puck went down the ice, and created a scoring opportunity for the Habs, Dion Phaneuf came back and committed a penalty, which would have given Montreal a power play.

Instead, Prust, in an attempt to get back at the team whose player had just crushed his teammate, threw a gloved punch and negated the opportunity before it even started. Things devolved from there, in no way helped by the fact that Toronto was also creaming Montreal on their home ice. As the lead grew from 3 goals to 4 to 5 to 6, it got uglier and uglier, and the final 20 minutes in particular stood as being particularly pathetic and unflattering for all involved.

If the Kadri hit and subsequent Prust roughing minor at 10:08 and 10:37 of the second period was the dry leaves and hot summer day that could potentially turn into a forest fire, Prust's ludicrous insistence on fighting Fraser at 1:09 of the third was the discarded cigarette butt on the whole mess. Prust, by the way, accomplished little to nothing in that fight, either in the way of punching Fraser or firing up his team.

Including those two fighting majors, there were 94 penalty minutes doled out in the third period alone (after the officials already hit the teams with a combined 22 in the first two). That included three fights, five 10-minute misconducts, and a biting incident involving Mikhail Grabovski chomping down on Max Pacioretty's forearm, which found its way across his mouth during a scrum involving at least eight people, for which Prust was obviously on the ice, because why wouldn't he be?

All of this goes back to the role Brandon Prust thinks he has to play for this team, and how ill-equipped the Habs are to handle situations like this in general. Prust is not John Scott, the kind of player who gets five minutes a night if he's lucky and whose only purpose on earth is to punch people in the face. He gets about 12 minutes a night, and that seems about right because he's a somewhat useful hockey player more in the vein of Shawn Thornton. Fighting is a component of his game, but certainly not the whole thing.

No one likes to see their teams getting crushed at home by the Maple Leafs. No one likes to see their teammates getting run over by Nazem Kadri. And for guys like Prust, that goes double. He was brought in specifically for this reason, because when he's not there to fight people, it falls to guys like Josh Gorges to do it instead. Guys like Gorges, by the way, are the guys that guys like Frazer McLaren laugh at during fights.

All of this goes without mentioning Colton Orr — already a useless thug — trying to kill people in the neutral zone because his stick got knocked out of his hands, or exploring in-depth the Grabovski bite, except to say that both incidents are entirely the consequence of the game getting completely out of hand, on the scoreboard and on the ice.

Everyone involved should be embarrassed. The players, the coaches, the officials, even the executives.

Hockey shouldn't look like this. But Montreal and Toronto play each other again in a little more than two weeks, and after a few days of media furor around the rematch, you can bet it almost certainly will. What a joke.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Teemu Selanne had four point in Anaheim's shootout win on Saturday night, becoming just the third 42-year-old to have a four-point night twice in a season, and first since Tim Horton did it in 1972. Moreover, since 1987-88, players north of 40 have 13 four-point games. Five of them were Teemu.

Boston Bruins: Did you know Boston Bruins defenseman Douglas "Dougie" Hamilton is playing in the NHL as a 19-year-old? It's true. I looked it up.

Buffalo Sabres: I love this Bucky Gleason article about what an embarrassment the Sabres are so much I could cry. However, I can't believe it took anyone in Buffalo this long to start ringing the "Fire Ruff and Regier" bell. That one should have been clanging like Notre Dame years ago.

Calgary Flames: Speaking of general managers who should be fired, how many times does Jarome Iginla have to say, "Yeah, they worked harder than us," before Jay Feaster gets shown the door? At some point it becomes an issue of just not being good enough, rather than not working hard enough, and the Flames honestly and truly aren't good enough in any way to compete for anything.

Carolina Hurricanes: Boy I like watching this Jeff Skinner kid play hockey. This shot is awesome.

Chicago Blackhawks: Gotta love the Blackhawks being all nervous that their 9-0-2 run to start the season (which, by the way: wow!) will be a harbinger of trouble to come. Last time they led the league in points, they immediately lost nine in a row. Hard to see history repeating.

Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog expects to be back in the lineup "very soon" and that's something that is "very good" for the Avs.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Speaking of guys getting back into the lineup, James Wisniewski, who'd been out a week after suffering a concussion and injuries to his left hip flexor, lower back, neck, right shoulder and right elbow, was ready to go last night. How someone recovers from all that in one week is something I don't really understand.

Dallas Stars: The Stars are now taking flights the morning after games rather than taking red-eyes as a means of staying fresher, and it seems to be working. I wonder if other teams adopt such a policy if the Stars have a lot of success on the road this year ('course, they're currently 3-4-0 away from home so I mean, y'know.)

Detroit Red Wings presented by Amway: Jonathan Ericsson scored the game-winner for Detroit with just 4.5 seconds to go, and one person in the building was happier than even he was. Said the defenseman: "One of the linesmen was thanking me after I scored. He said, 'Thank you so much, I really had to go pee. I wouldn't last overtime.'"

Edmonton Oilers: Ralph Krueger had the bright idea to put Nail Yakupov on a line with Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Sunday's game against the Blue Jackets, a move prompted by the team having lost five in a row. Also probably prompted by the fact that those three are probably going to get a lot of points together I bet.

Florida Panthers: When you're getting demolished by the Capitals, you are just not a very good hockey team. Oh, but this was the end of a four-game road trip in which they gave their opponents (none of whom were particularly good) five of a possible eight points. Yeah, that's the issue, they weren't at home.

Los Angeles Kings: "Fame hasn't changed goalie Kings Quick." It has, however, changed his GAA and save percentage and win total and chances of winning a Stanley Cup again for the worse.

Minnesota Wild: This, if you can believe it, is Devin Setoguchi's first goal and third point of the season. There's a reason he's getting about 14 minutes a night.

Montreal Canadiens: Good thing this Grabovski biting incident is distracting everyone from the fact that the Habs got friggin' destroyed by the Leafs at home on Hockey Day in Canada. Even before the game got ugly, it was very ugly indeed.

Nashville Predators: The Predators are really proud of their shot-blocking ability (through Saturday's games they were tied for seventh in the league with 177 blocks in 11 games) but that also effectively underscores why their offense is just 29th in the league with two goals a game: They just don't have the puck enough.

New Jersey Devils: So this happened in real life…

I could watch Marty Brodeur fall down like that forever.

New York Islanders: The Islanders should have demolished the Sabres, but instead lost 3-2 in regulation. How one-sided was it? Shots were 43-15.

New York Rangers: The Rangers sure do love J.T. Miller (a great American hero, by the way!). Two goals in his second NHL game. Pretty easy to see why.

Ottawa Senators: "Spezza aims for return before season ends." Yeah I hate to break it to you but if this offense doesn't get going without him pretty soon, it will effectively end in about two weeks.

Philadelphia Flyers: Danny Briere scored the overtime winner against the Hurricanes on Saturday and don't look now but the Flyers have seven points in their last four games.

Phoenix Coyotes: Today is Day No. 185 since Jude LaCava of Fox 10 in Arizona said Greg Jamison would have the deal for the Coyotes sewn up within the next five days. Fortunately, Saturday's 1-0 shootout win over San Jose was just their first road win all year. They're now 1-2-1 away from Jobing.com Arena.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins are now 12 games into the season, one-quarter of the way through. They're also 8-4-0 despite only playing four home games. That's, umm, not good news for the rest of the East.

San Jose Sharks: Brent Burns returned to the Sharks lineup on Saturday, but his beard didn't make its NHL debut. So disappointing.

St. Louis Blues: Whatever do you mean Brian Elliott wasn't able to replicate the 1.56/.940 season he turned in a year ago? He's now at 3.51/.853, you say? Regression to the mean sure does suck, huh?

Tampa Bay Lightning: The reason Tampa's game with the Bruins was postponed on Saturday was that 25 inches of snow prevented most people who live less than a few miles from the rink from getting there safely. Roads were closed until the late afternoon, and local transit was shut down for the whole weekend. Hell, the Lightning's bus got stuck in the snow going the few blocks from the hotel to the rink for a morning skate.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Hey guys, Phil Kessel isn't worried about that new contract with the Leafs when his contract expires this summer. He's more worried about having six points and two goals in his last three games because Phil Kessel is awesome. Get into that.

Vancouver Canucks: I'm not so much concerned about the shot on this Kevin Bieksa goal but man that pass from Daniel Sedin is making me cry.

Washington Capitals: The Caps have no plans to "blow anything up," and that 5-0 win likely reaffirms their incorrect beliefs that the team is in any way capable of being competitive any more. Dumb dumb dumb.

Winnipeg Jets: When Al Montoya is giving you something to think about with regard to your goaltending situation, your goaltending situation is garbage. Remind me again how much Ondrej Pavelec is being paid.

Play of the Weekend

Valentine's Day is on Thursday and I wanna take this Pavel Datsyuk goal out for a romantic dinner.

Gold Star Award

Teemu forever.

Minus of the Weekend

More realignment talk. I bet none of what eventually happens makes any sense.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week

User "Zhamnov10" doesn't really understand how trades work I don't think.

To Pit: Evander Kane

To Wpg: James Neal + Scott Harrington

Signoff

Which idiot made it illegal to install a working toilet in your own bathroom?

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness almost never over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don’t you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.

Thomas Vanek scored his 11th on the year yesterday, his 11th in 11 games as the Sabres beat the New York Islanders. Even as Buffalo now sit at 5-6-1 and last place in the Northeast Division, the Austrian has been the league's most productive player this season.

He's leading the league in scoring with 11 goals and 23 points, topping both categories with breathing room in both. He's also been on the ice for 27 goals for his club, and 20 of those at even strength. Both of those marks top the league as well, as Vanek has played heavy minutes on a less-than-impressive Buffalo roster, carrying a first line with him, Cody Hodgson and Jason Pominville to some early season individual success.

As noted, though, the Sabres are two games below .500, (5-6-1 really means 5-7, no matter what Gary Bettman tries to tell me) and have been getting poor play from the rest of their lineup. While the team's top line has 22 goals already on the season, the remaining Sabres' combined have eight. Despite Steve Ott and John Scott being as tough as they were advertised in the offseason, the Sabres just can't buy a break: Ryan Miller is 20th in the early going among NHL starters in even strength save percentage at .911, well below his own individual career norms.

This morning, Buffalo News columnist Bucky Gleason absolutely ripped apart Terry Pegula, Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff and the honeymoon phase surrounding Pegula's purchase of the Sabres appears to be over. It's true that Regier has failed to surround Vanek with adequate talent, or at least Vanek's line, and the secondary scorers on the Sabres pose no real significant threat. Rookie Mikhail Grigorenko has been given his fair share of offensive minutes at even strength but still hasn't adjusted to the NHL pace. Drew Stafford, second on the squad in scoring last season, has yet to light the lamp despite taking 33 shots already this season.

The problems in Buffalo are documented, and I find it amazing that despite this, Vanek continues to pile up points. It needs to be clear he's not just scoring snack goals out there, feeding on defensive complacency of leading teams. He scored two late third period goals the other night against Montreal, including one on a scramble with two seconds on the clock, to tie the game and send it to a shootout. He scored this excellent dagger goal against Boston last week to complete his hat-trick:

But can he keep it up?

History suggests that no, Thomas Vanek will probably not continue along a goal-a-game pace. It's unsustainable, but it's a whole lot of fun, because the excellent work Vanek puts in to scoring goals can be better appreciated when the goals go in as opposed to when they don't.

With Thomas Vanek on the ice at even strength, the Sabres are scoring on 17.2% of all their shots. The highest full-season shooting percentage of that capacity in the last five seasons is Henrik Sedin's 13.6% in the 2010 season, the one he won the Art Ross. Individually, Thomas Vanek's shooting percentage is 24.4%—his highest career shooting success rate is 19.0% in the 2009 season and his career rate is 15.4%.

In the last four years, the highest Vanek's shooting percentage has climbed in any 48-game segment is 19.7% (calculated using NHL.com game logs). He's not going to keep this up, and poolies banking on Vanek for points ought to take note. He's a great player, but not one who is historically on the Top 30 NHL scorers list (his only appearance in four years was in 2011 when he was 17th) and several seasons should be the base of our perception of a player rather than the first 11 games of a shortened season.

For a Sabres fan, while it is bad news that Vanek won't keep up this torrid pace, the good news is that Drew Stafford is due, just as Phil Kessel earned his first goal last week after hitting 30 shots, Stafford has zero goals in 33 attempts so far this season, and eventually he could catch fire.

Shawn Thornton has two Stanley Cup rings, but despite the joy and excitement a championship brings, his wife isn't the greatest fan of the playoffs because that means her husband grows out his beard.

"[She] loves the excitement, but not a fan of the old making out when I have a full beard," said Thornton. "But she'll put up with it for a Stanley Cup ring, that's for sure."

While Thornton's teammates were in Montreal for a game against the Canadiens on Wednesday, he attended Gillette's "Kiss and Tell" event in Boston, which featured couples determining if smooching is better with or without facial stubble. Should the Bruins make the postseason, Thornton said an event is planned to shave off his playoff beard, whose length will be determined by the how far their playoff run goes.

The 35-year old Bruins forward has missed the last two games due to a concussion suffered while fighting John Scott of the Buffalo Sabres last week. There's no timetable on his return to the lineup as he waits to meet with the team's medical staff, but he's feeling fine.

