Puck Headlines: Fehr on work stoppage; Crosby still concussed

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

?�Via Puck Daddy reader John Gillis (any relation to Mike?) comes the NHL shaving kit. If this is what the Sedins use to get those perfectly-maintained goatees, I'm in.

?�Elliotte Friedman wonders if Bob Gainey might take over the bench in Montreal himself, plus 29 other great thoughts. [CBC]

?�Sean Fitz-Gerald asked Donald Fehr if we're in danger of another NHL lockout, and his answer is terrifying: "All I can say is, I would certainly hope not. In the last negotiation, there obviously was a long stoppage at the owners' instigation. Both long stoppages in hockey have been lockouts, the players haven't had any extended strikes. The owners insisted upon and received enormous concessions from the players, so one would hope that those days are days that people can write about in the history books, and we don't have to look at them going forward. Having said that, I've been doing this too long and in too many different places to make predictions." In other words: if necessary, yes. [National Post]

?�Holy crap, the NHL has seen 28 concussions in December already. That's more than one a day. [NHL Red Light]

?�Count Eric Lindros among the many saying the game's gotten too fast. [Canoe]

? Speaking of counts, notorious vampire Sidney Crosby is still experiencing concussion symptoms. There's a familiar update. [Pittsburgh Live]

? John Madden will be rejoining Dale Tallon with the Florida Panthers. [Star Tribune]

?�The quiet room explained. Despite sharing its name with a blanket fort I built as a kid, it's not a blanket fort. [Backhand Shelf]

? Scotiabank Place unveiled a massive new scoreboard Tuesday night as part of its renovations leading up to the All-Star game. From the Ottawa Senators' press release: "The Bell HD Screen will have 2,170 square feet of viewing space, compared to the existing scoreboard at Scotiabank place, which has 300 square feet of viewing space. Each of the four primary HD screens will be 331 square feet in size, in comparison to the existing boards, which are 75 square feet. This new Bell HD Screen is the largest board that can be installed into Scotiabank Place." Here's video of its debut:

?�Ryan Whitney's update on his ankle sounds very bleak. [Oilers Nation]

?�Hockey Wilderness takes exception to Brendan Shanahan's tendency to forgive guys for hitting their players from behind. [Hockey Wilderness]

?�Some people don't like Canada's use of "Chelsea Dagger", the Chicago Blackhawks' goal song, at the World Juniors. [Edmonton Journal]

? Speaking of the World Juniors, by hosting them, Alberta can expect $80 million injected into the national economy. [The Globe & Mail]

?�The Toronto Maple Leafs need to improve their penalty kill if they want to make the playoffs. [Sportsnet]

?�It's episode 9 of Fake Henrik Zetterberg. [Fake Henrik Zetterberg]

?�And finally, Finnish hockey fan Janne Makkonen's video, titled "Our Way of Life", is really, really great.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Headlines-Fehr-on-work-stoppage-Crosby-st?urn=nhl-wp20927

Michael Ratchuk Wade Redden Dylan Reese Robyn Regehr

Marek Vs. Wyshynski Radio: Top 5 HBO 24/7 moments; Jagr night

It's a Thursday 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: Seth Rorabaugh of Empty Netters and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks about the return of Jaromir Jagr, Max Talbot and, of course, Joe Mullen to Pittsburgh.

? In which Marek and Wysh discuss ads on U.S. vs. Canada hockey talk.

? The top 5 HBO 24/7 moments from Episode 3. (WARNING: STRONG ADULT LANGUAGE ON THIS PODCAST TODAY.)

? Inside the world of pro scouts.

? Joe Thornton is a bit of a jerk to Sedin.

? Puck Headlines and Talking Points

Question of the Day: "Who is the most underrated defenseman in the NHL?"

Email your answers to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski.

"Marek vs. Wyshynski" is a daily hockey radio program featuring Jeff Marek, on-air personality and columnist for Sportsnet, and Greg Wyshynski, your humble editor from Yahoo! Sports' Puck Daddy blog. We'll be speaking to the most interesting people in hockey, from Hall of Famers to beat writers to bloggers. We'll be debating the hottest topics in the NHL and beyond.

It's all about interaction, too: Email your thoughts to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to either @jeffmarek or @wyshynski.

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.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Marek-Vs-Wyshynski-Radio-Top-5-HBO-24-7-moment?urn=nhl-wp21028

Doug Weight Stephen Weiss Casey Wellman Kyle Wellwood

New setting and new test for England and Pakistan in Emirates | David Hopps

The bitterness remains from the spot-fixing scandal of 2010 but the neutral setting may defuse the heat

If ever a location appears designed to try to take the heat out of the first meeting between Pakistan and England since the match-fixing scandal, it is the United Arab Emirates. The aggravation and bitterness that still lingers after events that led to three Pakistani players receiving jail sentences could be hard to maintain in what to date has been international cricket's most stultifying location.

Test cricket does not need a stalemate, but an anticipated combination of low crowds, draining heat and benign pitches could have such a tranquillising effect on proceedings that recriminations could feel just too much like hard work ? at least until the first cry of "no-ball".

