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 Dave Hutchison of InGoal Magazine, Brain Elliott's new mask is a "one-off 'memento' mask still features the Casey Jones character from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on one side, while the other features the Blues logo and the famed Gateway Arch." The back plate, by the way, is faded because "he plans to get autographed by fellow NHL All Stars as a keepsake." [In Goal]
• The statue built in honor of Mario Lemieux will be unveiled outside of Consol Energy Center on March 7. No word if the Penguins will reveal the Alek Stojanov commemorative trash receptacle around the same time. [Post Gazette]
• ESPN's Linda Cohn plays goal, gets jiggy. [Deadspin]
• Tapeleg on the Alex Ovechkin All-Star Game pull out: The problem is that the All Star Game is looking less and less star-studded right now. There are more players bowing out and injured every day, and losing a player like Ovechkin certainly damages the luster of the game. But the All Star Game is nothing more than a commercial for the league. A poorly produced one at that. They need the stars to show up to make it a commercial worth watching. [Jerseys and Hockey Love]
• Your NHL All-Star Game entertainment: Grammy Award-nominated and multi-platinum selling recording artist Drake; singer and rapper Outasight; and winner of the inaugural season of NBC's 'The Voice,' Javier Colon." Yes, NBC reality show winner, Javier Colon. [Puck The Media]
• Scott Hartnell gave Claude Giroux a big hug when he found out that he'll be an NHL All-Star Game replacement for Jonathan Toews. Which is an unspoken way of saying, "Thank you for being the only reason why I'm an NHL All-Star Game replacement for Jonathan Toews." [The 700 Level]
• Kris Letang will replace the injured Dustin Byfuglien on the NHL All-Star Game, leaving no Winnipeg Jets players in the game. "Not to discount what Letang has done this year as being not worthy of All-Star consideration (he's nearly at a point-per-game clip), but to have a team not represented in the game is not only mystifying, but rather insulting." [THW]
• Brent Burns is out tonight for the San Jose Sharks against the Calgary Flames, but "it's not a knee" injury. [Mercury News]
• If you've not seen Sen. John Kerry's double-black eyes from playing "a friendly game of hockey" during Christmas break, you really must. [Post Game]
• Eight players the Montreal Canadiens could look to trade … wait, why is PK Subban on this list? [Dan's Daily Dose]
• For the Dallas Stars tonight against the Anaheim Ducks: "Mike Ribeiro will return after missing seven games with a knee injury, Matt Fraser will make his NHL debut and Kari Lehtonen will get the start in goal." [Stars Blog]
• The Tampa Bay Lightning have a few hundred injuries right now. [Raw Charge]
• Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov had knee surgery in Coral Gables on Monday and will miss the next six to eight weeks. [On Frozen Pond]
• "2,184 - Number of days since the Caps last played a game without both Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom (January 31, 2006), which they'll almost certainly do tonight when they face Boston." [Japers' Rink]
• Arguing for the end of "between the benches" interviews with NHL coaches, thanks to Mike Babcock. [Puck The Media]
• Bourne on "The Curious Case of the Missing Staal (and the napping Nodl)." [Backhand Shelf]
• Worcester Sharks coach Roy Sommer is closing in on 500 wins in the AHL. [THN]
• Andrew Ference, a political opposite of Tim Thomas, on the Boston Bruins goalie's White House snub: "It's not like the locker room all of a sudden changed one day. It's the same personnel and the same personalities. We're all practically married to each other. It's not like there are too many secrets on viewpoints and personalities. Maybe it's interesting for everybody else to read on the outside. For us it's just another day. It's the same family we've had for the last few years." [ESPN Boston]
• Bruce Ciskie's Tim Thomas take: "If there's any silver lining for Thomas and the Bruins, it's that the All Star Break is near. It works out perfectly for this story to go away before Boston returns to meaningful action next week." [SB Nation]
• Nucks Misconduct on Thomas: "Thomas chose not just to waive his right to do this, but also chose to hide from the media on this, offering up a disjointed manifesto on facebook, and then stating he won't answer further questions on the matter. It reeks of cowardice. It's an utter embarrassment to the NHL and the game, which prides itself on having a better quality of people involved in the sport (let's face it, there are far less incidents in hockey that involve criminal or other embarrassing behavior than baseball, football or basketball). [NM]
• "Hockey player thinks he's a constitutional scholar." [Wayne Independent]
• Kyle Turris returns to Phoenix. [Sens Extra]
• Glendale mayor: It's all the NHL's fault! [PHT]
• Happy 50-in-50 Day, Mike Bossy. [Islanders]
• Finally, welcome back The 2-Man Advantage with this (timely!) parody of "We Didn't Start The Fire" that seems to name-check at least 500 NHL players and boobs. (Some NSFW images)
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