Puck Daddy - NHL - Yahoo! Sports

 No. 1 Star: Chris Pronger(notes), Philadelphia FlyersWho says Pronger's lost a step? With less than 20 seconds left in the Philadelphia Flyers game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the veteran defenseman went from defense to offense, motored past Chicago defenders who were concentrating on the Philly forwards and tipped home a...

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The closest United States President Barack Obama has gotten to hockey was when he welcomed the Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House last September to congratulate them on winning the Stanley Cup. A big sports fan, since being elected into office Obama's done his NCAA basketball tournament bracket on ESPN,...

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Surreal times for the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Oilers Coach Pat Quinn returns behind the bench in Toronto for the first time since he was canned in the 2005-06 season, as Edmonton visits the Leafs on Saturday night in a Hockey Night in Canada on Y! Sports Canada game (watch it here...

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When National Hockey League fans hear "five overtimes", they immediately think of Philadelphia Flyers forward Keith Primeau making Darius Kasparaitis(notes) of the Pittsburgh Penguins look silly during Game 4 of the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals. That game lasted 152:01 of hockey time and is the third longest in NHL history,...

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No. 1 Star: Jonathan Bernier(notes), Los Angeles KingsBernier last played in the NHL in October of 2007 and was once considered Los Angeles' goaltender of the future. Jonathan Quick(notes) later emerged and Bernier has found himself playing in Manchester of the American Hockey League since. With Quick tending to his...

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. EST. The top two teams...

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NCAA Hockey 101 is a weekly feature on U.S. Division I college hockey. Stick around and you just might learn a thing or two. Do you know how many of the 58 teams in NCAA Division 1 hockey actually make the playoffs every year? Think real hard about this one...

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Whew-hoo! The great Trevor E. did this Dr. Strangelove homage. Alas, it is a runner-up. After more than 300 entries that spanned the spectrum from inspired to disturbing, it's time for you to decide the Sidney Crosby(notes) Golden Roar art contest champion. The contest was inspired by Sid the Kid's iconic Olympic...

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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.• Sean Avery(notes) of the New York Rangers, on being a healthy scratch for the first time this season because Coach John Tortorella...

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(Ed. Note: The following is a fictitious statement from Howler, the Phoenix Coyotes mascot, on the recent news that Ice Edge Holdings is struggling to secure funding to buy the team."Greetings, true believers; Howler here. Please ignore the white flag, as it symbolizes nothing but a keen sense of accessorizing. "Some...

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  Stunning Numbers is an occasional look at stats and figures from around the NHL.7 The number of shootout goals for Brad Boyes(notes) of the St. Louis Blues and Jonathan Toews(notes) of the Chicago Blackhawks to lead the League. (Four players are right behind them with six goals.) Boyes is...

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On behalf of all die-hard puckheads who pay good money to concentrate on the game while attempting to ignore the suit-wearing, cell phone-using jackasses who treat the arena like a social mixer before hitting some trendy nightspot that sells more Red Bull than Guinness:We thank you, Boston Bruins Bear. Because...

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No. 1 Star: Joe Pavelski(notes), San Jose SharksThe Sharks forward had two goals and two assists in the third period, leading San Jose to an 8-5 victory after trailing the Nashville Predators 4-2 after two. Patrick Marleau's(notes) 40th goal and Jay Leach's(notes) empty-netter capped the scoring, but this incredible Pavelski...

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Preview: Nashville Predators at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. EST. From a solid write-up...

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Making the cover of the next 2K Sports hockey title, after the company limited its release to only Nintendo Wii, probably feels a bit like winning the NIT. Or having the toys for your summer blockbuster end up in kids' meals at Arby's. Or being the NBA all-star with the...

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("Sleepers, Keepers , Bench'em or Drop'em" is a weekly fantasy hockey column written by Darryl "Dobber" Dobbs, an honest-to-goodness expert on such matters and founder of DobberHockey.com. His column will run on Puck Daddy every Thursday.)Hockey people called it the Trade Dudline, but fantasy-hockey people -- a completely different breed...

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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.• Must-read of the day: Tim Wharnsby's profile of Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock as a focused, driven and very much blue-collar...

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For years at Washington Capitals game, the fans would scream out "OH!" when that word was sung in the Star Spangled Banner, a tradition that carried over from Baltimore Orioles fandom. As the team's "Rock The Red" (which has now inspired "Barack The Red") campaign has grown, fans now shout...

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Now that the NHL GMs' decision to recommend a blindside hit ban has had about 24 hours to settle, the majority opinion seems to be appreciation for the effort but frustration with the vague consequences for those soon-to-be-illegal actions.Heck, even Don Cherry wants something more explicit than the vague punishments...

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For about 55 years, the Minnesota state prep hockey championships have been the "crown jewel" of local high school sports, with fans and families planning trips months in advance to watch games and local television broadcasting championship rounds live.In other words: There are a lot of eyes on the MSHSL...