Pakistan have made quiet improvements since a News of the World sting during their Test series in England in the summer of 2010 led to three of their players, the captain Salman Butt among them, receiving lengthy bans from the International Cricket Council and jail sentences in Southwark crown court. In their adopted home in the United Arab Emirates, as the Fake Sheikh has given way to real sheikhs, there has been a more controlled aspect to their play that England will have noted.

The new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf ? although his appointment was criticised as more of the same political patronage ? has so far appeared to be a steadier hand than the man he replaced, Ijaz Butt. This three-Test series, which will be followed by four one-day internationals and three Twenty20 games, may be first versus fifth in the world, but England, after the rare luxury of a five-month break since their last Test, will have to be at their best to win it.

Last autumn, as the debate sounded about falling Test crowds in many parts of the world, a colleague said it would not be long before spectators in some venues would be paid to watch Test cricket, so ensuring a more appealing backdrop for the TV cameras. It was an interesting thought. If they were paid to attend, would they be paid even more to cheer? Would they be fined if they were caught yawning on camera or watching Premier League highlights on their iPhone?

In Abu Dhabi in October something similar occurred. Spectators were not paid to attend a Pakistan Test against Sri Lanka, but they were let in free and even then they did not exactly rush there in their thousands. The Emirates Cricket Association has yet to confirm whether the same policy will apply for England's visit, but it would be no bad thing. This Test series would be better fought not as an imagined moral crusade, but as an important contribution to ensuring the survival and, ultimately, regenerationof Pakistan cricket while fears of terrorism cause them to play "home" internationals outside their own country. The more the stadiums in Abu Dhabi and Dubai feel like a Pakistan home occasion the better.

Mick Newell, as well as being a past coach of England Lions, is also coach of a Nottinghamshire side that have experienced cricket in the Middle East. Notts, as champion county, met MCC in a no longer so traditional curtain raiser in Abu Dhabi in March played under floodlights with experimental pink balls. Even those unusual circumstances left them keenly aware of the task that England face.

"England are not used to playing in front of the sort of low Test crowds they might encounter in the Middle East," Newell says. "The best way to counter it is by doing nothing different, ensuring that warm-ups and preparation are approached with the same intensity and thoroughness. Maybe England will get their support staff around the boundary a bit more, talking to bowlers at fine leg, gingering people up a bit. Although it appears that nobody is interested, you don't think like that because there will be millions watching around the world."

Memories of match fixing should ensure enough zest remains even in the flattest of stalemates. Wahab Riaz, back in the Pakistan squad, was mentioned in passing in match-fixing evidence, but never charged with an offence. He was dropped for Pakistan's tour to Bangladesh and said at the time: "To insinuate I have been dropped because of some spot-fixing allegations is not acceptable." Shoaib Akhtar also told, in his autobiography, Controversially Yours, of his despair when one England player made accusations against Riaz during a net session. England's response to Riaz on the field will be keenly studied.

"I don't think there will be much need to turn them on against Pakistan," Newell concedes. "There are enough memories there. If it was England v Bangladesh in front of an empty crowd in Abu Dhabi, then maybe that would be more difficult. There should be enough feeling for it to be a hard-fought series. The pitches we played on were slow with not much carry and didn't deteriorate massively over the four days. Conditions were also pretty warm, so it was quite tough for bowlers and fielders. What you don't want are three dead games. That would be a nightmare for Test cricket."

The ICC will feel the same way. Plans are afoot for the UAE to have 10 good-class cricket grounds by 2014. Twelve countries applied last year for ICC development funding and only the UAE received it. It was quite a gift to one of the richest regions of the world.

• Pakistan v England 2011-12
• England cricket team
• Pakistan cricket team
• Cricket

David Hopps

guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/31/england-pakistan-test-series-emirates

Andy Hilbert Rob Hisey Joey Hishon Cody Hodgson

Rangers place Sean Avery on waivers in time for 24/7 finale

This season of "HBO 24/7" has been a lot of fun. The actors are interesting, the writers have invented a few compelling storylines; but what happened to that "Sean Avery" character?

You know, the one does fashion modeling on his off days? They introduced him in the first episode and then, like, he almost completely disappeared. Why it's like if "Gossip Girl" took Chuck Bass off the series after the pilot!*

From reality television to reality: Avery has been a healthy scratch for the last nine games, and it was just a matter of time before either he or fellow spare part Erik Christensen were dropped to the AHL. Katie Strang of ESPN New York reported on Friday that it's Avery that's been waived, again.

The 31-year-old pest's return to the Rangers was one of the most unexpected twists of the season. After his demotion to the Connecticut Whale on Oct. 4, his future in the NHL was in doubt ? Avery himself said he didn't expect to be back in the League this season.

The fans let it known they wanted Avery back with protests in MSG. When Mike Rupp was injured, Avery passed through re-entry waivers for an unexpected reunion with the Rangers and Coach John Tortorella, who said at the time of Avery's demotion that the Rangers simply had "better players" than the veteran winger.

In 15 regular season games, Avery averaged 7 minutes of ice time; in his final two games with the Rangers, he played 4:13 and 3:48 respectively. Tortorella soured on him over time. His necessity as a sparkplug player for the Rangers was diminished by their success on the ice and their overall work ethic. His greatest (only?) champion in the organization appeared to be Glen Sather.

