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.
• Attention Twitter fans: Here are the details on the NHL's Tweetups for the playoffs. Mix, mingle, trade computer crashing stories. [NHL Tweetup]
• A combination of the piss-poor economy and fat-and-happy first-round fans is blamed for the Detroit Red Wings reaching out to the Columbus Blue Jackets' "Jacket Backers" club with a deep discount on tickets at the Joe. [Columbus Dispatch, H/T Ryan.]
• Giant snarling octopus porn. [NBC LA]
• Presenting the Detroit Red Wings All-Nemesis Team. [Triple Deke]
• The NCAA Frozen Four title game on ESPN pulls a bigger rating than the Red Wings and Blackhawks on NBC. And while some may see this as an argument for the NHL to return to ESPN, we see it as a validation that the world needs more Gary Thorne/Barry Melrose magic on the mic. [Puck The Media]
Sports
• Happy Post-Lottery Euphoria Day to all of our New York Islanders friends. Chris Botta writes that John Tavares should be the man but credits the Islanders for not playing that hand yet. [NYI Point Blank]
• Is Tavares "the best salesman Charles Wang could ever recruit for his $3-billion Nassau Coliseum development plan called the Lighthouse?" [Newsday]
• That said, Lighthouse Hockey writes that it would be a "defensible hockey decision to go with [defenseman Viktor] Hedman" with the top pick, in a great rundown of the lottery last night. [Lighthouse Hockey]
• Meanwhile, that Brian Burke/Toronto Maple Leafs push for Tavares doesn't mean a thing to B.D. Gallof, who believes it's 10 kinds of stupid for the Islanders to give up Tavares. [Islanders Independent]
• Great moments in Montreal Canadiens diving history. Just a reminder that before Mike Ribeiro was a shootout hot dog, he was a notorious Louganis. In the sense that he would dive a lot. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
• Versus increases its online Stanley Cup playoffs coverage by having Dwayne "Eklund" Klessel as a guest analyst in a content swap with HockeyBuzz. Congrats to all involved. [Versus]
• Because of the combination of intense public scrutiny and the fact that he's no longer bulletproof, this might be Bob Gainey's last few moments in an official capacity with the Montreal Canadiens, writes Elliotte Friedman. [CBC Sports]
• Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin discusses winning a major Russian award and how he handles his critics. [Japers Rink]
• Caps Playoff Education ...Through Metallica. [Hangar 39]
• For the Lindsay Czarniak fetishists in the audience (you know who you are), here she is having lunch with Brooks Laich. [NBC]
• Arguing that along with protection, hockey equipment should be stylin' and profilin', too. [The Good Point]
• Hockey Rodent, one of our favorite sites for several years, has a "rally brick" that New York Rangers fans can print out and build in order to toss in frustration during the postseason. It's a great idea, seeing as how throwing a real brick at Wade Redden would be frowned upon by the authorities. [Hockey Rodent]
• Banging the drum again for a second NHL team in Toronto, and using the conflicted loyalties in double-teamed cities as an argument: "Leafs fans would therefore not be the same as a second Toronto team's fans. This would be good financial news for manufacturers of hockey jerseys and caps, media event coordinators for autograph signings, and the like." So you're saying there'd be twice as many fans to hate for the other 29 franchises? [Toronto Sun, H/T Puck buddy Mike L.]
• Nashville Predators GM David Poile said that he plans to meet with scoring winger Alexander Radulov soon in an effort to lure the NHL deserter back to North America. You know, the KHL's going to have a hell of a time selling this world domination thing if Radulov and Jagr are back in the NHL by next spring. [On the Forecheck]
• From the Slightly Getting Ahead of Yourselves Dept.: Willie Mitchell is thinking about a Vancouver Canucks parade route. [Edmonton Sun, via KK]
• Hanging with the Bros. Niedermayer. [NHL.com]
• The Top 10 Keys for the Calgary Flames if they want to upset the Chicago Blackhawks and make Sarah Spain pout. [Hockey Spy]
• Hockey Wilderness calls for regime change for the Minnesota Wild in looking back at their draft history. What, no love for Benoit Pouliot and A.J. Thelen? [Hockey Wilderness]
• How to know if your blogger is one of those evil pajama-wearing fabulists or an upstanding netizen. [Bangin Panger]
• Finally, if you haven't seen it yet, here's yours truly along with blogging icons Paul Kukla and Tom Benjamin on the "Hockey Night in Canada" playoff preview show last night. Thanks again to the CBC for their hospitality and, of course, airtime. Next time, we're taking on Milbury in a handicap match.