"I've been skating the last few days and rode the bike on Sunday," said Thornton. "Things are going well."

We spoke with Thornton on Wednesday before the event kicked off and asked him about the team's early success, Tuukka Rask, bad calls, and fake girlfriends in the Bruins locker room.

Enjoy.

Q. What's your role going to be during the "Kiss and Tell" event with Gillette?

THORNTON: They invited me down. Just finished doing some media. They took some photos of me because I'm so pretty. This is the last stop on the tour of 15 cities. I'll be here to meet them and greet them. Not a very strenuous activity, to tell you the truth. I'm not sure why they're paying me. [Laughs]

No Tim Thomas this year, but Tuukka Rask has been playing great. How much more confidence does that instil in a team knowing a guy like Tuukka can step right in and succeed?

We've had confidence in him since that year he ended up starting for us (2009-10). We knew that he could play then. We were not concerned with him taking over the role. I bust his chops all the time, "I like backup Tuukka better; he's easier to deal with". But he's the consummate teammate. The guys love him and love playing in front of him. I wouldn't say he's been a pleasant surprise, he's been a treat. I'm glad he's having success so far.

We've seen a number of teams struggle out of the gate so far. What's been the key for the Bruins success early on?

Part of it is probably that our team is pretty much the same team that we've had for the last three, four years. Bringing everyone back, the familiarity of each guy, playing with each other, and the system and the coaching staff. Everyone's back. So the learning curve right out the gate with the quick training camp wasn't a big deal for us. We kind of felt like we were in mid-season coming in.

Given some major missed calls in the past week, would you be in favor of more review or a coach's challenge flag, so while the game might be extended a few extra minutes, in the end the right call would be made?

It's so fast, like any other sport. Mistakes are going to happen. The refs are human, too. I don't want anybody throwing stuff on the ice while I'm skating out there, I'll probably trip over it.

In the aftermath of the Manti Te'o news, is there a guy on the Bruins that you wouldn't be surprised fell for a fake Internet girlfriend?

[Laughs] I think Tyler Seguin probably has a few hundred fake girlfriends on the Internet.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

As we near the 10-game mark in this 48-game mini-marathon to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, some things are coming into focus.

Like the fact that Thomas Vanek may factor in on every goal the Sabres score this season. Like the fact that Nail Yakupov and Justin Schultz are in a rookie death match in Edmonton. Like the fact that Michel Therrien may actually be the coach of the year. Raise your hand if you saw that coming.

[Also: Should Shawn Thornton have fought John Scott?]

Here are last week's awards.

Who are the favorites for the NHL’s major awards this week? Your friends at Puck Daddy have the answers.

A note on the voting: All four panelists ranked the top five for each award, and point values were assigned to each player. Ties were broken by how high a player was ranked on the majority of ballots.

Hart Trophy
1. Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres (27)
2. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators (16)
3. Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks (14)
4. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (10)
5. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens (5)

Marleau tumbles down from the top spot in last week’s rankings, which is understandable when Vanek is playing at an over two points-per-game pace. Anderson is 5-2-1, and that .964 save percentage is stellar. Stamkos gets the nod over Marty St. Louis, who also received votes. Price’s 6-1-0 record has powered the surprising Habs.

Norris Trophy
1. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (22)
2. Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens (18)
3. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators (14)
4. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins (10)
5. Tobias Enstrom, Winnipeg Jets (4)

What, no love for Shatt? Kevin Shattenkirk received some votes for the Norris, but when you’re playing in the shadow of Alex Pietrangelo, it’s tough to break through. Markov has been the best defenseman in the East. Karlsson and Letang are right with him. Enstrom is leading the NHL with 11 points, six of them on the power play.

Vezina Trophy
1. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators (24)
2. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens (18)
3. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks (11)
4. Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks (9)
5. Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks (5)

Anderson has played in 8 games and has given up 9 goals. That’s sick. Price remains a work horse and a consistent performer. Crawford has benefited from strong defense in front of him, but has still played to a 1.66 GAA. Niemi’s been the backbone of the Sharks’ fast start. And then we come to Luongo, who is 3-0-2 and sports a 1.53 GAA. Can a backup goalie win the Vezina? (Dropping from last week: Martin Brodeur.)

Calder Trophy
1. Vladamir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues (24)
2. Cory Conacher, Tampa Bay Lightning (21)
3. Justin Schultz, Edmonton Oilers (10)
4. Nail Yakupov, Edmonton Oilers (9)
5. Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal Canadiens (7)

Yakupov supplants Dougie Hamilton on this list. Otherwise, it’s the same collection as last week, with January Rookie of the Month Tarasenko leading the way, despite Conacher leading NHL rookies in scoring.

Jack Adams
1. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks (19)
2. Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks (17)
3. Guy Boucher, Tampa Bay Lightning (15)
4. Michel Therrien, Montreal Canadiens (13)
5. Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Ducks (7)

Wow, what a battle here. The bench bosses for the two best teams in the West take the top spots, while Tampa’s plus-18 goal differential gives Boucher a boost. But look at those two old school characters filling out the ranking: Therrien has helped transform the Habs into contenders, while Boudreau’s Ducks are challenging for the division title. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. …

Superlatives

Best Faceoff Man

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
3. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

The Bruins’ Selke winner is leading the way on faceoffs again, at 63.5 percent. But check out Pavs’ 64.2 percent faceoff winning percentage away from the Joe, just edging Bergeron. Toews has a 61.2 winning percentage on 183 faceoffs.

Team Most Likely To Make a Panic Trade

1. Washington Capitals
2. Philadelphia Flyers
3. Toronto Maple Leafs

One assumes the Capitals are going to do something, even if it’s not Roberto Luongo. The local Philly media is banging the Bobby Ryan drums again. And how long will the Leafs' new owners allow them to linger under the bubble until a trade arrives?

Most Underwhelming Goalies

1. Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets
2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames

Fleury has had his moments, but he’s also been lit up by the Islanders and Leafs. Kipper has come out of the gate slowly, giving up five goals twice. But Pavelec has both faced a lot of shots and let more than his share in: Only Ryan Miller has allowed more, but Pavelec’s 23 in seven games is good for a 3.56 GAA.

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Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

The Super Bowl festivities of the last week gave the NFL the chance to once again step into the international spotlight and tell the world just how much it cares about the safety of its players.

That amount is "very much," it says. The league is filled with players who could get concussed at any second during any game played anywhere across the U.S.; and with all the attention now being paid to the effects that these brain injuries have not only in the immediate aftermath of their having been suffered, but years or more down the road, it's becoming more important for what is inarguably the most violent sport in the world to do all it could to show people it actually gives a rat's ass about the issue.

It doesn't, of course. Not, like, really. Because actually caring about concussions might affect the league's massive bottom line, and maybe even cut into owners' profits, and obviously we cannot have that.

Therefore, Roger Goodell, a commissioner who somehow almost makes Gary Bettman seem likable, goes out and talks at length about the NFL's concussion problem during his annual State of the League address, but anyone paying the slightest attention sees that it's all lip service. Nothing he has to say, or will force the league to do, actually does anything to change the culture that lends itself so readily to the problem. Hall of Famers like Deion Sanders saying that guys who get concussions are just milking it to keep drawing a paycheck just underscores the horrible problem the league has with how it views injuries in general. That the horrific Dan Le Batard story of Jason Taylor just about dying, and playing with a catheter so as not to miss a single game, didn't scare anyone into action tells you everything you need to know about the problem, and the NFL's myopic approach to the issue — which is to say, not doing anything — is troubling to say the least.

Again, the NFL isn't doing anything now, but it's at least getting some wheels in motion on the matter. Over the weekend, it announced a partnership with General Electric to develop ways to better protect against concussions, and detect whether they've occurred. Part of that includes contributions of $50 million over the next four years. In addition, the NFLPA finally pushed through its efforts to have independent neurologists present on sidelines during games to better assess whether players have suffered concussions during play; this after a PA survey found that 78 percent of NFLers trust their teams' medical staff "not at all," and only 43 percent consider their trainers to be "good."

So what does all this have to do with the NHL? It only scores to underscore how little the League is doing with regard to the rash of head injuries now being suffered league-wide, and to change the culture surrounding it.

In the past week or so, Gabriel Landeskog, James Wisniewski, Wayne Simmonds and Shawn Thornton all suffered apparent concussions during games. Landeskog on a legal hit, Wisniewski when his teammate ran into him and he went flying into the end boards, Simmonds when he got elbowed in the face, and Thornton when John Scott punched him in the head a bunch of times.

It's very troubling. One suspects the only reason the NHL isn't being confronted with the same kind of questions, and sneering derision, the NFL does with its concussion policy is that in the national sports landscape, no one cares about the NHL.

Imagine, for example, if the NFL had instituted an admirable program like the NHL's "quiet room" to evaluate players after they got their bells rung. Cheers all around, even if it was only precipitated by the league's biggest star getting concussed at least once in the space of a week, if not twice.

Then imagine the furor when the NFL quietly did away with the Quiet Room, as the NHL did, mostly because it wasn't working as it was intended. Guys want to play through getting hit in the head, and a lot of the time they feel fine in the immediate aftermath because concussion symptoms can take as long as a few days. No trainer or doctor employed by the team, it's been said, is going to tell NHL Star X that he can't play when he says he can.

And please note, by the way, that in getting rid of the Quiet Room, the NHL actually now lags behind the NFL in its approach to concussions. No partnership with GE, no independent neurologists. Just the hope all this goes away and guys don't get concussed. Plus, at least the NFL has some pretty clear penalties for hitting guys in the head. In the NHL, we have to break down video frame by frame to see if the head was the principal point of contact or if maybe a checker brushed up against a checkee's chest for one or two 24ths of a second before he drove his shoulder into his face and gave him a concussion.

If so, hey, everything's cool, Brad Stuart!

(ED NOTE: The NHL disputes that the "Quiet Room" has been eliminated. "Any player suspected of having suffered a concussion or who shows any such symptoms must be removed from the game and examined in a quiet, distraction-free environment.")

Here's where the culture part comes into all of it: Landeskog said Stuart hit him clean. The league agreed, because it didn't even have a hearing for Stuart, predicated largely on the fact that Landeskog played in the second and third periods after getting clobbered. And many — maybe even most — hockey fans are probably fine with that.

After all, if you suspend Stuart for that hit -- and I don't mean to pick on the guy since he's not part of the inherent problem -- then you're going to be assailed with accusations of "trying to make it a no-contact league." Which is of course patently ridiculous.

Everyone these days tries to hit like Scott Stevens, but if Scott Stevens played today he'd be drummed out of the league so fast it would give Raffi Torres motion sickness. You just can't do that kind of thing any more. And saying so, and legislating the rules in such a way that it might give guys pause before they try to put their shoulder through someone's "head area," isn't a bad thing.

Maybe that makes you think I'm going soft or that I don't want hitting in the game, but that's not a smart take. Understand, no one but the crassest of "This Sport is For Real Men" idiots sit there and say the NFL is ruining the sanctity of the sport, or turning it into a flag football league, just because they don't want guys hitting each other in the head. It's for the good of the game that they do not.

Personally, if it comes down to getting to watch a league with guys like Gabriel Landeskog or Sidney Crosby not getting concussed, or one with him on the sidelines because of a "clean hit," then I'm choosing the former every time.

We as hockey fans have grown rather accustomed to the NHL embarrassing itself. But when the bigger, better-known North American sports league is being scoffed at for its pitiful attempts to protect its players, while doing more for them than the NHL does, that's just mortifying.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: Is it weird to anyone else that the Ducks have just one regulation loss this season? They've won three of their last four, with a shootout loss to San Jose mixed in there, behind the weirdest assortment of players. Saturday's win over the Kings was keyed by a Nick Bonino hat trick, while the previous night's victory against Minnesota came on two goals from Kyle Palmieri. Five Ducks are on at least a point a game right now, including Dan Winnik and Saku Koivu. Bizarre.

Boston Bruins: The Boston media's weird crisis of confidence over whether the Bruins are "Tough" because John Scott gave Shawn Thornton a concussion is hilarious. Yeah Lane McDermid is the guy now. Gotta have that guy. Not like the Bruins can beat teams without fighting.

Buffalo Sabres: It's nice to see people finally realizing that Tyler Myers' spectacular rookie season was an aberration, and that he's not very good. Before the wheels really fell off for Buffalo in a 6-1 loss to Montreal Saturday, Myers had been on the ice for six of seven goals the Sabres allowed between that game and the one against Boston on Thursday. He was only on the ice for two of Florida's four yesterday though, so that's a step in the right direction.

Calgary Flames: Calgary lost 3-2 in a shootout to Chicago on Saturday but that was after flat-out dominating the game. Shots at the end of overtime were 47-19 in the Flames' favor, which is going to win far more games than it loses you, obviously, but on the other hand when you're making Ray Emery look like Dominic Hasek in his prime, that's a problem too.

Carolina Hurricanes: I really don't understand how Dan Ellis has a 1.99 GAA and .939 save percentage while Cam Ward's are 4.05 and .867. This has to be some sort of Freaky Friday scenario, right? Like, that is the only possible explanation?

