Continuing our never-ending quest to promote the most outlandish minor league hockey jerseys, we bring you the Allen Americans of the CHL and what they'll wear on Friday night against the Wichita Thunder.

As part of McDonald's Night, the one and only Ronald McDonald will make an appearance inside Allen Event Center and really taking the promotion up a notch the Americans themselves will be dressed like the famous fast food clown:

Allen Americans

That's Tyler Ludwig (son of former NHLer and Americans co-owner, Craig) and Adam Pineault getting their clown on ahead of Friday's game.

The Americans use red helmets and will sport striped socks, which will provide a bit of Ronald McDonald authenticity. We're hoping yellow gloves and painted red skates are part of the complete package. If only the Americans' goaltender was allowed to wear a different colored jersey, like in soccer. Combine all that padding with a purple jersey and he'd make a flawless Grimace.

The jerseys will be auctioned off after the game benefiting Ronald McDonald House charities and will join the pantheon of previous McDonald's-related looks used by the Kalamazoo K-Wings and Albany River Rats, among others, in the past.

Burger King must not feel the need to get in on the jersey promotion game, feeling that what the Los Angeles Kings once wore is more than enough.

Pass or Fail: The Allen Americans McDonald's Night jerseys.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Getty ImagesDays after being placed on waivers by the New York Islanders, Rick DiPietro and his $4.5 million cap hit met with the media as he became the newest member of the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

With Evgeni Nabokov taking a heavy workload through the first half of the season, DiPietro was sent down to get him games, having been bypassed on the organization's depth chart.

From Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post:

"The last couple of years, with all the injuries, if it's taught me anything, it's that I need to enjoy what I do," DiPietro said. "It's a good opportunity to play a lot of games and get sharp. At the end of the day, you want to compete. You want to win. That's what I want to do."

Speaking with News 12 Long Island's Kevin Maher, DiPietro gave an emotional response to how he took the news that the Islanders were waiving him. DiPietro told Maher ,"they ripped my heart out, stabbed it, set it on fire and flushed it down the toilet."

The numerous injuries on top of the albatross of a contract turned DiPietro into a target for Islanders fans. The "DiPi!" chants inside Nassau Coliseum were few and far between once he became known as an oft-injured goaltender. The fans turning on him and the lack of success on the ice led DiPietro to have suicidal thoughts at one point, he told Maher, something he mentioned, "half-jokingly" at the end of last season.

DiPietro said that he feels healthy and hopes that the injuries are behind him. At this point, he'll never live up to the 15-year, $67 million contract he signed back in 2006; really, he may never even get back to playing in the NHL. With NHL teams allowed two compliance buyouts between this summer and next, the Islanders could use one of them on the remaining 8-years, $36 million years of DiPietro's contract, a decision that you would think GM Garth Snow and owner Charles Wang have at least thought about.

UPDATE: DiPietro tells Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post that he was being facetious in making the suicide comment, but said, "There have been times that I've been depressed".

UPDATE: 6 p.m ET: Here's video, via News 12, of DiPietro's comments. The comment about him driving into a tree/off the Throgs Neck Bridge come at the 40-second mark. He made a similar comment to the New York Times in April:

Meanwhile, Snow released a statement this afternoon via the Islanders:

“We are aware of Rick’s comments today and the severity of them. We will handle them internally as we do with all player matters. This is an opportunity for Rick to play lots of games in Bridgeport.”

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Getty ImagesNo. 1 Star: Tomas Kopecky, Florida Panthers

A wild game ended in 6-4 in favor of the Panthers over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins. Florida built up a 4-1 lead before allowing Pittsburgh to come back and tie it; but in the end it was Kopecky's first career hat trick that helped power the Panthers to the win. He also added an assist for a 4-point night. Brian Campbell and Tomas Fleischmann each chipped in a goal and two assists, while Scott Clemmensen stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief of Jose Theodore.