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No. 1 Star: Tyler Myers(notes), Buffalo Sabres  Just as the Jimmy Howard(notes) Calder Express is rolling in the media, the rookie defenseman posts the first four-point game of his NHL career in the Sabres' 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars. Myers opened the scoring with a pinball-style deflected goal and then added three assists, earning a plus-4...

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Andrew Raycroft(notes) has been a serviceable backup to Roberto Luongo(notes) for the Vancouver Canucks this season. Appearing in 17 games and starting 11 of them, the 2004 Calder Trophy winner has posted a 7-4-1 record having been mostly used on the road. Only three times this season has Raycroft played...

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. • The timing of stories today got us all turned around, so Puck Headlines...

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Marc Delphine was fond of the logo a volunteer had designed for his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Oregon: a silver star wrapped in a star-spangled banner that his designer told him evoked the letter 'D' for branding purposes. It certainly was a memorable symbol. In fact, it...

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Boston Bruins announcer Jack Edwards threw a fit on Tuesday over the NHL's delay in doling out discipline to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke(notes) for his hit on Marc Savard(notes). But now that the League has announced there'll be no suspension for the blindside hit that may have ended Savard's...

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Lyle "Spector" Richardson of Fox Sports? Check. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period? Check, we think. Must be the return of the Puck Daddy Hockey Live Chat, in which we drop the word "rumors" after the trade deadline but are hesitant to use the word "playoffs" with about 18 games...

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Pending a rubber stamp from the competition committee and the Board of Governors, the Mike Richards(notes) hit on David Booth(notes) will be an illegal hit next season. But according to a proposed rule change, so would Doug Weight's hit on Brandon Sutter from 2008.The annual GM meetings in lovely Boca...

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For all the facts, figures and revelations that have emerged from the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament, none can equal the hilarious confirmation that Canadians fans were more dedicated to watching the gold medal game than answering nature's call.From Pat's Papers comes this graph from EPCOR, the water utility in Edmonton,...

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Ah, the sweet naiveté of September 2009, when we predicted that Victor Hedman(notes) would be the NHL's top rookie defenseman, Cody Hodgson(notes) and Sergei Shirokov(notes) were going to be impact players for the Vancouver Canucks and Jimmy Howard(notes) didn't warrant even an honorable mention. With roughly 16-18 games left for...

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"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" is the famous quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. The same can be said for some NHL general managers who are currently down in Boca Raton, Fla., trying to convince their colleagues of changes that the League should instill in the future. The GMs...

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No. 1 star: Mikael Samuelsson(notes), Vancouver Canucks After playing 531 career regular-season games without a hat trick, Samuelsson scored three goals in the second period alone as the Canucks erased deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 in what would conclude as a 6-4 victory. The Canucks won for a league-leading 10th...

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If we're going to ban hits to the head in the NHL, then Step 1 is giving every referee an anatomy text book.As the Sportsnet announcers mention at the end of the following clip, referee Brad Meier was arguing with Ottawa Senators Coach Cory Clouston that Sens forward Chris Neil(notes)...

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.Preview: Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. EST. Boston plays their...

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Growing up and watching Don Cherry's Rock'em Sock'em hockey VHS tapes as a kid, Grapes always seemed to mention any one of the numerous end-to-end rushes that Bobby Orr would perform as a member of the Boston Bruins. Every time Orr would rush the puck in those videos, things would...

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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.• David Shoalts reports that the GMs will recommend a rule banning blindside hits to the head from a shoulder. The rule...

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This may absolutely shock you, but NESN Boston Bruins announcer Jack Edwards went a wee bit over the top in his reaction to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke's(notes) head-shot on Marc Savard(notes), which Darren Dreger of TSN reports may have ended Savard's season. (The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that Cooke...

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The goal cam on NHL broadcasts has given fans a goalie's-eye view of remarkable saves and thrilling offensive chances. On Monday night in D.C., it gave viewers on Versus something offbeat: The chance to see Marty Turco's(notes) amusing reaction to a stumbling Alex Semin shootout attempt in the Dallas Stars'...

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Just another example of the inherent bias against the Winter Games. Usain Bolt gets a bouquet of roses. Sidney Crosby(notes)? Not even allowed to remove his helmet for the post-race, Mega Powers pose down in sweltering Beijing. Criminal, isn't it?Welcome to the second gallery of our Sidney Crosby Golden Roar...

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No. 1 Star: Marty Turco(notes), Dallas StarsIn ending Washington's 13-game home winning streak, Turco made a career-high 49 saves as Dallas tripped up the Capitals 4-3 in the shootout. Facing 42 shots in the first two periods, the Stars went down 2-0 midway through the second period before scoring three times...

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Steven Stamkos(notes) of the Tampa Bay Lightning is having an incredible offensive season. But he is no match for the Stupendous "Stankos", who was unleashed on an unsuspecting public via a Versus graphic during Monday night's Dallas Stars shootout win over the Washington Capitals. What a unprecedented hockey hybrid: The rifle shot...