Did he have an impact? Scotty Hockey, an Avery backer, tweets: "NYR 11-7-2 w/ Christensen in lineup this season, 11-3-1 with Avery - 140-92-32 career."

So it's back to the AHL, and who knows for how long. Avery wants to play in the NHL again; the coach of his parent team doesn't want him, but he's unrestricted next summer.

Farewell for now Sean Avery (unless of course you do something clownish in the AHL, in which case we'll meet again). You would have been scratched for the Winter Classic, but hopefully HBO gives you a nice send-off in the finale. Preferably in a scene with Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha at Fashion Week.

* I literally have no idea what this means.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Rangers-place-Sean-Avery-on-waivers-in-time-for-?urn=nhl-wp21142

Derek MacKenzie John Madden Adam Mair Manny Malhotra

Trending Topics: Scott Howson just checked the standings

Trending Topics is a new column that looks at the week in hockey 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?

On Tuesday night, the Columbus Blue Jackets lost to the Calgary Flames 2-1 in a shootout and that was enough for general manager Scott Howson.

When it comes to tinkering with the roster to improve the team, he said, "We'll be active."

Well isn't that refreshing?

The loss was Columbus' 27th of the season (including those in OT and the shootout) in 36 games. Their 37th game produced a victory, but at a high cost: Defenseman James Wisniewski broke his ankle and will miss six weeks.

Despite being one of the highest-paying teams in the league and going on a considerable offseason spending spree, the Blue Jackets have been nothing short of embarrassing for most of the season. A team spending to the cap having only nine wins at this point in the season is almost impossible to reckon, except we're seeing it happen.

And so now is the time Howson decides to make the trade? Not when the team's goal differential sank below minus-20 a few weeks ago? Not when the losses outnumbered the wins just 2-to-1? But after a late December shootout loss to a team that just beat Detroit and Vancouver on back-to-back nights?

His stated reason for this is that "the first six or seven weeks of the season, it was too disjointed." And to be fair the team did face a lot of injuries to key players like Jeff Carter or Kristian Huselius, and had to deal with the lengthy suspension of supposed power play quarterback Wisniewski.

But still, everyone on the planet was saying, "Well they have to do something," and Howson just stood there.

Every half-bad team in the league fired their coach and still Scott Arniel kept his job despite the bewilderment of the hockey world. He also said that wasn't something he's considering. Really.

"It was just too disjointed to get a clear picture," Howson said. "The picture is becoming clearer now. We aren't playing well enough and ? me as management has to find a solution to help the team."

This isn't closing the barn door after the horse got out; it's waiting until the horse was decapitated and had his head put in a movie executive's bed.

Columbus is dead in the water. Has been for two months now, after going 2-9-1 in October. Finished. Over. Done. The cutoff for the playoffs in the Western Conference last year was 97 points. Including last night's win against Dallas, the Blue Jackets now have 25 points and would therefore need 72 from their remaining 45 games to reach that level.

That would require them to win about 35 of their remaining games, if you figure they'll pick up a couple OT losses along the way.

In other words, it's not going to happen.

So seriously, why bother trying to improve the team on the trade market? For what possible reason should a team so deep in the cellar they're next to skeletons whose arms are still chained to the walls start selling off assets in a vain attempt to be competitive down the stretch? Run up the white flag. Finish the season out in a way that Edmonton would have been proud of in the last few years. That's the only reasonable way to improve the team at this point.

Howson also says, rather cryptically, that he'll consider pretty much anything, which is interesting. It's good, in a way, that no one on the team is safe, but it's also more than fair considering the team's leading scorer right now is Vinny Prospal and best goalie is ? no joke ?�Curtis Sanford. But still, the only thing Columbus should see as acceptable trades are those of veteran players for picks and prospects.

The players have done a bad job this year, as has the coach. And the general manager, to an extent, hasn't been able to do much. Columbus paid handsomely for something approaching top-end talent this year and before the season started, most would probably have said they did so wisely enough. The only blame the Howson faces, in my book, is that he waited far too long to pull the trigger on a decisive move to make his team competitive. That's a big problem, but not an unforgivable one.

Doing anything to improve the team for today, rather than the future, would be disastrous.

Sidney Crosby is now officially the Chili Cook-Off

Much was made this week of the fact that the planned two-game absence for Sidney Crosby after suffering what may or may not have been (but definitely was) a concussion has now stretched to eight games.

He's still experiencing symptoms too, though, and that always makes for some comical contortion from the media. "Every concussion case is different," is a generally accepted and oft-repeated thing media and fans alike say when guys like, I dunno, Guillaume Latendresse and Marcel Goc sit out a while with the issue.

But when they're told Crosby is taking his time coming back, that kind of sound logic goes out the window. Instead, every media member starts breathing heavily and stomping his feet and demanding that Crosby come back NOW. "Where's Crosby I wanna see him come back Coach Bylsma you're bein' mean just tell us come onnnnnnnnnnn."

I understand he's the best player alive and his return was awesome and we all love Sidney Crosby (except the idiots who don't) but, once again, it would be cool if everyone could be as understanding about his concussion as they are about the one suffered by Brian Rolston.

Who has one, by the way.