Chicago Blackhawks: Calgary went up 2-1 on Chicago at home with 35 seconds left in the game, and immediately facetiously tweeted, "How will Kiprusoff blow this?" The answer was, "By giving up this goal to Marian Hossa with 2.1 seconds left."

Colorado Avalanche: "Without Landeskog, Avalanche has poor chance of playoffs." You can also get away with dropping the "-out."

Columbus Blue Jackets: With James Wisniewski picking up one hell of a scary concussion in Saturday's game, it fell to Jack Johnson to carry the load, and carry it he did. Johnson played 34:59 in the game, setting personal and franchise highs. It was also the most anyone has played in an NHL game since Dan Boyle played 37:03 in 2007-08. Get that guy some Gatorade.

Dallas Stars: Ray Whitney is out four to six weeks with a broken bone in his foot. Really great news for a team averaging 1.78 goals per game!

Detroit Red Wings presented by Amway: "Red Wings need quality forward." Yes, when I look at their roster, which now has Brendan Smith out for at least a week and a half, I say to myself, "Man, if only they had more forwards. That is their true need." Here's the money line: "Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are star players, of course, but aren't in the same class as Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos or Patrick Kane, to cite three examples." TRUE THOUGH THAT MAY BE, where on Earth does Ken Holland find a forward who's better than Datsyuk and Zetterberg? Oh man.

Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Whitney is playing like hot garbage lately. It's so bad that, when asked about the defenseman's performance, Ralph Krueger had nothing at all to say. I guess that's out of character or something. It's almost like the guy hasn't played a lot of hockey in the last year or so. Weird.

Florida Panthers: The Panthers are among the worst road teams in the NHL. Prior to yesterday's 4-3 win in Buffalo, they'd played three games away from Sunrise, lost all three of em, and 13-3. That's not very good at all.

Los Angeles Kings: "Defense falls apart as Kings lose in Anaheim." Apart from the thing about Anaheim in there, that describes all too many Kings losses this season, doesn't it? They've allowed 22 goals in seven games. That's a lot. Especially for a team that was absolutely incredible defensively last season. What happened?

Minnesota Wild: With defenseman Jared Spurgeon off to the IR, and Matt Cullen down with a little knock, the Wild called up very good prospect Charlie Coyle for his NHL debut tonight.

Montreal Canadiens: Canadiens coach Michel Therrien banned Carey Price and PK Subban from doing their patented triple low-five celebration after wins, and you know who's a big old fan of that? Don Cherry. That's how you know it's dumb.

Nashville Predators: The Predators became the first team to hand the San Jose Sharks a loss this season, but, like, it was only in the shootout so really what's even the big deal? It's not like they've won two in a row away from home. Oh they have? Okay then.

New Jersey Devils: Speaking of teams getting their first losses, the Devils got creamed by the Penguins 5-1 for their first in regulation this year, in a game that was oddly the Pens' first home win.

New York Islanders: If (when?) the Islanders fall out of playoff contention, it seems they might try to trade Mark Streit. That actually makes sense, though, so I'm not sure it'll happen.

New York Rangers: In my mind, every goal of Rick Nash's career was scored on exactly this move.

Ottawa Senators: Between Saturday night and Tuesday night, the Sens will have played three games, including two about 19 hours apart on the weekend. That's the NHL this season, get used to it.

Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers' power play hadn't been very good this season, going just 5 for 40 (12.5 percent) before Saturday's game with Carolina. Then it went 3 for 3. That added 6.1 percentage points to the total.

Phoenix Coyotes: Today is Day No. 178 since Jude LaCava of Fox 10 in Arizona said Greg Jamison would have the deal for the Coyotes sewn up within the next five days. But despite all that ownership uncertainty, Mike Smith at least picked up his first shutout of the season, largely because the defense held Dallas to just 17 shots.

Pittsburgh Penguins: What do you mean Brandon Sutter has more goals than Jordan Staal? What do you mean he's playing top competition? What do you mean he's starting 60 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone? I thought the Hurricanes won that trade.

San Jose Sharks: How tight was that shootout loss to the Preds? Shots through one period were 8-6 San Jose and ended just 27-24 even after the overtime period. That kind of game behooves the Predators, obviously.

St. Louis Blues: Jaroslav Halak to the injured reserve with a groin strain. Precautionary stuff, but Brian Elliott being the guy for any more than a week has to be terrifying, last season aside.

Tampa Bay Lightning: In a recent survey, 22 of the 22 Lightning players polled said they would support an openly game teammate, which is cool and great.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Don't worry, Leafs fans. Phil Kessel is always not-so-good in January. It's actually his worst month throughout his career.

Vancouver Canucks: Huh, turns out this Roberto Luongo guy is pretty good after all. Weird. Wonder why they wanted to trade him so bad.

Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin on only having three points in his first eight games this year, "It kind of embarrasses me." Kind of!

Winnipeg Jets: The Jets have lost three straight, but the good news is they host Florida tomorrow night so that has to turn everything around, right?

Play of the Weekend

Oh my, what a pass from Corey Perry to Ryan Getzlaf.

Gold Star Award

For real though, that Red Wings article linked above is just about my favorite bit of hockey writing of 2013. I think we can shut the contest down.

"Datsyuk has never scored more than 32 goals (2008-09) in a season for the Wings or notched more than 97 points (twice, 2007-08 and 2008-09). … Zetterberg's high total for goals is 43 (2007-08) and points is 92 (same season)."

"Aging players Johan Franzen and Todd Bertucci can score a few goals, but both are streaky."

"The organization has done a remarkable job drafting top players (e.g., Datsyuk and Zetterberg) in the late rounds. But they've never been able to select that one forward who would make a difference for years."

Man is this ever great.

Minus of the Weekend
Mark Scheifele can play one more game for the Jets this season before he would have to be sent back to juniors if the NHL club doesn't want to keep him. Of course, that's only because he's been a healthy scratch the last four games. Here's the deal, then: Send him back to juniors. It's really simple. Why do this to the kid?

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week

User "gallyisabeaut" solves everyone's brashness problems.

To WPG:

Subban
Eller
Thrower

To MTL:

Kane
Trouba

Signoff

A car is a car but an El Camino is a way of life.

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness almost never over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don’t you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.

NHL video from Yahoo! Sports:

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Trending Topics is a column that looks at the week in hockey, occasionally according to Twitter. If you're only going to comment to say how stupid Twitter is, why not just go have a good cry for the slow, sad death of your dear internet instead?

Earlier this week there was considerable hullabaloo about the potential for a new arena being built in Markham, Ontario, with the idea behind such a project obviously being that it could be used to lure an NHL franchise.

And, unlike whatever is being planned in Quebec City, it seems that most involved with the potential second rink in the Greater Toronto Area aren't setting their sights on prying some struggling franchise from a dying Southern market; but rather on the prospect of getting an expansion team in the next three or four years.

Paul Kelly, who used to run the NHLPA, said as much, noting that the "most likely" places where those teams would be located were Toronto or thereabouts, and Quebec City.

Much furor followed because of that whole Canadian masturbatory fantasy about luring Our Game back to its motherland. Make It Seven, Eight, Nine and all that. And indeed, expansion seems really very inevitable, despite the NHL's insistence that no such plan is in place (all the spin from the lockout showed just how much you can trust a word anyone at league office says about anything at any time -- that is, not at all).

The NHL appears to be dead set on realignment so that there are 30 teams playing in four conferences, which obviously makes very little mathematical sense, so bumping the number of teams up to 32 is a pretty handy way to sort all that out in relatively short order. It also makes a lot of sense to have those teams be located in markets that are known to support hockey rather than travailing into, say, Seattle or Kansas City, where the ability to maintain a fanbase beyond any initial curiosity residents might have is a lot less certain.

But two things in this plan appear to be pretty stupid, or at least shortsighted.

Let's suppose, for one thing, that Kelly is right that Toronto and Quebec City will be the recipients of these supposed expansion franchises. How does that in any way begin to address the purpose of realignment in the first place?

As I understand it, the problem many teams have with the current setup is that travel in the Western Conference generally sucks and travel in the Eastern Conference is pretty damn easy. What, then, does adding two more teams in the Eastern Time Zone accomplish, particularly if we're to believe that Detroit, a team considerably farther west than either Toronto or Quebec City, would be moved to one of the new Eastern Conferences?

How does that even begin to work?

Does the second Toronto team become a Western Conference team? If so, in what way does that make travel easier on the teams who have to go play three road dates a year there? And what about the Toronto team itself? They'll immediately find themselves at or near the top of that annual airline miles list, which might be great if you're in a Jason Reitman movie, but not so much if you're an NHL player.

Maybe the money a second Toronto-area team would generate would be enough to make it all worth it (in the NHL's eyes, probably yes), but it just seems to be a poorly-considered plan. Unless the League goes back on its apparent word to the Red Wings and really only shuffles things around to better arrange for these two new franchises. Even with Winnipeg moving to the West, which was the impetus for all this realignment talk in the first place, swapping Detroit to the East once again creates an imbalance: 18 teams in that time zone versus 16 in all the others; something has to give.

The second reason this seems supremely ill-advised is that while, yes, we can all agree that the product in the NHL today is pretty damn good, one could also argue that it's perched pretty precariously on the precipice of "potentially ugly" as well. Look at the number of guys in the NHL today who just aren't very good hockey players. Not even considering guys whose sole job is to play six minutes a night and get in staged fights, there are just a lot of not-very-good players on many teams' rosters these days. Adding up to 46 more regulars to the roll of NHLPA members doesn't strike one as making a whole lot of sense.

Expansion of this type opens the door for every AHL superstar who had holes in his game big enough for him to never stick in the bigs to get on an NHL roster. Great for guys like Darren Haydar and Keith Aucoin; not so much for the quality of NHL hockey at large.

How long did it take the global talent pool to catch up to the rapid expansion of the late 1990s and early 2000s? It always seemed to me the lower quality of play when the Thrashers, Blue Jackets, Wild and Predators were brand new could have helped to kill national interest in the game prior to the 2005 lockout as much as The Trap ever did.

Again, though, the NHL probably won't care. Adding teams in markets that will absolutely support them regardless of how good or bad they are — within reason — is basically like giving the owners giving themselves a Scrooge McDuck-style money pool to splash around in as they see fit, and the struggling Southern markets that were so close to moving to (insert destination here) benefit doubly. They get to both keep their teams where they are and also enjoy increased revenue sharing.

An insane amount of extra travel. Diluted talent pool and therefore worsened product. Who cares. Cash rules everything around the league.

Adding toughness didn't make Buffalo a contender? The devil, you say!?

Last night's game between Buffalo and Boston was billed as some sort of reckoning. Perhaps not moreso than the first game after the Miller/Lucic Incident, which was a sideshow that occasionally featured big guys skating around and passing a puck but also had a shootout, which Buffalo lost.

In a very literal and insane direct response to that whole thing, Darcy Regier looked at his roster, which finished below Calgary in the League standings last season, and said, "What really prevented us from barely squeaking into the playoffs, and what will definitely make up the three extra points we needed, is adding toughness."

Not good players. Tough players. Getting Steve Ott almost accomplished both, but Steve Ott's not 26 any more. This was the big answer to the question about what went wrong with the Sabres: "That one guy skated into Milan Lucic and no one beat him up."

It's very odd that this one incident so defined a team not only for the remainder of that season but also an entire summer and the following year, but here we are.

And here we are with the Sabres having lost four consecutive games to what most would consider to be the dregs of the conference headed into last night's game with Boston, indisputably the best team in the East, and perhaps running neck and neck with San Jose for best overall.

Losses to Carolina twice, then the Capitals, then the Maple Leafs (albeit in OT) don't necessarily confirm that Regier's plan was a laughable one — small sample size and all that — but only scoring 16 goals in six games sure speaks to the fact that this is a one-line team. Only three Sabres had multiple goals this season through six games, and wouldn't you know it, neither Ott nor John Scott were among them.

Part of that, one supposes, owes to the team's somewhat low shooting percentage, because Ryan Miller's stats look pretty strong. And part of it too might be the fact that this has all the makings of an historically bad faceoff team. Through those first six games, they'd won only 42 and look to be on their way to the sixth consecutive season with a faceoff percentage below 50. Now, to be fair, Ott was supposed to fix that too because, no matter what you think of all other aspects of his underwhelming game, the man can win a draw with the best of him. So of course Lindy Ruff has him taking the fourth-most draws on the team behind Cody Hodgson (37.9 percent on 116 faceoffs), Tyler Ennis (39.4 on 71) and Jochen Hecht (32.7 on 52). It makes perfect sense.

Beating the Bruins last night, not beating the Bruins last night. None of it mattered in the grand scheme of things. At best, it would only have ever been a moral victory. The Bruins are still fantastic. The Sabres are still mediocre at best.

Buffalo made its decisions about where it was headed this summer, and the answer was "nowhere."

Should anyone at all be surprised that Greg Jamison's investors weren't real?

No of course they shouldn't.

All that stuff about "I don't have to reveal who my investors are," had the tenor of Jamison bragging about his hot girlfriend from another state and you don't know her but man she's really hot.

Pearls of Biz-dom

We all know that there isn't a better Twitter account out there than that of Paul Bissonnette. So why not find his best bit of advice on love, life and lappers from the last week?