No. 2 Star: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

The pre-game story might have had to do with Alex Semin's visit, but Holtby was the man for the Caps making 33 saves in a 3-0 shutout of the Carolina Hurricanes. The shutout was the fifth of Holtby's career. Nicklas Backstrom scored a goal and added an assist for Washington.

No. 3 Star: Evander Kane, Winnipeg Jets

Kane extended his point streak to eight games with two goals and an assist in Winnipeg's 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. His goal in the second period gave the Jets a 2-0 lead and his second of the evening would eventually stand as the game-winner just 20 seconds after Taylor Pyatt cut the Winnipeg lead to a goal midway through the third period. Olli Jokinen would score a pair of his own as the Jets finished their road trip 4-1-0

Late in the second period of Tuesday night's Calgary Flames-Minnesota Wild game, Matt Stajan retrieved a puck in his own zone and attempted to dump it out via the glass. It didn't go far, but moments after he released the puck Wild rookie Charlie Coyle continued in to finish his check and ended up catching Stajan in the head with a shoulder:

The call on the ice was wrong -- a five-minute major for elbowing -- but that didn't really matter as the punishment did meet the crime as it was late and a direct shot to Stajan's head. There were no late, sudden movements by Stajan and the contact with the head was not part of a follow through on Coyle's check. And, again, it was late.

Stajan returned to the game, but Coyle will likely be discussing this play with Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Safety sometime in the next 24 hours as it violates Rule 48.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

Getty ImagesA little over a year and a half ago the Montreal Canadiens signed Erik Cole to a 4-year, $18 million deal. In his first full season with the Habs Cole posted respectable numbers: 35 goals and 61 points. His start to the 2013 NHL season has been anything but good with him netting just three goals and six points through 19 games.

On Tuesday, Cole's time in Montreal was up as GM Marc Bergevin shipped him and the remaining two years and $9 million left on his contract to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Michael Ryder, who's deal is expiring after this season, and a 2013 third round pick. ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reports that Cole waived his no-trade clause to make the move happen.

From the Stars:

"Erik Cole is a top-six, power forward who skates well, adds size, and is under contract for the next two years,” said Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. “We thank Michael Ryder for his contributions and look forward to what Erik will bring to our group."

Ryder spent the first four years of his career with the Habs and also posted 35 goals in his first year in Dallas last season. He's started off this year a little better than Cole with six goals and 14 points in 19 games with the Stars.

Time will tell if a change of scenery will bring back Cole's offensive fortunes from a year ago, but the Habs get a pick, get out from the final two years of his deal, freeing up cap space this summer and a player in Ryder, who would like to cash in on his expiring contract.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

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.

Getty ImagesPreview: Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. ET. Much has already been made about Alex Semin making his first visit to Verizon Center since leaving the Capitals to sign with the Hurricanes over the summer. Will there be a short video tribute? Probably not. Will Semin go bongo punching on Troy Brower after his comments on Tuesday? Probably not. Will he score against his former team? Probably, because that always seems to be the case in these situations.

Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. ET. The Canucks look to rebound after their 8-3 thrashing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. It's Cory Schneider's turn in net as he tries to help Vancouver snap a two-game losing streak at Rogers Arena. David Booth will also be back after an illness went around the team. The Coyotes enter tonight's game having blown two leads in their last two games. According to head coach Dave Tippett, Phoenix will be without Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal, Derek Morris and David Schlemko.

Preview: Colorado Avalanche at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. ET The Sharks need to turn around their current 1-6-3 skid if they're to avoid any potential shakeup within the team. According to the AP, San Jose has posted a 3-plus-goal game just one time in their last 10. Brent Burns and the suspendes Ryane Clowe will be missing from the lineup tonight. For the Avalanche, they'll be without Matt Duchene, who's nursing an injured groin.