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 holiday traditions: "It's not Christmas until you've watched Ralphie go H.A.M on Scut Farkus."

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.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Trending-Topics-Scott-Howson-just-checked-the-s?urn=nhl-wp21186

Zach Bogosian Casey Borer Robert Bortuzzo Francis Bouillon

Video: Fan throws dead duck during Anaheim win in San Jose

In the third period of last night's Anaheim Ducks victory at the San Jose Sharks, something rather fowl left the stands and hit the ice: a dead mallard, tossed from the seats at HP Pavilion Arena.

As the video shows, the fan that tossed the deceased duck appeared to be rocking a teal jersey; so rather than an Anaheim fan attempting to establish some type of bird-based takeoff of the Detroit Red Wings octopus toss, this would appear to be a declarative statement from a San Jose fan that when Anaheim enters the Shark Tank, they're dead ducks.

So, naturally, the Ducks won the game, 3-2, snapping a 13-game road losing streak.

The faceoff was down the other end of the ice during this incident. Jonas Hiller skated out of his crease but wanted nothing to do with it. The on-ice officials picked it up and skated it over to the benches to disposal. (An aside: Between octopi and fish and ducks, NHL referees are second only to county road maintenance workers in the disposal of dead animals in high traffic areas.)

[Related: The top five NHL stories of 2011]

The Sharks fans cheered this scene, and why not? Once you've witnessed a shark with an octopus in its mouth hit the ice during a Stanley Cup Playoff game, a duck on the rink isn't going phase you. Our only question: Did it quack the ice? (Shamelessly stolen from Twitter last night.)

So, in summary: Octopi in Detroit and wherever the Detroit Red Wings play; catfish for the Nashville Predators; rats, thankfully rubber, for the Florida Panthers; a salmon during a Vancouver Canucks game; a chicken in Los Angeles; a snake, again thankfully rubber, for the Phoenix Coyotes; sharks in San Jose; and now, a duck.

[Related: Puck Daddy's top 10 Jersey Fouls for 2011]

We said it before, we'll say it again: What are you waiting for, Boston Bruins? Cowboy up ?

(s/t PHT for the video; reader Jordan C. for the photo.)

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? The biggest college football gaffes of 2011
? NFL playoff picture: Saints, Falcons could meet again
? Charity work saves Sixers' Lou Williams from a robbery attempt

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Fan-throws-dead-duck-during-Anaheim-win-i?urn=nhl-wp20841

Jeff Petry Dion Phaneuf Chris Phillips Alexandre Picard

Video: Joe Thornton offers Henrik Sedin the finger during taunt

Chippy game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, as the two Western Conference finalists and rivals went head-to-head in San Jose Wednesday night.

The Sharks don't much care for the Canucks (they're not alone there), and were willing to stop at nothing to win -- even going so far as to try rattling the Sedins with some schoolyard shenanigans. Check out Sharks captain Joe Thornton pulling the ol' pokey-poke on Canucks' captain Henrik Sedin during an exchange with the official:

Leadership, y'all.

I like Henrik Sedin's bemused chuckle near the end there. He's like,�This is so stupid.

Remind me never to accept a chocolate-covered pretzel from Joe Thornton. If he's not above the smell my finger approach, he's not above an old-school stinkpalm either ...

But one wonders: Since much of this bad blood stems from last year's postseason, was Thornton simply being a cheeky monkey, or was he paying homage to the finger-focused shenanigans of the Stanley Cup Final? Was this an invitation to bite right in front of the referee?

If so, Henrik Sedin's not your guy. You want his winger, Alex.

You'll recall, last spring, Alex Burrows accepted one such invitation, "allegedly" chomping down on Patrice Bergeron's digit like it was a trois mousquetaires barre de chocolat. (That's a Three Musketeers chocolate bar, if you're Randy Cunneyworth.)

This, of course, led to Bergeron extending his bloodied finger to the referees like Seymour feeding Audrey II in�Little Shop of Horrors, and when none of the officials would bite -- pun fully intended -- we got two games of finger-wagging not unlike Thornton's above.

First, there was Maxim Lapierre, offering Bergeron the even-up nibble:

Then the Bruins took to the meme with aplomb, as both Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic got into the act. Here's Recchi:

And here's Lucic:

Shortly after all of this, Mike Murphy issued a decree that the next guy pulling this crap would be suspended. And considering the free-wheeling way with which the interim disciplinarian dealt with Aaron Rome, well, it was enough to end the practice. (He was totally unpredictable. How many games for a finger taunt? One? One hundred?)

But that was then. Now? Joe Thornton's bringing the finger back.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Joe-Thornton-offers-Henrik-Sedin-the-fing?urn=nhl-wp20988

Nick Spaling Jason Spezza Ryan Spooner Eric Staal

Puck Headlines: Classic gossip; Crosby voted down; Seguin hacked

Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

? Via the Flyers, here's the mask Sergei Bobrovsky will wear when he inevitably starts the Winter Classic ahead of Ilya Bryzgalov's fragile psyche.