BizNasty on impossible conundrums: "Would you rather watch the Pro Bowl from start 2 finish. Or, be locked in a room for 24 hours with Cotton Eye Joe playing on a loud speaker?"

If you’ve got something for Trending Topics, holla at Lambert on Twitter or via e-mail. He’ll even credit you so you get a thousand followers in one day and you’ll become the most popular person on the Internet! You can also visit his blog if you’re so inclined.

Super Bowl video from Yahoo! Sports:

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But as far as the highly anticipated sideshow of violence goes, we were given an early first period fight between John Scott and Shawn Thornton and then no other fisticuffs.

That could have changed at the end of the game, when the Bruins had Lane MacDermid – all 4:12 of total ice time and 40 AHL fights in the last three seasons – on the ice with 14 seconds left in the game, following a Jason Pominville goal that made it 7-4.

The Sabres had Pominville, Jochen Hecht and Vanek out for the draw. Coach Lindy Ruff didn’t like MacDermid out with his skill guys. So he did something that, quite possibly, has never been done before: He called a timeout with 14 seconds left, with his team up by three goals.

This did not sit well with Brad Marchand of the Bruins after the game. Via NESN:

“Yeah, [Ruff] wants to be a big shot, and that’s not the best play to do,” Brad Marchand said. “That’s pretty disrespectful. If he wants to be like that, that’s fine. We just have to move on.”

Ruff sent John Scott back on the ice along with Marcus Foligno after the timeout. The game ended without incident.

“Well, when MacDermid was with one of our skill players, I didn’t want anything to happen. That’s really all it was about,” said Ruff.

Bruins Coach Claude Julien told NESN that Ruff “might have thought something was gonna happen, which wasn’t.”

Oh, yes, clearly nothing would have happened. He just wanted to give MacDermid a good 14-second look at the end of the game.

Vanek continued his torrid start with his eight career hat trick and two assists as the Sabres dispatched the Boston Bruins 7-4. Cody Hodgson and Jason Pominville each had a goal and two assists as the Sabres snapped a four-game losing streak. Vanek's five points now give him 54 in 46 games versus Boston.

No. 2 Star: Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche

Stastny picked a great time to score his first two goals of the season. With the game tied 3-3 late in the third period, Stastny cashed in on a power play opportunity and added another just 1:29 later to help the Avalanche over the Calgary Flames 6-3. John Mitchell and P.A. Parenteau each scored twice and chipped in an assist as Colorado snapped a three-game losing streak. J.S. Giguere made 25 saves in his first start of the season.

No. 3 Star: Tomas Vokoun, Pittsburgh Penguins

Vokoun's 28 saves helped the Penguins improve their road record to 4-1 with a 3-0 shutout of the New York Rangers. The shutout was Vokoun's 49th of his career and second win over the Rangers this season. Simon Despres and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist.

Honorable Mention: The St. Louis Blues scored three times in the opening 13:22 to pace themselves to a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. David Backes tallied a goal and an assist and Brian Elliott made 24 stops. Rookie Vladimir Tarasenko scored his fifth of the young season off of a wonderful individual effort:

Break up the Islanders! Brad Boyes' goal 2:01 into overtime gave the Islanders a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. John Tavares scored twice and assisted on Boyes' winner, giving him 11 points on the season. Waiver sensation Keith Aucoin scored his fourth of the season for the Islanders and was 8-for-10 in the faceoff dot ... The Florida Panthers scored five times from five different goal scorers in the third period to double up the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 to end a five-game losing skid. Tomas Fleischmann assisted on three goals and Tomas Kopecky added three points. Rookie Jonathan Huberdeau took to creative ways to tally his second of the season to give the Panthers a two-goal lead late in the third:

Down 2-1 in the third period, Nikolai Kulemin and Matt Frattin scored 2:13 apart to boost the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Washington Capitals 3-2. Frattin's goal was his third goal in two games ... John Scott threw down with Shawn Thornton early in Sabres-Bruins ... Brad Marchand scored twice in the loss, including this lovely effort:

Michal Handzus and Dan Boyle were the only scorers in the shootout as the San Jose Sharks fought off an Edmonton Oilers comeback with a 3-2 win. Logan Couture tallied his fifth of the season as the Sharks improved their franchise-best start to 7-0-0 ... Sergei Kostitsyn's goal in the eighth round of the shootout was the difference as the Nashville Predators beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1. Brandon Yip an Dustin Brown were the only goal scorers in regulation.

Did You Know? Vanek has two career five-point games. Both have come within the past 11 days.

Dishonorable Mention: New Jersey has lost three straight in overtime ... Scottie Upshall laid a big (clean?) hit on Zach Redmond and injured his leg while fighting James Wright:

You might have noticed Thornton seemed a bit wobbly on his way to the penalty box. As soon as his penalty time expired, he went straight to the Bruins' room and did not return. According to the Bruins, he's done for the night. No word yet on the severity of his injury.

That was the only scrap during a scoreless first period.

John Scott's stat line? Twenty seven seconds of ice time. Seven penalty minutes. Two shifts. One shot. Zero punches received.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Preview: Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET. This is the game the Sabres added Steve Ott and John Scott for, right? After the Bruins exposed their last of toughness a year ago, Sabres GM Darcy Regier brought in some grit to compete with the Big Bad Bruins. We're basically all expecting Scott and Shawn Thornton to be out there for the opening faceoff for a game that the Sabres, losers of their previous four, need more than the Bruins, winners of their previous three.

Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers, 7 p.m. ET. Since these two teams last met at Madison Square Garden 11 days ago, they've gone in opposite directions. The Penguins have lost three of their last four, while the Rangers have won three of four. They did lose captain Ryan Callahan to a shoulder injury on Tuesday night against Philadelphia, however. Matt Gilroy will make his season debut on the blueline for New York, while Tomas Vokoun, who was in net during the Penguins' 6-3 win on Jan. 20, will get the start for Pittsburgh.

Preview: Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. ET. Despite flu-like symptoms, Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle expects to play tonight as the team looks to improve upon their franchise-best start. The Oilers are playing their first back-to-back tonight and are heading into it hobbling with injuries nagging Shawn Horcoff (out) and Lennart Petrell (game time decision).

Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock.

Evening Reading

• Today’s Marek Vs. Wyshynski, featuring Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News talking Sabres-Bruins. [MvsW]

• After taking a stick to the eye on Tuesday night, Todd Bertuzzi said he'll "think" about using a visor in the future. [MLive]

• Scott Burnside on Gary Bettman's 20 years in charge. [ESPN]

• "Bet On Coyotes Moving To Seattle As Sale To Jamison Falls Apart". Well, OK. [Forbes]

• "Prospective Seattle NHL Owner Don Levin said Thursday he has not spoken with the league about acquiring the Phoenix Coyotes franchise." Oh. [King5]

Puck Daddy Reader Comment of the Day: "Archbishop Krejci" on Hamilton's reaction to a potential arena in Markham:

And Wyshynski complains about the Boston media's fawning over Dougie Hamilton. Canada has already named a city after him, and they want it to be the home of an NHL franchise. Which I'm assuming would be the Hamilton Dougies.

Well done, sir.

Bold Prediction: Nail Yakupov scores, celebrates by standing still, pleasing old, crotchety journalists everywhere.

Jochen Hecht probably lost this faceoff.

The Buffalo Sabres effectively went out and acquired John Scott in free agency for games like Thursday night's tilt with the Boston Bruins, so its understandable that most of the discussion leading up to this affair is about whether they'll finally be able to win the toughness battle. I'd suggest no. The Bruins' tough guys aren't hampered by marginal utility. As Kevin Bieksa once said about John Scott, "If a 6-foot-8 guy who can’t skate asks to fight, you say no, then skate around him and score a goal."

But if the Sabres are hoping to get the best of the Bruins, there's another battle they'd do well to win: the faceoff circle. And if the early returns from both clubs are any indication, they won't.

When it comes to team faceoff numbers, Boston and Buffalo currently occupy the 1st and 30th spots on the list, respectively. The Bruins boast an absurd win rate of 60.7%, thanks to stellar pivots like Rich Peverley (67.8%), Patrice Bergeron (65.5%), Chris Kelly (61.5%), and David Krejci (57.5%). Six games in, all are among the NHL's top 20 in this category.

These numbers are bound to come down some over the season, but it's not a stretch to assume the Bruins might be able to stay around 55%. They finished last season a league-best 54.5%.

The Sabres, on the other hand, have been beyond terrible in the circle so far this year. Through their first 6 games, their top 3 centres are all winning less than 40% of their draws. Look upon their work and despair:

It's early, but that is abysmal. Lose that many draws, and your chances of winning are slim, both on the ice and in classic NES zapper games Hogan's Alley and Wild Gunman.

Playing between Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville on the first line, Cody Hodgson has taken a third of the Sabres' total faceoffs and won about as many. He's got a 37.9% win rate.

Jochen Hecht, the Sabres' third line centre and first-unit penalty kill centre, has been especially bad. He's drawing at 32.7%. On the penalty kill, where winning the puck is paramount, Hecht has won just 2 of 18 faceoffs.

But defensive zone draws in any situation are an issue for the Sabres. They're only winning 37.7% inside their blueline. From the Buffalo News:

I realize you can twist numbers any way you want, but there's no way you're winning many hockey games when you can't even win 38 percent of the draws in your own zone. Just off the top of my head, I can come up with three goals (at Toronto, the game-winner at home vs. Carolina and the Leafs' third goal Tuesday) that came directly off such losses. There might be more

Yes, there are secondary issues after the puck is dropped (Thomas Vanek taking a long route to the point on the Carolina goal by Jay Harrison, for instance). Sometimes a goaltender flubs a save like Ryan Miller did when Grigorenko lost a draw and Cody Franson scored Tuesday. But ultimately, you don't succeed if you're spending an inordinate amount of time chasing the puck trying to get it back.

Now, the Sabres do have one decent faceoff man on the team: Steve Ott, acquired from Dallas in exchange for Buffalo's best faceoff man last year, Derek Roy. Ott's a natural winger -- he says he's spent 90% of his career at left wing -- but he played centre in Dallas and he played it well. He kept special track of his faceoff numbers too.

For whatever reason, however, even despite the Sabres being pretty clearly without a decent faceoff man, Lindy Ruff has been deploying Ott on the wing to start the season.

Tuesday versus Toronto, Ruff had seen enough, and Ott was finally used in the middle. He responded by winning an absurd 16 of 19 faceoffs. The rest of the Buffalo lineup won 17 of 46. Cody Hodgson saw the same number of faceoffs as Ott. He won 6.

All of this is to say that, regardless of whether or not John Scott is in the lineup somehow magically deterring shenanigans from the bench with his powerful glare, regardless of whether the Buffalo rallies together as a team to pass Boston's punk test this season, they'll still struggle versus the Bruins because they'll be expending a lot of energy chasing the puck off the draw.

It's a Wednesday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Star: Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News helps us preview the Buffalo Sabres vs. the Boston Bruins and, god willing, John Scott vs. either Milan Lucic or Shawn Thornton.

• The Phoenix Coyotes ownership saga is near its conclusion and it's not looking good.

• The Derek Morris incident vs. the Edmonton Oilers.

• The fate of Dan Bylsma.

Question of the Day: What is the bloodiest moment you can recall in your team's fiercest rivalry?

Tweet your answers with the hashtag #MvsW to @wyshynski and @jeffmarek.

Click here for the Sportsnet live stream or click the play button above! Click here to download podcasts from the show each day. Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or Feedburner.

On Nov. 12, 2011, Milan Lucic didn’t just flatten Ryan Miller, he cracked the spine of the Buffalo Sabres in a game played in Boston.

Their failure to react in that moment revealed them as counterfeit, lacking the nasty edge that personified their division rivals. The Bruins punished you physically; the Sabres were reduced to name-calling, as Miller stuck around the locker room to call Lucic a “gutless piece of [feces].”

The next game featured the perfunctory fights from Paul Gaustad and Robyn Regehr. The following matchup had three more fights, including Pat Kaleta's. Things calmed down in the third meeting since the Lucic affair; their season finale featured a Shawn Thornton vs. Regehr in the first period, and nothing else.

Each flare-up of violence last season felt like the Buffalo Sabres trying to inadequately stand up to a bully. So the Sabres opted for authenticity in the toughness department last summer: Bringing in John Scott, one of the NHL’s top enforcers; flipping Derek Roy for the sandpaper of Steve Ott; and an expanded role for Marcus Foligno.

All of these moves tracked back to how the Bruins pushed around Buffalo. On Scott, Sabres Coach Lindy Ruff said before the season:

“Teams come in and don’t run around even if he doesn’t fight. When you have a player of his magnitude when it comes to the physical sense and somebody does something really stupid against your team, they know they’re going to have to deal with somebody who’s really tough.”

The Bruins can get a little stupid sometimes. The Sabres think they’re ready to stand up to them. On Thursday night in Boston, for the first time this season, Buffalo will have a chance to prove its new might.

The Sabres (2-3-1) enter the game in last place in the Northeast, having lost four games in a row. The Bruins have won their last three and haven’t lost a game in regulation yet (5-0-1). So on top of the physical test, the Sabres skate against the Eastern Conference’s best team so far this season.

