Here are your Evening Puck Headlines and Previews: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.
Preview: New York Islanders at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. EST; TV: MSG2, KSTC). Which one is more fragile: Marian Gaborik or a sexy leg lamp, a.k.a. major award? He's feeling "discomfort" and was the first player to leave practice for Minnesota, which is making the whole "make an impact trade to save the season" thing difficult for the front office. We don't want to say Gaborik's breakable, but he was last seen placing a bomb on a train in an attempt to find Bruce Willis.
• With Mats Sundin in the fold, Vancouver Canucks Coach Alain Vigneault is taking his time to figure who will play with the Swedish star. Hopefully, he's taken our suggestion of Darcy Hordichuk and a returning Jason Krog under advisory. [Financial Post]
• Interesting notes from the Sundin conference call today: Playing in Canada was a factor in his decision, Vancouver was always the first choice and that he hasn't thought about the Olympics yet. [Waiting for Stanley]
• Defenseman Sami Salo of the Canucks will miss a month with a broken rib. [CBC]
Preview: Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. EST; TV: RSN, MSG). No John Madden or Bryce Salvador for the Devils this evening. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Citizen suggests that it's time to blow up the Senators and theorizes that even with the Pizza Line's no-trade clauses (Jason Spezza's starts next summer), they might be open to leaving a sagging franchise. Sens Army isn't sure where to start the demolition.
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• The NHL has stood by that absurd "throwing the goalie stick" call against Mike Smith in the Tampa Bay Lightning's shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche last night. As if a Bettman-run League would ever admit fault about anything except caring too much. [Bolts Report]
• The Buffalo Sabres will host a "Roaring Twenties Speakeasy Party" for charity in February. As usual, no one knows if Maxim Afinogenov will show up. [Sabres]
• USA Today is quite high on the ratings potential for the Winter Classic. [USA Today]
Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: FSW, MSG). The way these two teams play, this could be one of those hidden gems of an inter-conference game. Jason LaBarbera gets the call tonight for the Kings, but Coach Terry Murray has a goaltending plan in mind for the rest of the road trip. Jonathan Quick is a pretty pointless name for a goalie, no?
• It's DC vs. Philly weekend, and Bruce Boudreau said there's "not a lot of like" between the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers. [Capitals Insider]
• Meanwhile, the injury news isn't so swell for Alexander Semin. "I think that maybe my nerve was hit. And now it is squeezed. I can hardly walk. I have no clue how many games I am going to miss." Sounds like the Caps are back on Semin Time. [On Frozen Blog]
Preview: Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. EST; TV: KDOC, OPPV). Yes! Ducks and Oil! Kevin Lowe and Brian Burke their pride on the line in a battle of ... sigh ... we sort of miss this rivalry already. Does it carry over to the Leafs or not? Jonas Hiller vs. Dwayne Roloson tonight, as per Goalie Post.
• The Baby Penguins and Hershey Bears were snowed out tonight. Sounds like an awful children's book. [The Red Skate]
• The Pittsburgh Penguins traded 30-goal AHL scorer Jonathan Filewich to the St. Louis Blues, and the Blues seem pretty stoked to have him. [Hockey Guy]
Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. EST; TV: CSNC, RSW, Yahoo! Sports). Chicago is looking for its longest winning streak in seven years tonight in Calgary. Nikolai Khabibulin gets the call in goal. But honestly, enough about that: WWE Diva Maria is a Blackhawks fan. Following in the grand tradition of The Fabulous Moolah, who was a puck bunny for the 1915 Vancouver Millionaires.
• After they placed Jussi Jokinen on waivers, Tapeleg is fairly convinced that the Lightning are trying to "Hire, Fire Entire League." [Jerseys and Hockey Love]
• Finally, next week is Christmas, which is awesome. Here are the CHL major junior Portland (OR) Winter Hawks talking about the best presents they ever received. We're especially fond of the guy whose shirt matches the green screen, so it appears as though it's snowing in his chest cavity.