Olympic 'courtesy' meeting; Tampa's disappointing year (Puck Headlines)

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. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com.

• New York Rangers goaltender Antti Raanta’s new mask pays homage to the history of the team. [Dave Gunnarsson]

• International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach met with the NHL and NHLPA last Friday. The NHL has yet to decide if it will shut down its league so players to go to Pyeongchang for the 2018 Games. [TSN]

• The Tampa Bay Lightning have been arguably the most disappointing team in the NHL this season. [Raw Charge]

• It’s not easy being part of an expansion team. From the draft process through to stepping on the ice for the first time, these six NHLers shared their unique experiences. [The Hockey News]

• Los Angeles Kings Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller said Friday he plans to meet soon with team officials to discuss how to move forward with his ability and availability to call games. Miller suffered a mild stroke during NHL All-Star Weekend. [Los Angeles Daily News]

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• Playing with Jack Eichel has helped Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno unlock some scoring potential. [Buffalo Hockey Beat]

• The Boston Bruins need to make sure they don’t run goaltender Tuukka Rask into the ground this early in the season. Rask has been the team’s most important player, but the Bruins need him fresh for the upcoming stretch run. [WEEI]

• The Winnipeg Jets have won 67 percent of games with Ondrej Pavelec in net despite the netminder only stopping 90.1 percent of shots on goal. [Jets Nation]

• Arizona Coyotes forward Christian Dvorak has been the most consistent rookie on the team this year. [Arizona Sports]

• A black man’s guide to loving hockey: “I’m an unapologetic ambassador of the game of hockey. And I think everyone should be a hockey fan. I think it’s the best sport going.” [The Shadow League]

• The Philadelphia Flyers alumni will play three games in Russia as part of an upcoming goodwill tour, and one of the opposing teams may feature Russian president Vladimir Putin. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• NHL on NBC analyst Pierre McGuire was at the same restaurant as a blog meet-up and became the life of the party. [Russian Machine Never Breaks]

• Boston Pride forward Meghan Duggan believes the NWHL’s shortened season is the best course of action for everyone in women’s hockey. [Excelle Sports]

• Diminutive Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson has enjoyed a career year. [Sports Illustrated]

• The two top picks in the upcoming NHL Draft are “a cut above” the rest. Because of this, it’s important for the Vegas Golden Knight to hold either the No. 1 or No. 2 pick for the 2017 selection process. [SinBin Vegas]

• Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter said the team’s upcoming road trip is “probably make-or-break for us.” The Canucks have 52 points, five back of the Calgary Flames for the last Wild Card spot. Vancouver has three games in hand on the Flames. [The Province]

• NHL linesman Greg Devorski details his life in the NHL as an official. [NHL]

• Czech linesman Libor Suchanek made his AHL debut Saturday. The 27-year-old Suchanek took part in pre-season camp with the NHL officials in Buffalo prior to the start of the World Cup. He officiated a pre-tournament game between Russia and the Czech Republic with NHL officials Gord Dwyer and Michel Cormier. [Scouting the Refs]

• Is it time to bring an NHL team back to Hartford? The NHL hasn’t been in the city since the Hartford Whalers moved after the 1996-97 season and became the Carolina Hurricanes. [FiveThirtyEight]

• Here are the 10 hottest players to pick up for your fantasy hockey team. [Dobber Hockey]

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• Japanese goaltender Nana Fujimoto will be looking to stand tall when she leads her country in the Final Olympic Qualification Group D for Pyeongchang 2018. [IIHF]

• Hurricanes rookie forward Sebastian Aho continues to turn heads in his first NHL season. [The Hockey 411]

• Finally, listen to the sounds of hockey.

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