For the sideshow, the spotlight will be on two players: Shawn Thornton and John Scott. Because they’ve got some history.

In 2011, Thornton’s face was slashed by a skate in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. As he skated to the back, the Chicago bench chirped him, and Thornton went after them.

After the game, Scott – who was scratched – was critical of Thornton’s play against Chicago. Via Mike Cole at NESN:

“He said that? That’s fine. He can say what he wants,” Scott said. “He’s going after some of our littlest guys on our team to start a fight. He’s trying to challenge [Fernando] Pisani to a fight. What’s that say about him? “He’s Mr. Tough Guy and he’s trying to challenge Pisani. If I’m in the lineup, he’s more than welcome to come chirp at me. I’ll kick the [expletive] out of him.”

Scott backed away from the feud later in 2011. The two have yet to fight.

But it isn’t just the heavyweights that have to exude toughness for the Sabres. As Sabres Noise points out, Ryan Miller – woefully inconsistent thus far this season – is entering Boston for the first time since the Lucic hit:

Maturity and true leadership coming from a guy who is normally quick to blame the team in front of him for an off night as opposed to shouldering the blame himself. In a shortened season however, the Buffalo Sabres can ill afford to have that many bad games – and they cannot let the winless streak get to five games, as they already sit in last place in the Northeast Division.

Tonight’s game should be more than interesting – while the Lucic hit should be old news – Miller returned to go 2-0 against the Bruins last year at home – Miller did have a less than amicable exchange with Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs during the lockout. We shall see if ownership allegiance shows through, or if the players are 100 percent behind Miller in how he handled the situation.

OK, so all we want tonight: Scott vs. Thornton, Ott antagonizing Lucic and Miller making a huge save and pointing his stick at the owners’ box. Sigh … if only Kaleta were healthy for a fight with Brad Marchand.

First, he felled Buffalo Sabres heavyweight John Scott with a body-blow of all things. On Wednesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he squared off against Deryk Engelland in a punch-happy marathon brawl, with Orr’s fists engaging in a little pugilistic optometry:

Amazing battle indeed. And mama, don’t let yer babies grow up to be hockey fighters.

This is not the first time these two have matched up in a hockey fight. …

Here’s a fight from Oct. 13, 2010, in which Engelland KO’s Orr to the delight of the fans:

Here’s Orr and Engelland in the rematch from that December, another fight that went the distance.

That’s just a taste. They’ve fought six times going all the way back to juniors.

Even with the transition from Tim Thomas to Tuukka Rask in goal, the Bruins are the class of the Northeast, and the only team virtually guaranteed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After that … who knows? The Buffalo Sabres look good on paper, but might not have enough pop. The Ottawa Senators are either at the cusp of a great run or were a one-hit wonder last season. As Kevin Allen put it: “If you stare long enough at Toronto's roster, you can convince yourself the team could finish seventh or eighth. But history says it's not a good bet.” And the Canadiens have Carey Price and an offense with some exciting young talent … but a ton of questions.

How will it all shake out in the shortened 48-game season?

Boston Bruins
Last Year’s Record: 49-29-4 (102 points)
Coach: Claude Julien
Pre-Lockout Preview: “First place in the Northeast Division, near the top of the conference and challenging for another Stanley Cup … assuming Rask is the real deal and if Horton can stay healthy — and if not, that Chiarelli finds a suitable replacement — the Bruins are primed for another run at the Cup. But let's face it: The magic inherent in winning all those Game 7s in 2011 and getting the performances they did out of Marchand, Thomas and others isn't easy to replicate."
What’s Changed: Tyler Seguin played at nearly a goal-per-game pace (and on the penalty kill!) in Switzerland. Defenseman and Kessel trade bounty Dougie Hamilton will stick with the Bruins, even if he was underwhelming at world juniors.
Pivotal Player: Tuukka Rask takes over the starting goalie job from disillusioned doomsday prepper Tim Thomas. Despite his occasional outbursts, Rask’s temperament during games is more measured than Thomas’. He has the skills to replicate Timmay’s stellar numbers; but does he have the durability and consistency to be the unquestioned No. 1? If so, he’s in for quite a payday.
Player That Benefits Most From 48-Game Season: Seguin. His play overseas gives him both fresh legs and a load of confidence as his star continues to ascend.
Prediction: First, and a Cup challenger.

Buffalo Sabres
Last Year’s Record: 39-32-11 (89 points)
Coach: Lindy Ruff
Pre-Lockout Preview: “Another year on the bubble. The Sabres could very well make the playoffs, but everything's going to have to go right for them. Tyler Ennis and Cody Hodgson are going to have to play like top-six centres. Tyler Myers is going to have to become a true number one guy. Ryan Miller is going to have to be one of the best goalies in the league again. Every one of these things is possible, but all of these things happening is less so. Expect the Sabres to be in contention right up until the final week of the season.”
What’s Changed: Myers injured his ankle playing for something called Klagenfurt AC. Marcus Foligno scored 27 points in 33 games for Rochester. Sabres fans set a single-day ticket sales record, because expectations are high thanks to Terry Pegula.
Pivotal Player: Thomas Vanek. He’s one season removed from posting 73 points in 80 games. Then need a dominant offensive season from a player that still has some dominant stretches. A lot of that potential will depend on how he plays on a line projected to include Cody Hodgson and Jason Pominville.
Player That Benefits Most From 48-Game Season: Ryan Miller. Traditionally, he’s at his best in the second half of an 82-game season. So perhaps he skips the early season struggles and gets right to being one of the best goalies in the conference.
Prediction: Second. The toughness and grittiness added in Steve Ott and John Scott, along with returning players like Foligno, should make the Sabres a pain in the backside to play against.

Ottawa Senators
Last Year’s Record: 41-31-10 (92 points)
Coach: Paul MacLean
Pre-Lockout Preview: "There's enough promise up and down the Ottawa lineup to believe they can make a return trip to the postseason. If the offensive leaders in Alfredsson, Michalek and Spezza don't take big steps back and the defense improves slightly, the Senators will find their way into the Eastern Conference's top-8 again. Anderson will once again need to play at a consistent level, with Bishop (or Lehner) providing reliable spot duty. If the youngsters like Zibanejad, Silfverberg and/or Stone are able to help make an impact offensively, there won't be any questions about whether or not this team will be playoff-bound."
What’s Changed: Daniel Alfredsson hinted at retirement. Mika Zibanejad was pulled from world juniors. Eugene Melnyk begged fans and sponsors to come back to the Sens.
Pivotal Player: Erik Karlsson could have easily been a Hart Trophy nominee last season, the way he set the tone and the tempo for the Senators on most nights. Can he repeat the pace that gave him 78 points in 81 games? Bigger question: Can he continue to improve play in his own end?
Player That Benefits Most From 48-Game Season: Craig Anderson. The Sens starting goalie will be given a nice runway to solidify his hold on the job, as neither Ben Bishop nor Robin Lehner had a prolonged preseason in which to try and steal it.
Prediction: Third. Last season’s stunning ride to the postseason wasn’t a fluke. They’re loaded at forward, with players like Michalek and Kyle Turris just scratching the surface of their potential. It’ll come down to the Sabres and Sens for the second playoff berth in the Northeast … with the nod going to Buffalo this time.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Last Year’s Record: 35-37-10 (80 points)
Coach: Randy Carlyle
Pre-Lockout Preview: “The Leafs aren't much improved from last year. They may still make some adjustments to the roster, but as it stands, there's no reason to believe this team can do what the 2011-12 edition could not. The safe bet is another nightmarish, postseason-free year in Toronto.
“That said, this team could contend. All it will take is: van Riemsdyk finding his star game and blending seamlessly with the group, Kessel and Lupul posting huge numbers again, Dion Phaneuf re-finding his elite game, Jake Gardiner learning to defend and breaking out as a breakout starter, Reimer and Scrivens stunning the pundits with steady, heady goaltending, and Randy Carlyle getting a seamless, Jack Adams-calibre buy-in from his roster.
“But that's a lot to go right for a franchise that doesn't have a history of having everything fall into place. Brace yourselves, Leafs fans.”
What’s Changed: Brian Burke was fired as the GM, President and architect for the Leafs. Carlyle compared Nazem Kadri to Bobby Ryan. The Canucks started making noise about Roberto Luongo staying with the team for the 48-game season. Jake Gardiner suffered a concussion.
Pivotal Player: James van Riemsdyk. They gave up Luke Schenn for the Flyers forward, and his place in the lineup could set up the rest of the offense. Can be play center? Can he ride shotgun with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, or is he a second-liner? More than anything: Can he stay healthy?
Player That Benefits Most From 48-Game Season: Mike Komisarek. Because he used the offseason and the lockout to stop being such a fatty.
Prediction: Fourth, unless they make a Luongo trade, because then they’re a playoff team. Once more, with feeling: The Leafs make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons if Roberto Luongo is their goaltender. Especially if Dave Nonis is given a mandate from ownership to aggressively get this team into the postseason.

Montreal Canadiens
Last Year’s Record: 31-35-16 (78 points)
Coach: Michel Therrien
Pre-Lockout Preview: “It can't really get worse for the Canadiens. Despite returning mostly the same roster from 2011-12, a healthy one will show improvement as Montreal led the NHL with 440 man-games lost to injury. Contributions from the depth up front will help the offense. A healthy Markov will improve the defense. The Carey Price from 2011-12 returning to form will help the goals against. Michel Therrien will have his hands full as he returns as head coach, but he's shown a history of taking teams and improving them within a year.”
What’s Changed: Scott Gomez was sent home for the purposes of giving him a buyout. P.K. Subban’s RFA contract squabbles stretched into training camp. Andrei Markov is inexplicably healthy.
Pivotal Player: Tomas Plekanec was battling a rib injury he suffered playing in the Czech Republic during the lockout. He was a minus-15 last season; the Habs desperately need him to reclaim that 70-point form he had in 2009-10.
Player That Benefits Most From 48-Game Season: Alex Galchenyuk looked awesome at world juniors, and continues to impress at camp. There's a chance he could earn a look on the Habs' second line during the next 48 games; if so, he might just win a truncated Calder.
Prediction: Fifth. Too many lineup holes and question marks to truly contend in the East, but the Canadiens are starting amass an impressive group of young talent.

Yes, indeed, despite the promise of impending labor Armageddon and a prolonged work-stoppage, your friends at Puck Daddy are previewing the 2012-13 NHL season (whenever the heck it starts). Why? Because this is the most important election in the history of all-time ever, and you need to know the candidates — starting with the Buffalo Sabres.

"Welcome to Pegulaville", Sabres fans said and were told last season when owner Terry Pegula broke open the chequebook and declared an end to the miserly ways of the past. Never has a one-percenter been so beloved by the middle class as during Pegula's first summer. Finally, the Sabres had the money to contend. Pegula went out and made up for the wrongs of July 2007, when Danny Briere and Chris Drury walked, signing skill guys like it was going out of style.

Unfortunately, it was out of style -- the game had changed since 2007. The league was tougher, clutchier, and grabbier, and the Sabres discovered they had spent a lot of money getting more skill while failing to account for the grit factor.

Granted, it didn't help that highly-paid acquisitions Christian Ehrhoff, Robyn Regehr and Ville Leino struggled to adjust to their new team, and the revamped roster struggled to find an identity as a result. Soon, the Sabres' identity was as an underachieving team at the bottom of the league, though a late-season turnaround provided some hope.

A summer later, the Sabres opted not to spend to oblivion, instead deeming Derek Roy the expendable piece in their corps of tiny skill guys and using him to gritty up the roster. Furthermore, they left the rest of the team mostly intact, hoping the group that came together and made a run towards the playoffs last spring could continue that momentum.

Can a tougher, more together Sabres get back to the postseason?

"Get Fought by Ott and Scott"

The Sabres opted to curb spending in 2012. I mean, you could argue that they just had no one to spend money on, but Ville Leino can attest to the fact that this didn't stop them last year.

Instead of throwing money around, the Sabres made a concerted effort to get tougher, a major issue even before Paul Gaustad -- the go-to anytime someone needed to be fought -- moved to Nashville at last year's trade deadline. Gone to Dallas is smallish centre Derek Roy, and in exchange come gritty centre Steve Ott and 6-4 defenceman Adam Pardy.

But the Sabres didn't stop there. Still in search of grit, Pegula offered a front-loaded deal to Rooster Cogburn, only to be told he wasn't real, so instead, the Sabres added 6'8" John Scott on the first day of free agency. The next time someone tries to run over Ryan Miller, John Scott will be there. The next time someone tries to take a run at Thomas Vanek along the boards, John Scott will be there.

The next time there's a brawl between the Sabres and the Bruins and someone has to square off with Zdeno Chara, John Scott will be there.

By "there", I mean the bench. But still. There's no missing him -- he's quite tall.

Also gone is Brad Boyes, who didn't do too much anyway, so that's okay.

At forward … the Sabres will continue to rely on the scoring touch and chemistry of wingers Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, as well as a platoon of depth wingers that includes Drew Stafford, Nathan Gerbe, Ville Leino, and Marcus Foligno. Their issue will be up the middle, where tiny converted winger Tyler Ennis, sophomore Cody Hodgson and checker Steve Ott will centre the top three lines.