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Preview: Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. EST. Going...

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Two points of frustration with what's an otherwise short, pleasant and effective appearance by Buffalo Sabres goalie and Team USA Winter Olympic MVP Ryan Miller(notes) on "The Today Show" on Monday morning.The first is when host Matt Lauer mentions the ovation Miller received from the fans in Pittsburgh, but doesn't...

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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.• Look, it's not the gold; but the silver medal in women's ice hockey still makes a damn nice accessory on the red...

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One can argue that, overall, the Washington Capitals' Ovechkin/Backstrom/Knuble trio or the San Jose Sharks' combination of Heatley/Thornton and Marleau are the better line. But no line in the NHL is hotter right now than Marty St. Louis, Steven Stamkos(notes) and Steve Downie(notes) of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and there's...

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Hits to the head in the NHL are apparently like snowflakes, in the sense that they're cold and involve something plummeting to the ice. Wait, no, that's not right: It's because no two are exactly alike, even when they appear to be identical.I've spent the last 24 hours explaining to...

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Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.You and I are hockey fans. We love hockey. We'd...

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No. 1 Star: Jarome Iginla(notes), Calgary FlamesFun fact: No NHL player has scored more goals against the Minnesota Wild than Jarome Iginla, scoring 30 goals and 53 points in 53 games. Yet he hadn't scored a goal in the previous 10 games; perhaps his hat trick in the Flames' 5-2...

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Jason Reitman, director of "Up in the Air" and NHL.com playoff blogger, rocked the old-school Cliff Ronning era Vancouver Canucks logo during his Best Director vignette at the 2010 Academy Awards. Which obviously would have earned our vote. Alas, Reitman lost the statue to Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker,"...

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This Matt Cooke(notes) blow to the head of Marc Savard(notes), which kept the Boston Bruins star center down on the ice for 10 minutes before being carried off on a stretcher, should be Exhibit A in the "penalize head shots" presentation at the next owners' meeting. It's a blatant attempt to injure that...

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In yet another "how the NHL should capitalize on the Olympic viewership column, Artie Gigantino of the San Francisco Chronicle Examiner makes a few salient suggestions (loved the newspaper ad) and a few awful ones (1. Ban fighting; 2. ???? 3. Get Olympic ratings). But this idea definitely resonated:Although the...

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 No. 1 Star: Chris Stewart(notes), Colorado AvalancheAccording to the AP, it had been 199 games since the Avalanche had a hat trick, which was the longest active streak in the NHL. Stewart snapped that streak in impressive fashion, scoring midway in the first period, to open the second and then on a...

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The scene at Canada Hockey Place last Sunday that inspired another Puck Daddy Photoshop contest also was the setting for the beginnings of a historical treasure hunt. In the aftermath of Sidney Crosby's(notes) gold medal winning goal against the United States, the Pittsburgh Penguins star threw his gloves and stick...

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For a player with 529 career penalty minutes in 244 NHL games, Derek Boogaard(notes) is somewhat of a stranger to Colin Campbell's "Wheel of Justice". Boogaard's been suspended just once in his five-year NHL career for an elbow to the head of Brandon Prust(notes) of the Calgary Flames last season....

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No. 1 Star: Jeff Deslauriers, Edmonton OilersThe Edmonton goaltender starred tonight during a 2-1 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild. Deslauriers made 28 saves, including six in overtime and four in the shootout for only his fourth win in his last 15 starts. Mike Comrie(notes) was the offensive hero for...

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Here are your Puck Previews: Spotlighting the key games in NHL action, news and views as well as general frivolity. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished. Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. EST. Fire up the Center Ice...

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As you saw Friday morning, Montreal Canadiens winger Maxime Lapierre's "garbage" hit from behind on Scott Nichol(notes) of the San Jose Sharks last night was obvious and injurious.But enough for a four-game suspension? For what, grinning after he wasn't penalized? He's a pest and a cheap-shot artist, for sure. So this...

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NCAA Hockey 101 is a weekly feature on U.S. Division I college hockey. Stick around and you just might learn a thing or two. Well, there's only a few weeks left before the NCAA tournament starts, so you know what that means: more talk about who deserves the Hobey Baker...

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For those complaining that some of the NHL players featured on Puck Tracks were too metal-centric in their musical tastes, say hello to Peter Budaj(notes): Colorado Avalanche goalie, child of the '80s and classical music aficionado.This episode of the podcast is a great example for why we cast a wide...

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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.• New episode of our Puck Tracks Podcast coming up next. Two words: Phil Collins. • Say, do you like getting pissed off?...

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In the third period of Thursday's New York Rangers' loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sean Avery(notes) hit Max Talbot(notes) after the whistle with a check. The Penguins' mercurial winger didn't take kindly to this agitation and struck back with a few punches ... although "punches" may not be the proper...

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