? The Winter Classic alumni game has been pushed back to 3 p.m. on Saturday due to concerns about the sun. [Broad Street Hockey]

? Patrick Kane on his one goal in the last nine games: "It's something I'm worried about, something I'm trying to figure out and maybe get hot for the rest of the season." [Daily Herald]

? Really interesting stuff about the role of the enforcer from Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk, and about Eric Godard: "When we signed Eric, the thought was that we didn't want players like Jamie Benn or Brenden Morrow or Sheldon Souray to have to fight. If teams were taking liberties with Jamie Benn, we wanted to have the option of allowing someone else to step in. But, as the season has gone on and with so much emphasis on hits to the head and concussions, that player just hasn't been seen as much.'' [Heika]

? Dater really made a great case about the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche playing outdoors until he mentioned Tim Tebow. [SI]

? George Richards explains why a Winter Classic in Miami isn't the craziest idea. [On Frozen Pond]

? VERSUS ratings via Steve Lepore. Just put on the Flyers and Sabres every week and you'll be fine. [Puck The Media]

? The latest NHL All-Star Game fan balloting numbers are in: Sidney Crosby is out of the top three forwards, as Phil Kessel, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza are in the lead. Erik Karlsson and Dion Phaneuf are leading for defensemen. Tim Thomas has pushed past James Reimer for goalies. The NHL must be thrilled that apparently only about five markets still care about fan voting (we'll toss Detroit in there for the Jimmy Howard write-in campaign). [Senators]

? Minnesota Wild fans are still steamed over the non-punishment of Cody McLeod and the Brendan Shanahan rationale behind it. [Hockey Wilderness]

? Looking back at the year that was for the Washington Capitals. [Japers' Rink]

? Alas, someone figured out Tyler Seguin's password on Twitter and sparked a meme.

? Ron Cook's snippy column about Jaromir Jagr: "Things are going well for Jagr and the Flyers now. You wonder how he'll be when things aren't going his or the team's way. How will he be if the puck stops going in for him or if his ice time gets cut? Maybe he really has changed, if you believe Laviolette. But I'm not buying it." [Post-Gazette]

? Another brick in the wall: Ken Hitchcock said Blues forward Alexander Steen will miss Friday's game vs. Nashville with concussion-like symptoms. (Also, Kris Russell is on injured reserve.) [Blues]

? The sale talks for the St. Louis Blues are reaching a critical deadline, and there's pessimism all around that Matthew Hulsizer's group can beat it. [STL Today]

? As Jarome Iginla chases 500, Daniel Alfredsson chases 400. And they could happen in the same game. [Senators]

? The top 50 Vancouver Canucks goals for the last year. [PITB]

? Mike Weaver gets a 2-year extension with the Florida Panthers. [Litter Box Cats]

? Jim Matheson shakes his fist at Twitter. [Edmonton Journal]

? Dowbiggin on Donald Fehr: "Bur Fehr will also understand the weaknesses in a large-market ownership that played loyal last time only to get whacked by certain provisions in the collective agreement. He has seen the $2.1-billion (U.S.) in U.S. TV money and other revenue streams grow. Which could make him a man to dispassionately parlay with on issues ? so long as he's able to ride the membership tiger." [Globe & Mail]

? Finally, here's NHL ice guru Dan Craig working around the sun to prepare for the game.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Headlines-Classic-gossip-Crosby-voted-dow?urn=nhl-wp21176

Louis Leblanc Vincent Lecavalier David Legwand Mark Letestu

Mississippi State Vs. Wake Forest Score: Vick Ballard Breakaway Gives Bulldogs 23-14 Lead

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2011/12/30/2671749/mississippi-state-vs-wake-forest-score-vick-ballard-breakaway-gives

Jiri Tlusty Jonathan Toews Tyler Toffoli Mathieu Tousignant

Eric Lindros not looking back as he makes Philadelphia return

PHILADELPHIA, PA --�As the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers prepare for Monday's Winter Classic, the build up to Saturday's Alumni Game has revolved around the return of a legend.

Eric Lindros' bitter divorce from the Flyers in 2001, and long-time public feud with Bobby Clarke, put a sour end to a promising beginning for the former prospect dubbed "The Next One".�But on Friday afternoon, Lindros stood on the field at Citizen Bank Park all smiles and speaking excitedly about coming back and wearing a Flyers jersey once again.

"It'll be great," said Lindros. "It'll be the orange and black. It's been a while since I pulled on a Flyers jersey. It would mean a lot to me."

Lindros' return back into Flyers' fold has been a slow unfolding process. In 2008, the ex-Flyers captain left a video message for the fans as the organization honored the franchise's former captains during ceremonies marking the closing of The Spectrum.

Then in August, as word started leaking out that the Flyers would be participating in the Winter Classic, GM Paul Holmgren reached out to Lindros and invited him to play.

The appearance by Lindros on the ice in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon is the final page being turned and book getting closed on the once-bitter relationship between him and the organization, specifically Clarke. The former Flyers GM softened his stance towards Lindros over the years and even�trumpeted No. 88's Hall of Fame credentials in 2007.

Lindros himself is past the point of thinking "What if?" regarding the premature ending of his career and the off-the-ice distractions that took place.

"What's the point?," said Lindros. "I don't see any merit it looking back and questioning the past."

Rekindling the fond memories of his days as a Flyer will be easy when he's flanked by one of his "Legion of Doom" linemates, John LeClair. Unfortunately, the trio will be not together on Saturday as Mikael Renberg is working on Swedish television as a broadcaster for the World Junior Championships.

"We had a great deal of fun," he said. "We really did enjoy playing with one another and pushing each other."

Lindros hasn't completely given up the game. He said he plays twice a week, but joked, "It's a little slower, but a whole lot of fun."

The Flyers and the Rangers met twice in the playoffs during Lindros' time in Philadelphia, winning both series 4-0 and 4-1, respectively. He said he expects the rivalry between the two teams from the past to come into play during the Alumni Game.

"I'm sure things will pick up once the game gets going," said Lindros.

"I'll be honest with you, I think it'll be some pretty good hockey."

Photo credit: Canadian Press

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Eric-Lindros-not-looking-back-as-he-makes-Philad?urn=nhl-wp21184

Artem Anisimov Nik Antropov John Armstrong Tyler Arnason

What We Learned: Fun while it lasted, but here come the Canucks

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.

As of right now, the Minnesota Wild still lead their division. But it seems like the clock is just a tick or two from midnight.

That's because the Canucks are at long last recovering from their excruciatingly slow start, at the exact time the Wild's incredible run of early-season success is fading from memory.

Through Nov. 4 the Canucks were 6-7-1 and Roberto Luongo was being pelted with garbage on the streets of Vancouver (and all of it was getting by him). His start was really, really bad and that was reflected in the standings. On that day, the Canucks were 10th in the Western Conference and fourth in the Northwest behind division-leading Edmonton (remember those days?!), Minnesota and Colorado. But since that day, the reigning Western Conference champions have played like it.

In a turnaround that's near-Bruinslike in its impressiveness, the Canucks have rattled off a 15-5-1 record in their last 21, and more or less erased all doubts as to who will be winning that division ?�and probably that conference ? come April.

The Wild, meanwhile, can blame injuries and whatever else they like on their current run, in which they've won none of their last six, but really, it's time for them and their fans to start being honest with themselves.

Even with the very nice offseason acquisitions of Dany Heatley and half the other Sharks, this never seemed like a team that should be the best in the Northwest, let alone leading the West and indeed the entire NHL as it did.

The Wild seemed to luck into an awful lot of wins despite a dreadful power play (as is their wont, historically) and their tendency to get outshot by wide margins nearly every time they've gone out this season.

(Coming Up: Ron Wilson is a pain in the ass; Jason Chimera leads the Caps in scoring; Steve Yzmerman wont blow up Lightning; Stan Bowman wants to shuffle a good deck; Karlsson's simple tastes; Darryl Sutter's ill-suited debut; Kim Jong-Un could coach the Habs; using the holidays to feel better about Columbus; the Ducks lead the league in self-pity; Ruutu's tip; the Bruins are unstoppable; Kari Lehtonen hearts Steve Ott; Dubinsky seeks resurgence; and some World Juniors trash talk.)

There was a stretch earlier this season where they won seven games in a row while being outshot by about 10 SOG per night, on average. It's unsustainable and insane that they were able to keep things going that long. Not that being short Mikko Koivu, Devin Setoguchi and Guillaume Latendresse for an extended period of time isn't a huge blow to a low-offense team, obviously.

The team was also extremely fortunate to get the schedule it did so far this year. The Wild played 14 of their first 24 games at home, and have seen that even out considerably in the last few weeks, as nine of their last 12 have been on the road. That will wear on any team, especially one with injuries. Which goes a long way toward explaining this current four-game road losing streak in which they've looked downright awful. Only having 42 goals for in 19 road games (good for 19th in the league), though, is no way to win over the course of a season. Neither is having 40 in 17 home games.

This was a team playing well above its head for the first two or three months of the season, and as nice as it was to see, things are returning to their natural order. The Sedins are once again scoring like madmen with 38 combined points in December, and consequently the power play is once again tops in the league at 25.7 percent (3.2 points better than second-best Nashville). Ryan Kesler continues to be a dominant all-around forward that's among the best at his job in the National Hockey League. And, perhaps most importantly, Roberto Luongo hasn't turned in a bad performance in nearly a month.

Minnesota, much like Colorado did a few years ago, has probably built enough of a case for itself as a playoff team that, even if they were to collapse back to earth in the fashion most have come to expect, they're probably safe enough to make the playoffs. Based on last year's threshold, they'll only need 42 more points from their remaining 46 games. That's doable for even a mediocre team, which is something the Wild decidedly are. The good news for the Wild is that the Northwest Division is probably big enough for the both of them.

The good news for the rest of us is that, just in time for the New Year, the NHL is starting to make sense again.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks lead the league in feeling sorry for yourself. "If you're not winning, it's tough to feel good about yourself," sulked�Jonas Hiller.�"You need that experience of having success to start feeling good about yourself.�On the other hand, when we had a couple�of good games, we always were never able to keep that good feeling and we kind of found a way to lose again." They have five wins since Oct. 17.

Boston Bruins: The Bruins started the season 3-7-0, and since then have gone 20-2-1. Remarkable. And the two regulation losses were consecutive. During this 23-game stretch, they've outscored opponents 95-38. What?

Buffalo Sabres: Thomas Vanek might play later today against Washington but he's day-to-day with an upper body injury that held him out of Thursday's game with Toronto.

Calgary Flames: Nobody make any sudden movements to scare them off, but the Flames have won their last two games. Against Detroit and Vancouver. They're 9-3-3 in their last 15 if you can believe it.

Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes turned in a strong performance in Friday's game with Ottawa but still needed overtime to pull out a W. Tuomo Ruutu with a nice tip-in for the game-winner though.

Chicago Blackhawks: Stan Bowman is already looking to work a bunch of trades to make his team better. Because teams that are 8-1-1 in their last 10 and have the most points in the league need to get aggressive.

Colorado Avalanche: Would you have guessed that the Avalanche are an awesome home team all of a sudden? They've won eight in a row at Pepsi Center after starting the season 4-9-0 there.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Talk about a bummer holiday message -- "If you can't get pucks out of your mind for two whole days, strip away the record, the results ... the reality of this season. Instead, think about how cool it is that Columbus has an NHL franchise, that the best players in the world play here." Well?

Dallas Stars: There's a heartwarming story about how Steve Ott and Kari Lehtonen first met at the World Juniors tournament. "I played against him two years," Lehtonen said. I don't remember which game it was, but he was shooting at me while I was trying to stretch during the warmups. He kept shooting pucks at me." Which just goes to show how low-rent the Canadian junior team is.

Detroit Red Wings Presented by Amway: The only thing Mike Babcock liked about the team's swing through Western Canada was the play of Darren Helm, Danny Cleary and Drew Miller. That's a really bad sign.

Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers snapped a four-game losing streak against Minnesota on Thursday and now face a colossal seven-game road trip. The fact that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle have just 30 points on the road this season (compared with 62 at home) won't help matters.

Florida Panthers: Will Jason Garrison be selected as an all-star? I sure hope so. He leads defensemen in goals this season with 10. That number would put him tied for 75th among forwards, beside the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Anze Kopitar and Rick Nash.

Los Angeles Kings: Darryl Sutter is 1-0 as Kings coach and was even almost affable. "I told them, you guys have to pay attention, I'll get Mike Richards and Brad Richardson mixed up," he said. Of course, he also wore an ugly suit for the game, so some things never change.

Minnesota Wild: Jason Zucker, a Wild prospect, has been named captain of the US World Junior team, making him the world's greatest U20 player. He is wonderful and cool and we should all love him and support him.

Montreal Canadiens: Great article about how ridiculous the Canadiens coaching situation is. It posits that Mitt Romney, who once lived in France, and Kim Jong-Un, who claims to be able to speak many languages, could be candidates at season's end.

Nashville Predators: Beautiful pass from Colin Wilson to set up this David Legwand goal on Friday night.

New Jersey Devils: On Friday, Anton Volchenkov took a shot off the face. Or would have, except he was wearing a visor. What a novel concept. Wearing a plastic thing over your face keeps things from hitting your face. "Weird," says Chris Pronger and Marty St. Louis.

New York Islanders: Isles prospect Ryan Strome wants to make a difference at World Juniors, which start today. Too bad he is Canadian and therefore the worst.

New York Rangers: Brandon Dubinsky has just two goals and 16 points in 33 games this season but might be ready to break out. He says it's because he wasn't moving his legs enough. Hockey players are adorable.

Ottawa Senators: Erik Karlsson has gotten some nice Christmas gifts since moving to North America to play in the NHL, but his favorite came from Dany Alfredsson's family. "A T-shirt my first year. I wear it all the time." A man of extremely simple tastes.

Philadelphia Flyers: It's not gonna snow in Philly for the Winter Classic. Best part of the article is this though: "For the NHL, the challenge is to figure out which market receives the event." It's true. The event has to be both In the Eastern Conference (since Chicago already got one), more specifically, in the Northeast or Atlantic, in a city with a large outdoor stadium, not in New York City, and in America. There are as many as FOUR cities that can host this thing!

Phoenix Coyotes: Keith Tkachuk was honored by the Coyotes on Friday, and says he's enjoying retirement immensely. "That low center of gravity's not little anymore," Tkachuk said.

Pittsburgh Penguins: How about the Crosby-less play of Evgeni Malkin, huh? Since Sid went back on the shelf after Dec. 5, Malkin has 6-10-16 in seven games. Real strong.

San Jose Sharks: The Sharks have won four straight and are tied for the division lead, but I feel like we haven't heard much about them this year. It's not like they've even been especially bad for long stretches. Very strange.

St. Louis Blues: Andy McDonald skated on Friday, which was his first time on the ice since suffering a concussion on Oct. 13. He's missed 31 games after taking the knock, which was his second concussion in 10 months.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Steve Yzerman says that just because the team stinks this year doesn't mean he's going to blow it up. If anything, he thinks the Bolts can still compete for the playoffs and will try to improve them.

Toronto Maple Leafs: No one on earth is a bigger or better pain in the ass to his team's fans than Ron Wilson, who tweeted on Christmas morning, "'He came! He came!' Remember saying that as a little kid? Well he did: I got a new Red Ryder BB gun and a contract extension!" Genius.

Vancouver Canucks: Henrik Sedin is now tied with Brendan Morrison for the Canucks' all-time iron man with 534 straight games played. The last time he missed a game was before the lockout.

Washington Capitals: People still can't believe that Jason Chimera is the Caps' leading goalscorer, and rightly so I guess. He's two ahead of Alex Ovechkin.

Winnipeg Jets: The Jets are two points out of a playoff spot but it seems even the cheerleader Winnipeg media is finally getting an understanding of what this team actually is.

Gold Star Award

Know who gets this ahead of World Juniors? America does. Go America. Crush your foreign enemies.

Minus of the Weekend

Canada. I mean just look at them. Gross and awful, the lot of them.

Play of the Weekend

Benoit Pouliot is starting to look like a $1.1 million bargain for the Bruins.

He has goals in his last three games and is playing spectacular all-around hockey.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Week

User "Hulk Hogan" has a great idea.

To Tampa:

Derek Roy
Ville Leino

To Buffalo:
Vincent Lecavalier

I love it, brother!

Signoff
Why are you acting insane and threatening to cut my throat?!

Ryan Lambert publishes hockey awesomeness rather infrequently 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.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/What-We-Learned-Fun-while-it-lasted-but-here-c?urn=nhl-wp20724

Frederic St. Denis Marc Staal Garrett Stafford Steve Staios

Friday?s Three Stars: Brad Marchand?s 5-point party

No. 1 Star: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

Marchand had both his first career hat trick and first career 5-point night in the Bruins' 8-0 curb-stomping of the Florida Panthers, their sixth straight win. Marchand opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal; assisted on Dennis Seidenberg's goal to make it 4-0; assisted on Gregory Campbell's goal to make it 5-0; and then scored the Bruins' final two goals in the third to send Santa hats to the ice. Marchand finished with a plus-5; he has 15 goals on the season.

No. 2 Star: Leland Irving, Calgary Flames

Calgary's backup goalie won his first NHL game, 3-1, over the Vancouver Canucks with a 29-save performance. He made a huge stop on Daniel Sedin in the third to preserve the lead. The teams waited until the third period to get offensive; in the end, the Flames outscored the Canucks on goals by Curtis Glencross, Mikael Backlund and Olli Jokinen.

No. 3 Star: Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche star snuck a shot past Mathieu Garon at 3:38 of overtime to give Colorado a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Said Duchene: "I think he thought that I was past the net when I fired it. I don't think it was on the right angle but I just threw it and it found its way in. A bit of luck there." J.S. Giguere made 29 saves in the win. Colorado has now won eight straight games at home, a team record.

Honorable mention: After Logan Couture and Mike Richards traded goals in regulation, Ryane Clowe's goal and Antti Niemi's saves in the shootout gave the San Jose Sharks a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. ? Clarke MacArthur scored a goal and assisted on Carl Gunnarsson's tally as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Islanders, 5-3. Joey Crabb had a key shorthanded goal in the second period, and Joffrey Lupul scored his 16th into an empty net. John Tavares scored his 11th in the loss. ? The Washington Capitals rallied with three goals in the third period, but the New Jersey Devils won in the shootout, 4-3, thanks to goals by Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias, and a terrific save by Martin Brodeur (22 saves). Brooks Laich had a goal and an assists for a plus-3. ?� Stu Bickel assisted on first-period goals by Derek Stepan and Ruslan Fedotenko while Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves in the New York Rangers' 4-2 win over their Winter Classic foes the Philadelphia Flyers. Marian Gaborik scored his 21st of the season. Bickel now has as many points (four) in three NHL games as he had in the AHL in 27 games this season. ?� Tuomo Ruutu's tip in front on a Jay Harrison shot gave the Carolina Hurricanes a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators:

James Neal scored goal No. 20, Chris Kunitz had two assists and the Pittsburgh Penguins limited the Winnipeg Jets to 19 shots in their 4-1 victory. ? First-period goals by Vernon Fiddler, Loui Eriksson and Steve Ott chased Pekka Rinne; Mike Ribeiro's second-period tally ended a Nashville Predators' rally to help lead the Dallas stars to a 6-3 win. Michael Ryder had three points. ? Matt D'Agostini� had a goal and an assist and Brian Elliott made 24 saves in the St. Louis Blues' 3-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. Alex Steen scored his team-leading 12th on Keith Tkachuk night for the Coyotes. Tyler Seguin and Zdeno Chara were both a plus-4. Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for the shutout. ? Dan Bylsma wore this beauty under his suit jacket.

Fight of the Night: Brandon Prust fights Marc-Andre Bourdon because HBO was filming it:

Did you know? Bruins national anthem singer Rene Rancourt sang Christmas carols during the break between the second and third periods.

Dishonorable mention: Jose Theodore was pulled after giving up four goals in 14 shots in the first. ? Tomas Fleischmann was a minus-4 for the Panthers. ? Rinne was chased after giving up four goals on seven shots in 12:30. ? Six different Predators were a minus-3. ? Ray Whitney earned a misconduct at the end of the game for Phoenix.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Friday-s-Three-Stars-Brad-Marchand-s-5-point-pa?urn=nhl-wp20687

Dainius Zubrus Jonas Ahnelov Andrew Alberts Yury Alexandrov