Luke Adam will likely get a look as well, but even with him in the fold, this is hardly a formidable group. Worse, there's little wiggle room. If anyone struggles or is injured, the team could be in trouble.

On defense … Tyler Myers leads a defence corps that also includes Christian Ehrhoff, Robyn Regehr and the seriously underrated Jordan Leopold. It's an imposing top-4 if everyone is in the lineup and on their game, but injuries and middling performances left Alexander Sulzer looking like a top pairing option on Buffalo late last year. That can't happen again.

The Sabres need bounceback years from Regehr and Ehrhoff especially. Regehr looked old and slow in his first year in Buffalo, but some of that might just have been adjustment. The Eastern Conference is a little more free-flowing than the West, and Buffalo is a lot more free-flowing than Calgary. He needs to find his game again in a hurry.

Ehrhoff will never be confused for a shutdown guy, but he didn't outscore his defensive lapses in 2011-12 like he has in years past. The Sabres need more out of him, especially on the powerplay.

In goal … Ryan Miller looks to return to form after a season that had some questioning if rookie Jhonas Enroth should be the new number one. Enroth was viewed as a pleasant surprise, but if we're being fair, a team with Ryan Miller on it should never be questioning if the rookie behind him is better. Miller needs to re-find his form.

"Injured Sabres" is a moving tribute to the men that have sacrificed their bodies in the Sabres' pursuit of victory.

Same as it ever was. Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier enter their 15th year as coach and GM, respectively. It's no doubt a cushy gig, but with Terry Pegula desperate for a winner, one has to wonder if the other end of their leash might actually be tied to something now. Would a second straight year without making the playoffs be enough for either of them to actually reach the end of it?

Ruff especially has to consider himself on the hot seat. Buffalo won't have success unless Ryan Miller is on his game, and tweaking his system to give Miller a bit more support couldn't hurt. If he doesn't, the Sabres might have to find someone who will.

Tyler Myers. After a 48-point rookie season, Myers had 60 points in the following two seasons combined. Last November, he even suffered the ignominy of a healthy scratch.

The hulking Sabres blueliner is one of only three defencemen with massive signing bonuses unaffected by the impending lockout. The other two are cornerstones Ryan Suter and Shea Weber. It's time for Myers to begin showing he belongs in that group.

Cody Hodgson was never going to crack the top six as a centre in Vancouver, but in Buffalo, he's practically all there is, especially with Derek Roy gone. Tiny Tyler Ennis will likely open the season as the first line centre, but the Sabres are counting on Hodgson to push him for that job and, ideally, take it. If he can't meet their expectations, Buffalo's going to struggle to score all year.

Ville Leino. It's hardly a nervy pick after Leino collected $4.5 million last year to score 25 points, but he can still bust harder. Another year with numbers like that and fans are going to hate his guts, especially if Buffalo's weakness at centre -- Leino's listed position -- begins to show.

Narrator: "The Buffalo Sabres want you to believe they're willing to spend to win. They think offering $28 million for Shane Doan is proof. But they spent $27 million on Ville Leino last year. Do they really think Shane Doan is only worth $1 million more than Ville Leino? The only thing this proves is that they're returning to their cheapskate ways after just one year. Been there, done that. Pegulaville? More like No-moolah-ville. Write a cheque, Scrooge."

"Paid for by the Friends of Terry Bross Foundation."

Another year on the bubble. The Sabres could very well make the playoffs, but everything's going to have to go right for them. Tyler Ennis and Cody Hodgson are going to have to play like top-six centres. Tyler Myers is going to have to become a true number one guy. Ryan Miller is going to have to be one of the best goalies in the league again. Every one of these things is possible, but all of these things happening is less so. Expect the Sabres to be in contention right up until the final week of the season.

• Via Dave's Geeky Hockey, it's the Mystery Machine hockey sweater: "When doing a design like this, color sensibilities go out the window, very much like a bride-to-be choosing bridesmaid dresses for her friends. Speaking of weddings I skimped on the floral arrangements here — less is more." [davesgeekyhockey.com]

• Defending Big D asks: Should the Dallas Stars go red, white and blue? [Defending Big D]

• Speaking of jerseys, Icethetics offers an update on potential Winter Classic sweaters and what the Chicago Blackhawks may or may not be doing with a third jersey. [Icethetics]

• Washington Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth continued his candor. On Alex Ovechkin: "He isn't what he used to be, that's for sure. And if a team like ours wants to have a chance at the Stanley Cup, we need Ovi to be the best." On Alex Semin: "If Semin wanted to, he could have been the best player in the world, but he doesn't want to every day. And that's wrong." [Russian Machine Never Breaks, which now offers a clarification on both parts of their Neuvirth interview]

• Here a bit from Mark Spector, previewing Colin Campbell's committee and its analysis of obstruction, interference and standards of enforcement. [Sportsnet]

• The Edmonton Oilers and Taylor Hall are getting close on an extension. [Edmonton Journal]

• Sergei Samsonov will be getting a tryout with the San Jose Sharks according to his agent Igor Larionov, if and when training camp ever arrives. Hey, give him a 1-year deal; he'll play out of his mind because it's a contract season. [Edmonton Journal, via Kukla; UPDATE from Joe Haggerty: "Just heard from Sergei Samsonov's agent Neil Abbott. There's been no deal w/Sharks as of yet. They're speaking w/several teams about Samsonov."]

• Down Goes Brown compares the NBA, NFL and NHL labor disputes. For the NHL: "There's a sense of urgency from the owners, since an extended 2012 lockout could disrupt their advance planning for the 2017 and 2021 lockouts." [DGB]

• Here's a good look at the strange saga of Paul Ranger, the former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman now trying to make a comeback with the Toronto Marlies. [Raw Charge]

• Hockey in the Bronx! It's like "Rumble in the Bronx" except it's actually in the Bronx rather than filmed in Vancouver. [Crain's, via JerseyShorePuck]

• Good stuff from the Nashville Predators' Skate of the Union event, including David Poile: "You can't replace a player like Ryan Suter, but we have the depth and talent to do so by committee. Roman Josi will take up some minutes.The coaches will have to get players on the ice in the right situation and with the right combinations." [View From 111]

• Mike Rucki doesn't have tolerance for a work stoppage: "So get it done, folks. Drop the damned puck." [OFB]

• Dave Davis defends his interview with Hockeyy Insiderr, which apparently needed defending. [Sabres Observer]

• "Nino Niederreiter Is The Worst Position Player By GVT" [The Puck Stops Here]

• Jeff Klein goes into deeper detail on the NHLPA's revenue sharing plans, including how profits would be handed back to the League's struggling teams. [NY Times]

• Some agents find Scott Hartnell's 6-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers to be baffling. [CSN Philly]

• Finally, here is one of the "10 of the worst acting performances by NHL players in commercials." His name is John Scott. [Backhand Shelf]

From the Sabres:

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier today announced that the team has agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent forward John Scott on a one-year contract. "John's size and toughness make him a difficult player to battle against," Regier said. "His physical play will be a valuable addition to our team."

Via TSN, it's a 1-year deal worth $600,000 for Scott.

John Scott is not what you'd call a "good" hockey player; in fact, the most common description of his NHL prowess is as a "liability."

But when you're the Buffalo Sabres, John Scott can help, because you're a team that had its toughness challenged by Milan Lucic last season when he freight-trained Ryan Miller; and it was a challenge they failed to overcome, with the psychological scarring from the school bully lingering through the season.

So now they have a guy with 236 PIMs in 146 games, who goes by the nickname "Big" and remained one of the most feared heavyweights in the NHL.

If nothing else, Scott (6-8) and Tyler Myers (6-7) are going to give the Sabres a hell of an advantage in their midnight basketball league. Assuming, you know, they participate in one.

For World Junior Championship Three Stars, visit Buzzing The Net.

No. 1 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

The streak continues. Crosby's two goals and two assists extended his point streak to 25 games as the Penguins overcame a first period deficit to beat Atlanta 6-3. Crosby almost recorded his second straight hat trick against the Thrashers, but the goal was eventually ruled to have been tipped by Matt Cooke.

No. 2 Star: Andrew Raycroft, Dallas Stars

With 33 saves in the opening two periods, Raycroft kept the Stars alive as they produced a three-goal third period en route to a 4-2 win over Nashville. Marc Fistric and Krys Barch eached scored their first goals of the season and Loui Eriksson added two points in the win. Raycroft finished with 44 saves and has won three staight starts.

No. 3 Star: Mike Weber, Buffalo Sabres

Weber scored the first two goals of his NHL career and added an assist as Buffalo got by Edmonton 4-2. The win as Ryan Miller's 200th career victory. The 23-year old Weber had just four points in 39 career games before tonight.

Honorable mention: Ryan Kesler potted two goals and assisted on Jeff Tambellini's 9th as the Canucks routed Philadelphia 6-2. As usual, the Sedins piled up the points with five tonight and Roberto Luongo made 34 saves ... Eric Staal scored twice and Patrick Dwyer tallied the go-ahead goal with 5:11 remaining to give Carolina a 4-3 win over Toronto and snap a three-game losing streak ... Mark Recchi's 570th career goal with 19.7 seconds remaining was the difference in a 4-3 Bruins win over the Lightning:

Steve Kampfer scored his first NHL goal in the Boston win and Marc Savard recorded his 700th career point ... Ty Conklin made 25 saves and Vladimir Sobotka scored for the fourth straight game as St. Louis upended Chicago 3-1. Cam Janssen and John Scott squared off in an entertaining tilt early in the game:

Behind Corey Perry's 20th goal and Jonas Hiller's 31 saves, Phoenix beat Anaheim 3-1. Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa scored his first NHL goal in the win. The attendance at Jobing.com Arena was a weeknight-high of 14,032 during $1 beer night ... Behind Semyon Varlamov's second shutout of the season, Washington blanked Montreal 3-0. Alex Ovechkin scored his 14th of the year on an empty-netter. Caps forward Jay Beagle opened the scoring with this nifty backhander:

Did you know? Washington is now 4-0-1 since their eight game losing streak.

Dishonorable mention: Ondrej Pavelec is now 0-7-0 lifetime against Pittsburgh ... Ryan Getzlaf took 10 stitches after taking a puck to the face from a Shane Doan shot. This was the bloody mess:

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews did not return to the game after taking this hit from Matt D'Agostini:

Having recently returned to the Flyers' lineup after a suspension, looks like Jody Shelley could likely be facing another one after this sucker punch to Andrew Alberts during a scrum:

• Via Tauntr comes a small collection of ugly NHL Christmas sweaters, perfect for that ugly sweater party you swore you'd never attend. Like, for example, the Toronto Maple Leafs one to the right: "Curl up next to the Yule log dressed in this lovely sweater that incorporates a new, Toronto tradition-throwing waffles onto the ice. It's accented by a scoreboard that more often than not reflects the scoreboard at the Air Canada Centre." [Tauntr]

• REMINDER: Our new contest is underway. Your NHL Holiday Greeting Cards and Songs to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com, please.

• Pull Randy Carlyle off the hot seat, please: "The Ducks have signed Coach Randy Carlyle and senior vice president of hockey operations David McNab to one-year contract extensions, the team announced Tuesday." [LA Times]

•Oh, this is a fun idea: Using XBox Kinect to physical tend goal on, say, an EA Sports NHL game. [Operation Sports]

• In case you haven't heard, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will appear on "The Price Is Right" on Monday for a Winter Classic showcase showdown (along with Jeremy Roenick). Witness the hilarity as Crosby refuses to give a bid on the showcase while saying "whatever price is fine, I'm just here to help my team win" and Ovechkin makes out with a Barker's Beauty inside of a brand NEW MOTOR HOME! [Y! Sports]

• Sidney Crosby fans: Please be advised that Western New York is a dangerous place. "FIGHT: A man told police he was assaulted by a group of males in the parking lot of the Olympic restaurant on Sheridan Drive early Sunday morning. The man was attacked for being a fan of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who played the Buffalo Sabres earlier Saturday night. According to police reports, some words were exchanged between the two different tables inside the restaurant and again in the parking lot before the fight happened. The victim did not want to press charges." [Tonawanda News, via Puck Buddy Kozyshank]

UPDATE: Via On Frozen Blog, the Capitals' line pairings for the alumni game at the Winter Classic. [OFB]

• A passionate defense for the Edmonton Oilers cheerleaders, debuting Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. [Sportsnet]

• Cool it now with your Evgeni Nabokov to the Washington Capitals talk. Said coach Bruce Boudreau: "I'll tell them the same thing: We've got two great young goaltenders. Not good, but great young goaltenders. We're not going after anybody else." [Capitals Insider]

• Olli Jokinen vs. waffle. Can't. Stop. Watching. For. Some. Reason. [FailBlog, via Stone Devil]

• Is it wrong to find this rather hilarious that he's referred to as "Craig Ludwig, former teammate of Mike Modano" in this press release? [PR Newswire]

• From Al Cimaglia on the Chicago Blackhawks: "The Marty Turco bandwagon should be about empty by now as Corey Crawford came on in relief to almost save the day. But this defeat involved more than a couple of soft goals by Turco. If there was ever a time for the Hawks defense to stand tall it would have been last night. But collectively the defense wasn't good at all." [HI]