Evening Reading

• New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 24 and the team has recalled Keith Kinkaid. [Devils]

• Something Nail Yakupov did last night got under the skin of CSN Chicago analyst Eddie Olczyk. Try to contain your laughter. [Cult of Hockey]

• We'd read any quote from Darryl Sutter that begins with, "By the time I got home and got my jammies on..." [Mayor's Manor]

• Via Buzzing the Net, here's a great shootout goal by Sam Anas of the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms:

Puck Buddy Comment of the Day: ChicagoNativeSon, from Mooney's outstanding piece on the kid goalie who let in 60 goals:

"It all started with a phone call, and a president that wanted a desert nation to become a hockey powerhouse."

I'm pretty sure that's exactly how Phoenix got a team too.

Bold prediction: Alex Semin scores, but the Caps win 3-2.

On Saturday, Elliotte Friedman reported on the NHL's proposed realignment plan for next season during Hockey Night in Canada's Hot Stove segment. Now more details are leaking with approvals still needed from the Board of Governors and the Players' Association.

ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun obtained a memo sent to all 30 teams on Tuesday that outlined the NHL's latest realignment plan.

As a refresher, here's how the league -- Eastern Conference and Western Conference -- would look under this proposal, as reported by Friedman:

From LeBrun:

The playoff format as detailed in the league memo Tuesday calls for the top three teams in each division to earn postseason berths. The remaining four spots would go to wild cards, the top two records in each conference. That means there's a possibility five teams make it from one division and only three from another.

The schedule matrix would see each team play teams in the other conference both home and away.

There was talk that a potential play-in game, like what Major League Baseball implemented last season, would come into play, but according to this proposal that is not the case.

Via TSN, here is the playoff situation:

It would be divisional playoffs, not conference playoffs, so 1 vs. 4, 2 vs 3 in the first round. The two fourth seeds would be made up of the wild-card teams. The top division winner based on regular-season points in the standings would face off against the lower-ranked wild-card team. The other division winner would play the higher-ranked wild-card.

First-round winners then meet in second round in the division championship; Third round sees Pacific winner vs. Mid-West winner in Western Conference finals; Central winner versus Atlantic winner in Eastern Conference finals; Eastern and Western Conference champions meet in Stanley Cup finals.

Sixteen teams in one conference and 14 in the other might be an issue for some, but overall this plan limits travel and will make television executives very happy. Also, fans will get to see every team at least once in their building. Under this proposal, the league and PA would meet after three seasons to discuss any issues and potential changes.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy

San Jose Sharks forward Ryane Clowe had the opportunity to defend himself for leaving the bench to go after Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks in the waning moments of Friday's game. He declined, deciding to speak with the Department of Player Safety via the phone on Monday afternoon.

The issue that needed to be determined was whether or not he left the bench illegally or not to engage Shaw. A potential 10-game suspension hung in the balance. After pleading his case to Brendan Shanahan and company, it was determined that Clowe would be sitting for two games.

Here's Shanahan explaining why:

From the NHL:

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Clowe will forfeit $39,189.18. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Clowe was assessed a minor penalty for roughing and a game misconduct for leaving the bench on an illegal line change to start an altercation with 8.4 seconds left in regulation – an infraction that calls for an automatic 10-game suspension.

Upon further review of video of the incident and following a hearing conducted today to examine the incident, it was determined that Clowe, in fact, entered the ice on a legal line change. However, upon doing so, he skated directly to Shaw, who was not engaged physically with any other player. Clowe then grabbed Shaw and wrestled him to the ice.

Rule 70.2 states, in part: "A player who has entered play while play is in progress from his own players' bench…who starts an altercation may be subject to discipline in accordance with Rule 28 -- Supplementary Discipline."

The fact that Joe Pavelski was heading off on a line change helped shave games off a potential long-term suspension for Clowe, given that the league deemed it was a legal substitution. Clowe has already sat out one game after being suspended pending a hearing for Saturday's loss to the Dallas Stars and will sit out Tuesday's game against Colorado before being eligible to return.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy