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.
• Yeah, so things aren't exactly going as planned for Bob Gainey and the Montreal Canadiens. Hey, at least if they miss the playoffs, the summer will be a nice time to relax and ... wait, unrestricted free-agent hell? Oh, crap. [THN]
• BeeGee diagnoses the Habs with a case of grinchscardiomyopathy, which explains why their hearts are now two sizes too small. [Habs And Habs Not!]
• Meanwhile, Robbie pens one of the most scathing pieces we've read during the Montreal Centennial Collapse: "We've been through 5 coaches in the last 10 years. This team has become a joke. The leading scorer on the team is a defense man. We have two 20 goal scorer, a captain who has done nothing in the way of winning (minus his personal health and injury battles) A bunch of Russian mafia types (that's a play on the media hype that turned out to be nothing involving a few of the Russian players). We have an over hyped, over his head 21 year old goalie. And a bunch of other guys that nobody else in any town outside of Quebec could name." [SomethingAboutNothing]
• Great look at the AHL coaches who have gone on to instant NHL success, as the Ottawa Senators' Cory Clouston and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma join Bruce Boudreau in this trend. It might be something the Montreal Canadiens might want to look into this summer ... provided they can find a French-speaking AHL coach who used to play for the Montreal Canadiens. [CBC Sports]
• Can Hockeytown still be Hockeytown if there are empty seats for Detroit Red Wings games? [Snapshots]
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• Damien Cox finds it interesting that three of the Top 10 players in the NHL are Russian, despite the fact that Russian participation in the NHL is on the decline. "Considering the overall Russian numbers in the league, that's pretty good bang for the ruble." And who doesn't like a good bang for a ruble? [Toronto Star]
• The Tampa Bay Lightning love their fans so much, they're holding Fan Appreciation Days down the stretch. Season-ticket giveaways and, for some lucky fan, the chance to be the team's third-pairing left defenseman. [Lightning Strikes]
• It may be time for someone to create the Philadelphia Flyers line generator. [Philly.com]
• Have the RBK Edge Uniform Systems actually done a damn thing to help the players compete more effectively? [Dallas Stars Blog]
• Zandberg wonders if the Vancouver Canucks are peaking too soon, and takes a look back at previous Stanley Cup champions' play down the stretch. [Nucks Misconduct]
• Mirtle discovers an interesting trend: Average games lost to injury are on a subtle, creeping rise since the lockout. Clearly, this calls for more widespread use of amphetamines. [From the Rink]
• Over? Did they say over? Nothing is over until the St. Louis Blues decide it is. [St. Louis Game Time]
• Hey, Steven Stamkos finally did something notable: Injuring Mike Green of the Washington Capitals. [Capitals Insider]
• Meanwhile, the Capitals called up Quintin Laing before last night's game. And now Quintin Laing is out with a torn spleen. Yowzer. [Capitals]
• How bad was the Colorado Avalanche's 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers last night? A little context: "You'd have to go all the way back to December of 1992, when the Nordiques lost to Patrick Roy and the Habs by an 8-3 score, to find the last time the franchise gave up eight goals in a home game." Incredibly, there are at least three players from the Nords team still (sort of) playing in the NHL. [Jibblescribbits]
• Two the few dozen readers that sent in the video of that lovely lass in Florida doing the can-can near the glass: We received the red light on posting it here. You know how we say "PG-13" for the contests? Yeah, that clip wasn't. You probably know where to find it, if you haven't seen it already.
• Finally, Jarkko Ruutu scores a goal that Jarkko Ruutu has no business scoring in Ottawa's win over Montreal, causing Sun Media reporter Don Brennan to make a "Happy Gilmore" reference in his lede about Carey Price.