• Vinny Lecavalier is back on the ice for the Tampa Bay Lightning. [Raw Charge]

• On the Senators' attendance issues: "It's going to be a work in progress to restore the bank to its glory days off the fumes of the 2007 Stanley Cup final, when the team averaged 19,000 per game and had 38 sellouts in 2007-08. Better performance by the team on the ice would help, but those involved with marketing and sales like to say they account for worst-case scenarios on the hockey side, so a winning season is a bonus." [Ottawa Citizen]

• According to the Ottawa Sun at Ottawa Senators practice, "Senators centre Jesse Winchester had to go get stitches after getting a puck in the mouth while defenceman Matt Carkner needed stitches after getting cut by Erik Karlsson's skate." Boy, those bleeding drills were always tough to get through ... [QMI]

• There's a chance we'll see both Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz rotating on and off of Sidney Crosby's wing Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, if Dan Bylsma is to be believed. [NHL.com]

• The latest NHL All-Star game vote totals, as Pittsburgh Penguins fans stuff the ballot box and threaten to push the undeserving Evgeni Malkin ahead of Steven Stamkos and into a "starting" role. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury is creeping up on Carey Price. For you Vote for Avery folks, Sean Avery has 93,600 write-in votes, ahead of Jeff Carter (91,107) and behind Eric Staal (94,085), who is in 17th place. Our favorite thing: There are 53 defenseman ranked ahead of Bryan McCabe of the Florida Panthers, who was actually on the ballot. [NHL]

• Heartwarming story: A 71-year-old man wins a Sidney Crosby Olympic jersey (autographed!) in a 50/50 raffle. [Chatham Daily]

• Scott Bowman on Detroit Red Wings defenseman/legend Nicklas Lidstrom: "The thing I always said about Nick, for all the points he's had, his offense has been so good, but the thing that's always amazed me about him is that very, very seldom have I seen Nick caught up ice. Very seldom does he leave his partner alone." [ESPN]

• Interesting bit from Rich Hammond: "When the Kings went through their 1-6-0 slump last month, they were outscored 12-3 in the third periods of those games. Now, in their recent 4-0-1 streak, they have outscored opponents 7-1 in the third period." [LA Kings Insider]

• Via the great Ian Walker, Mike Smith of the Tampa Bay Lightning on the funniest thing he's ever heard on the ice: "Another good question. I don't know ... We had that game against Philly a couple of weeks ago. It was 8-7 and I was in for the last three and I asked Scott Hartnell if we were on Punked because it felt like there were soccer nets in here and he said, "Mix in a save." [Vancouver Sun]

• Interesting stuff on the Carolina Hurricanes, attendance and revenue: "According to a recent report published by the Triangle Business Journal, the Hurricanes' revenue dropped by over 25% from 2008-09 to 2009-10. Of course much of that is to be expected because the team failed to make it to the post season last year, while they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals the year before. That fact alone is going to drastically affect all of Carolina's financial statements. " [Canes Country]

• Finally, another victory for John Scott of the Blackhawks against David Koci of the Colorado Avalanche, who actually did quite well to overcome his obvious disadvantage of being David Koci in this fight: [Hockey Fights]

• Sorry Winnipeg, but there are evidently compelling reasons to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta after all ...

• Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien plus Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the period ending Nov. 28.

• Adrian Dater tweets that Chris Stewart of the Avs is out 4-6 weeks with that hand injury suffered in a fight.

• Marc Savard rules out a return for the Boston Bruins on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, but leaves the door open for a comeback on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. You know who's really curious about that timetable? Cap Geek. [NESN]

• Good roundup of rumors from Spector, including whether Brad Richards might flip to the wing if he's traded to the right team ... say, like, the Los Angeles Kings. [THN]

• Tomas Fleischmann to the Los Angeles Kings? Dmitry heard rumblings about a Caps player moving ... [The Province]

• It's entirely possible that Kevin Westgarth of the Los Angeles Kings, last seen getting his face smashed in by John Scott of the Chicago Blackhawks, has already given us the quote of the week. On the fact that he broke his nose for the first time in the fight: "I think for realsies that was the first one." [LA Times]

• Speaking of which: 17 of the bloodiest fights in NHL history. At least that made YouTube. [Houses of the Hockey]

• Tom Benjamin vs. Damien Cox on blogging: "I want a specific example of blogger irresponsibility. If Cox can't produce any examples, why does it concern him? It wasn't a blogger who declared Pat Burns was dead several weeks before he actually died. Were there consequences for that Damien Cox blunder?" [Canucks Corner]

• Scott Burnside wonders if Corey Crawford is the new Antti Niemi for the Chicago Blackhawks. Not in the unsuitable arbitration award sense, but in the Cup-winning goalie sense. [ESPN]

• Kovalchoke Watch: There are now 35 defensemen in the NHL that have more points than Ilya Kovalchuk. [Ryan Classic]

• The Connecticut Whale, formerly the Hartford Wolf Pack, made its debut on Saturday night in the AHL with the second-largest crowd in franchise history, 13,089. The next night, the attendance dropped to 3,012. [Hartford Courant]

• Nerd alert! A look at how salary doesn't matter when it comes to success in the NHL. [Bird Watchers Anonymous]

• Checking the options for the Colorado Avalanche with Chris Stewart (broken hand) and Daniel Winnik (leg contusion) out of the lineup. [Denver Post]

• Our old pal James Mirtle looks at the 20 moves of the Brian Burke era in Toronto. Do you remember move No. 1? "1. March 4, 2009: With the Leafs well out of a playoff spot and Vesa Toskala out for the season with an injury, Burke inexplicably claims goalie Martin Gerber off waivers from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline. Toronto went 9-9-0 to end the season with Gerber starting the majority of the games. One fewer win and the Leafs would have finished in a lottery position instead of seventh last." [Globe & Mail]

• Dan Carcillo is working his way back for the Philadelphia Flyers. Alas, it seems that everyone in the lineup that you'd expect to be a potential scratch for him happens to be playing out of his mind. [Broad Street Hockey]

• We asked, and we received: The Finnish Line presents Kevin Weekes, a menacing Zamboni and the theme from "Jaws."

• The 39 players invited to Canada's National Junior Team selection camp, including three returning players: Jared Cowen (Allan, Sask./Spokane, WHL), Calvin de Haan (Carp, Ont./Oshawa, OHL) and Ryan Ellis (Freelton, Ont./Windsor, OHL). [Hockey Canada]

• Meanwhile, Phoenix Coyotes prospect Brandon Gormley will not be at camp due to a dislocated knee cap. Ouch. [Buzzing The Net]

• Die By The Blade assess those rumors that the Buffalo Sabres might be for sale. [DBTB]

• My exhausted, smirky face on OFB TV. [OFB]

• From Rich Hammond: "Since the Anaheim Ducks joined the NHL in 1993, the Los Angeles Kings and Ducks have never made the playoffs in the same season. Well, if the playoffs started this morning - they don't, so don't panic - neither team would be among the top eight in the Western Conference." [LA Kings Insider]

• Rocque from Dangerous Hockey is having some kind of Twitter beef with Matthew Barnaby. [DH]

• R.I.P Pat Burns. [CBC Sports]

• Finally, we lost two the great ones in the last few days: "Empire Strikes Back" director Irvin Kershner and national treasure Leslie Nielsen, to whom we page homage with this bit from "The Naked Gun":

No. 1 Star: Greg Mauldin, Colorado Avalanche

The journeyman center topped his NHL career total in points (3) in one game against the Minnesota Wild, scoring four points in the Avs' 7-4 victory at home. Mauldin scored two goals in the second period to tie the game and help give the Avs a lead they wouldn't relinquish. In the third period, he assisted on goals by David Jones and Matt Duchene to clinch the victory. Not bad for a career AHLer.

No. 2 Star: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Crosby scored at even strength, on the power play and then into an empty net shorthanded for a hat trick in Pittsburgh's 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames. What's really amazing about his effort: He failed to convert a penalty shot that would have given him four goals in five "different" ways: Even-strength, power play, penalty shot and shorthanded into an empty net. Mario Lemieux famously scored five goals in five ways on Dec. 31, 1988. Said Crosby after the game: "That's one thing I never thought would ever be beat. To know I came that close, that hurts, but it was fun and, obviously, I would have liked to have put that one in." His second goal was his 200th of his career.

No. 3 Star: Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks

The Phoenix Coyotes had a 3-1 lead in the second period against the Anaheim Ducks, when Bobby Ryan came alive. He scored twice in under 4 minutes to tie the game; then, in the third period, he completed the hat trick with Anaheim's sixth goal in a 6-4 victory in Glendale. Ryan now has 12 goals on the season. Ryan Getzlaf had four assists, and Corey Perry (1 goal, 2 assists) had the game-winner.

Honorable mention: Travis Zajac's shootout goal gave the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 upset win over the Philadelphia Flyers, as Johan Hedberg made 40 saves. ... Brian Gionta scored two goals and added an assist as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1; Carey Price made 35 saves. ... Brian Elliott made 29 saves for the shutout and Mike Fisher had three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in the Ottawa Senators' 3-0 Battle of Ontario victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. ... Shane Doan had three assists in the Coyotes' loss. ... Stephen Weiss scored the lone goal of a five-round shootout, and Tomas Vokoun made five saves in the skills competition and 34 in the game for a 4-3 Florida Panthers win at the Tampa Bay Lightning. ... Erik Christensen had the New York Rangers' only goal of the shootout in their 2-1 victory at the Nashville Predators. Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves) outdueled Pekka Rinne (23 saves), while Sean Avery and Jordin Tootoo provided a first-period jolt with this scrap:

Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson scored third-period goals and Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves as the Dallas Stars defeated the St. Louis Blues, 2-1. ... Kyle Brodziak had two goals for the Wild. ... The San Jose Sharks snapped their six-game winless streak on the road with a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, as Dany Heatley had two goals and an assist in the city to which he infamously refused to be traded. Benn Ferriero had his first NHL goal for the Sharks this season, who held off a third-period rally by the Oilers. ... Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings played a great third period that saw goalie Corey Crawford made 9 saves to preserve a 2-1 victory for the Blackhawks. Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane -- on a controversial video review -- had the Chicago goals; Anze Kopitar scored on the power play in the third for LA, a period that saw a fracas result in a double-minor for Jonathan Toews.

Did you know? Non-NHL performances aren't usually included in the nightly Three Stars, but this one deserves special mention: Center Tomas Tatar of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins posted a 7-point night (2 goals, 5 assists) in a wild 10-8 victory over the Chicago Wolves. Art Stratton of Buffalo still holds the record for points in a regular-season game with 9 assists (and zero goals) for Buffalo in 1963.

Dishonorable mention: Adrian Aucoin and Ed Jovanovski were a minus-3 for the Coyotes. ... Niklas Backstrom was lifted for Jose Theodore in the third period for the Wild. ... The Panthers yet again went scoreless on the power play. ... The Flames were outshot 24-6 in the first period against the Penguins. ... Finally, there are good fights, like John Scott's destruction of Kevin Westgarth, and then there are costly fights, like Colorado Avalanche standout Chris Stewart breaking his hand in this brawl against Kyle Brodziak:

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.

• In which Inglorious Backes tires of hearing "so, do you keep your medal with the rest of your silverware?" from Jonathan Toews. [Getty]

• Florida Panthers GM and former Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon received his Stanley Cup ring from Chicago team president John McDonough today, which is Tallon's 60th birthday. Tallon plans on FAXing the team a "thank you" note, which it will receive roughly eight months from now. [Sporting News]

• The Minnesota Wild are facing some health issues, including Mikko Koivu. [Star Tribune]

• Jordan Staal practiced with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time this season, along with injured teammates Brooks Orpik and Arron Asham. The team's looked pretty damn good without them, too. [Penguins]

• Atlanta Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec meets the media, and says: "I don't remember anything after the National Anthem until I woke up in the back of the ambulance. That's a pretty big window," Pavelec said. "I couldn't feel my legs ... but when I got to the hospital I started to feel my legs." [Sports Climax]

• The Vancouver Canucks are the latest team to seek advertisements for their practice jerseys. Look for B.C. Bong and Pipe Emporium to grace these sweaters in the near future ... [Vancouver Sun]

• Brilliant stuff from Down Goes Brown: A transcript of every hockey game ever broadcast. [DGB]

• ESPN's NHL Awards for hockey movies. Ned Braden for Lady Byng is marvelous. But Gordon Bombay over Herb Brooks? Travesty, especially the writeup: "This one is a no-brainer -- Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) of 'The Mighty Ducks.' His ability to take a rag tag team and turn them into peewee champions in a matter of one season is truly remarkable." Yeah, not unlike BEATING THE SOVIETS. [ESPN]

• The best non-hockey hockey jerseys. How that Sopranos sweater isn't the New Jersey Devils' third jersey is beyond us. [Weekly Meat]

• Why Milan Hejduk may actually be hurting the Colorado Avalanche: "After perusing the individual player stats today, I noticed that Milan Hejduk has a -7 rating after the first six games. That would indicate that he's been on the ice for a disproportionate number of opposing even strength and shorthanded goals. Turns out, he has been. The Duke has been skating slowly in circles on nine such occasions." [MHH]

• BizNasty on the toughest fighters in the NHL today: "Boogaard is obviously No .1: that guy is just scary. Colton Orr is certainly one. Steve MacIntyre in Edmonton. Eric Godard. And D.J. King is a tough guy, too." Paul Bissonette fought exactly none of them last year. [THN]

• The Devils stink, the Rangers are injured, so is it the New York Islanders' time to win the Battle of New York and party like it's 1983? [Globe & Mail]

• The Montreal Canadiens are still waiting for the return of Andrei Markov from injury. [Sportsnet]

• Make it six straight starts for Michal Neuvirth for the Washington Capitals, as he gets the call against what's expected to be Tim Thomas. [Capitals Insider]

• Jeff Klein of the New York Times with details on a Mayo Clinic discussion of NHL concussions: "About 44 percent of the players who sustained reported concussions were hit after having just released the puck (defined as having passed it within 0.3 seconds before the hit). Some 31 percent of concussed players did not have the puck at all when they were hit. Just 25 percent of concussed N.H.L.'ers had the puck when they were hit." [NY Times]

• Dan Carcillo is doing what he can to dive back into the Philadelphia Flyers' lineup. [Philly.com]

• Mike Chen explains why he's decided to drop his long-standing objection to coincidental diving penalties: "The next time you see something like this happen, take a step back and don't think of both penalties as connected. Instead, look at what player A did -- was it hooking/tripping/holding/etc.? If yes, then that's a penalty and the refs got it right. Separate from that, did Player B dress up what happened by flailing all over the ice? If yes, then that's diving." [From The Rink]

• Really, nothing gets the fans out for hockey like the nation's leading Tom Petty cover band, as is apparent by this Quad City Mallards ad.

