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.
• Previews for the Washington Capitals/Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings/Anaheim Ducks coming up today. Also, coverage of the just-announced Jack Adams Award finalists: San Jose Sharks Coach Todd McLellan, Boston Bruins Coach Claude Julien and St. Louis Blues Coach Andy Murray. As if Brent Sutter's week wasn't already pretty crappy.
• Big news ahead of Game 1 in the Detroit/Anaheim conference semifinal: Brian Rafalski will miss tonight's tilt with an "upper body injury," clearing the way for veteran Chris Chelios to see his first action of the playoffs. Chelios has some unique insight on the Ducks, having witnessed most of the species' evolutionary process first-hand. [On The Wings]
• Ken Campbell wonders if the Bruins are fat and happy after beating the Habs, and if Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are tough enough to beat the Ducks. [THN]
• Good to see the New Jersey Devils are taking things well: Captain Jamie Langenbrunner was wearing "a white T-shirt with a picture of the Hindenburg going in flames on it." He claimed it was a coincidence. [Fire & Ice]
• Mine eyes have seen the glory of this Jack Edwards profile in the Boston Globe. [Globe]
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• The Legend of Milan Lucic grows: Here's footage of the Boston Bruins winger as a teenage boxer in Canada. His opponent appears to be implementing some Semin-esque "You brute! You brute!" slap fighting at times. [WEEI, via Eagle Tribune; thanks to Rhonda, Buzz Killington and Two-Line for the tips.]
• Claude Julien believes that the story of goalie Tim Thomas should make an excellent Hollywood movie one day. And really, after "Celtic Pride" and "Fever Pitch," who doesn't want to see another depiction of Boston sports on the big screen? [NHL]
• OK people, for the last time: It's "Sim-YOHN var-LAHM-ov." Point of debate: Can "From Russia With Glove" actually be considered a nickname, Associated Press? [AP]
• "Only Canucks remain as Canada's hope for a Cup." So you're saying there's a chance ... [NHL]
• Looking back at the mistakes made in the Chicago Blackhawks' valiant rally but ultimate defeat to the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1. And, perhaps, wondering if a goalie that hasn't beaten Vancouver since 1998 has some sort of weird voodoo going on. [Chicago Tribune]
• In case you were concerned that last night's loss might temper the hype over the Blackhawks, fear not: They were compared to the Gretzky Oilers today. In Edmonton, no less. [Edmonton Sun]
• If it's any consolation, our poll would have had Sullivan as a Leaf. [TSN; thanks to Hornz Over Halos]
• Bubba takes on the Northerners who are dissing Carolina Hurricanes fans, feeling that perhaps there's a bit of jealously over the fact that the Carolina's been slightly more successful than some of the Original Sixers lately. [Canes Country]
• Kevin Allen of USA Today with some hot stove hockey talk: No to trades of Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk; maybe to trades of Vincent Lecavalier and Joe Thornton. [USA TODAY]
• After learning that Mike Richards played through an injury in the Philadelphia Flyers/Pittsburgh Penguins series, now comes word that Jeff Carter had a separated shoulder. Flyers fans: "I can has do-over LOL?" [Philly.com]
• TSN's Darren Dreger on how the Ducks can win the series: "If the Ducks are aggressive and balance their aggression in a manner that limits the number of penalties they take, there is a sense the 8th seed in the West may grind the Red Wings down if the series goes six or seven games." So don't be dumb and be tough then? [TSN]
• Dave Dameshek does it again: The Jonathan Cheechoo/Teemu Selanne "Tears in Heaven" parody. [BoC]
• For the stat-heads, an interesting piece by Jonathan Willis about what flashes of brilliance in international competition mean for a player's value. [Copper & Blue]
• We informed out buddies at Deadspin last month that the Alexander Ovechkin "strip club receipt" we had received roughly 10 billion times over email was a fake. Kudos to Dashiell Bennett for taking the investigation public, and meticulously explaining why a candid intoxication photo and a random bar tab were the stuff of Internet hoaxes. [Deadspin]
• Oh, and memo to Gary Loewen of the Toronto Sun: Just because you read it first on a blog doesn't mean you can lift the Ovechkin/strip club news wholesale for your column without attribution a day later. What a joke. [Toronto Sun]
• Finally, if you haven't seen this yet, an absolutely cringe-worthy interview between ESPN's Barry Melrose and Alexander Ovechkin, in which Ovie does discuss his relationship with Sidney Crosby off the ice. [H/T OFB]