• Remember former NHL defenseman Ric Jackman? Still living the dream, this time with the Utah Grizzlies. [Grizzlies]

• Pekka Rinne is expected back for the Nashville Predators Tuesday night, becoming the first goalie in franchise history to not have his job stolen while on the sidelines. [Tennessean]

• The Copper and Blue looks at who is playing the "tough minutes" in defense for the Edmonton Oilers. [C&B]

• The Calgary Flames have claimed defenseman Brendan Mikkelson off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks and assigned defenseman T.J. Brodie to the AHL's Abbotsford Heat. [CBC Sports]

• A photographic multimedia presentation of the Buffalo Sabres 40th anniversary, subtitled "HIS FOOT WAS IN THE $@#!%@% CREASE." [Sabres]

• "Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have placed center Martin Hanzal on the injured reserve list. Hanzal suffered an a lower body injury in last night's game versus the Anaheim Ducks and will be out of the lineup 1-2 weeks. The Coyotes have recalled center Andrew Ebbett from the San Antonio Rampage (AHL). In 5 games with the Rampage this season, Ebbett has recorded 4 assists, ranking him tied for second on the team in scoring." [Coyotes]

• Why the Chicago Blackhawks' signing of John Scott was a mistake. [HI]

• Finally, behind the scenes of a very funny Detroit Red Wings commercial, featuring some of the best acting of Mike Babcock's career:

Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.

The Immaculate Reception. The Shot Heard 'Round the World. The Catch. The Hand of God. The Miracle on Ice.

All these pale in comparison with what must now be recognized as the greatest achievement in the history of human athletic competition: the Carolina Hurricanes actually winning a game.

Some might scoff. They might say the Hurricanes blew two separate three-goal leads to a team that is, in many ways, almost as bad as them (so bad that AHLer Robbie Earl was on the top line), played like garbage for the majority of the second half of the game and didn't do anything of note in OT except not lose, which, technically, isn't a bad strategy.

To those doubters -- nay, haters! -- I say pish-posh.

(Coming Up: Henrik Zetterberg dominates for the Red Wings; Thrashers' top line is better than yours; Sacco doesn't realize Avs have hit the wall; Maple Leafs humor; over-praising Stamkos; and Montreal somehow gives up 55 shots to Nashville, who somehow scores only two goals.)

Yeah, they allowed 54 goals in those 14 games, but you have to remember they were without Conn Smythe-winning goalie Cam Ward for two of those, so that number was bound to be inflated. And while you'd like to see the offense score more than 26 goals in the 14 games it took to snap this streak, you can't blame the Hurricanes too much. Eric Staal, one of the best offensive players in the world, has missed the entire season with a case of the gout (at least I assume that's what happened, I haven't seen him in any games I've watched this season).

Anyway that's all behind us now. With this ultra-inspiring win over a high-quality opponent like the Minnesota Wild, the Carolina Hurricanes are on the fast-track to not only climbing up out of last place in the league and a lottery pick, but they're so close to getting it together and threatening for a playoff spot, since they're built for the long haul and not just the first quarter or so of the season. We've seen them go on that kind of season-defining, odds-defying run before.

Remember last year? They immediately went from being average to slightly-better-than-average when they hired Paul Maurice. They can do it again no problem once they fire him.

All they need is a little luck, a schedule full of nothing but games against lousy teams for the rest of the season, several huge free agent signings, a couple players to magically turn into superstars and for all their stars to get healthy for once.

Then the NHL will officially be on notice.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks trailed by just one goal through two periods, which is pretty good for them considering they played Detroit (their recent record against the Wings is fairly bad, you see). But then they gave up five goals in the third period, on just 12 shots, which is not so good.

Atlanta Thrashers: That Thrashers top line of Ilya Kovalchuk and Max Afinogenov centered by Nik Antropov is having a decent go of things. They've been together for three games and scored a combined 7-8-15, helping the Thrashers to two wins with five or more goals and three overall.

Boston Bruins: Great news for the Bruins that Savard is going to re-sign, but where do they think they're getting all this money against the cap? They're going to have to triple shift everybody because they're going to have nine players under contract, all of them making at least $4 million. Assuming Savard signs for the low-end of $6 million, the B's have something like $9 million in cap space (assuming the cap doesn't go down) with just 14 players under contract, with Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart and Vladimir Sobotka still RFAs. Good luck with that, Chiarelli.

Buffalo Sabres: Congrats to tiny little Tyler Ennis, who scored a goal in his first ever NHL game, which his Sabres won over Philly.

Calgary Flames: The Calgary Herald's John Down on the Flames pasting the Leafs 5-2 Saturday night: "Where's the killer instinct?" Since when is 5-2, especially when you play like garbage, not an acceptably big scoring line for the second game of an all-road back-to-back? Did I have a stroke or something?

Carolina Hurricanes: It's cute that the Hurricanes thought Manny Legace's not being around the team for the breadth of this sad-sack streak was a positive. He got the go Friday night and promptly gave up four to the Islanders. Good work Manny!

Chicago Blackhawks: Just because the Blackhawks put Jeremy Roenick into their Hall of Fame doesn't mean they have to retire his number. That would just be silly. Ha ha ha ha. Wait, what?

Colorado Avalanche: Actual Joe Sacco quote after Saturday's ugly 8-2 loss to Vancouver: "No, I don't think we're hitting a wall. We've played a lot of good hockey up until that game. We've had some strong games, and tonight we just didn't have any energy and made mistakes, and it just ended up in the back of our net." Isn't that, like, the textbook definition of hitting a wall?

Columbus Blue Jackets: The good news is Mike Commodore's fatigue isn't due to anything wrong with his blood, the tests on which came back "pristine." The bad news is he's probably just out of shape after having the swine flu.

Dallas Stars: Mike Heika doesn't seem enamored of the Stars' play of late due to what he calls their lack of consistency. "Win one, lose one, win one, lose one," he says. Yeah, that sounds absolutely consistent. They consistently play well then play poorly. What's not to get?

Detroit Red Wings: Nice to see Ville Leino getting some credit despite having no points and being asked to do alarmingly little alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Danny Cleary. "I just tell him, you know where I'm going to be and you know Z is going to have the puck," Cleary said, "so you've just got to find another spot on the ice where you can support Z and be in a position to shoot." Don't get in our way? Anyone could do that.

Edmonton Oilers: Fernando Pisani can't catch a break. He's been sent home again with ulcerative colitis, just days after he returned from a back injury.

Florida Panthers: David Booth still isn't ready to go, and in fact hasn't even begun skating yet, but Pete DeBoer did offer to let him go with the team to his hometown of Detroit.

Los Angeles Kings: Rob Scuderi will miss tonight's game at Florida with a lower body injury.

Minnesota Wild: While we're congratulating people for their first NHL goals (boy there's been a lot of that going around lately), kudos are in order for John Scott and Robbie Earl, who scored their first goals: for Earl it was his first two: in the Wild's... loss to the Hurricanes. That's still weird to say.

Montreal Canadiens: All you need to know about Saturday's loss to Nashville -- final shots were 55-20 Preds. You can imagine how the rest played out.

Nashville Predators: Interesting bit of trivia -- the only Predator without a shot on goal in that game was Ryan Suter (in fact he didn't even attempt one). Steve Sullivan, by contrast, had 11.

New Jersey Devils: Matt Halischuk and Tim Sestito each had an NHL first on the former's goal Saturday night. It was Halischuk's first goal and Sestito's first point. Halischuk, obviously, got to keep the puck.

New York Islanders: The Islanders have gone to overtime 10 times in 20 games this season. It's very likely that they'll shatter the 2006-07 Penguins' league record of 27. If they keep up the current pace, they will play about three full games' worth of OT.

New York Rangers: How PA Parenteau, who scored the shootout winner against Ottawa, got a chance to try his hand at the NHL level: "Torts asked me if I was doing well in the minors in the shootout and I said, ‘I do pretty well, decent,' so he gave me a shot." So there ya go.

Ottawa Senators: It's okay that Alex Kovalev hasn't even begun to earn his two-year, $10 million contract because they don't get enough power plays to keep him motivated give him a chance to work his magic.

Philadelphia Flyers: Scapegoat for snapping the Flyers' six-game win streak -- Danny Briere. Down a goal in the third period and on a power play, Briere retaliated to a crosscheck by high-sticking Chris Butler and getting a double minor. "It was just a reaction . . . but it's definitely not a penalty you want to take at that point," Briere said. New plan would be don't do it next time.

Phoenix Coyotes: Taking bets here, but does John McCain actually know anything about hockey or did he get these lines fed to him? He has a lot of very specific memories about the Coyotes. Hell, I barely remember Roenick's broken jaw myself.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Kind of a hollow overtime win, I'd think, when your team's No. 1 star is Patrice Bergeron's broken stick. Either that or Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick shouldn't have just stared at the puck Tim Thomas left for them behind the net.

Nice to come back and win, one supposes, but I'm not so sure you can count on wins like this presenting themselves on a nightly basis.

San Jose Sharks: Here's a weird stat for the Sharks prior to last night's game with Chicago -- the power play was fourth-best in the league at 24 percent, running at 32 percent on the road but just 10.3 percent at home.

St. Louis Blues: The reason the Blues aren't playing well is because Andy Murray is their coach hasn't gotten big stars like Keith Tkachuk, Paul Kariya and David Backes playing the way they're capable of playing, which is to say not-terribly. Murray also gave David Perron a talking-to after a game earlier this week because he took a high-sticking penalty. That game was also the one in which Perron had a hat trick. Murray told him he was being selfish. True story.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Sentences like this are happens when general sports columnists write about a team they never cover and don't care about -- "He's still a teenager, but Steven Stamkos has already shown he could be a legend for the Lightning." Christ, let's let him get in a half-season of success before we start naming him the team's greatest player ever.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Okay I need to lie down.

Vancouver Canucks: Vancouver's best player lately has been ... wait for it ... Mason Raymond. He had three points in the Canucks' 8-2 win over Colorado, bumping his total in the last eight games to 5-5-10. Where did that come from?

Washington Capitals: A look at the Caps' high-risk/high-reward style of hockey. Their 3.65 goals per game is the best in the league, and their 3.05 goals against per game is sixth-worst.

Play of the Weekend

Okay so this is by far the worst play of the weekend, but I had to put it somewhere: What in the hell was Olli Jokinen thinking picking a fight with anyone ever, let alone Francois freakin' Beauchemin.

Best part is Iginla skating over like, "What, uhh.. what's going on here Olli?"

Gold Star Award

Hank Zetterberg is on a little bit of a hot streak lately. His five-point game Saturday gives him 4-5-9 in his last three games. That'll play.

Minus of the Weekend

Okay I was pretty sure the Canadiens were bad this year. But how does anyone give up 55 shots to the Predators? The fact that they only scored two goals on 55 shots says a whole lot more about the quality of the Nashville attack than it does the Habs defense, which is embarrassingly bad.

Perfect HFBoards trade proposal of the week

User elicw10 has the perfect solution to "fix" the Senators' defense and give the Blackhawks some much-needed cap room.

Jack Skille, Brian Campbell (7.1), Cam Barker (3.1 ish),1st

for

Anton Volchenkov (UFA), Alexei Kovalev (cheap buyou after season), Chris Kelly (cheap buyout)

Remember, he is fixing the Senators' D with Brian Campbell.

Signoff

I was once voted the worst audience participant Cirque Du Soleil ever had.

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness pretty much every day over at The Two-Line Pass. Check it out, why don't you? Or you can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter if you so desire.