Penner answers Twitter critics; Grabner to have hearing after Gerbe hit; Brent Burns’ sore gums (Puck Headlines)

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.

• How's your Monday been? This is how Dustin Penner spent his. [@DustinPenner25]

• Brendan Shanahan has a busy week ahead of him. Aside from the Ryan Garbutt hearing and waiting to hear the result of the Patrick Kaleta appeal, he will also be speaking with Michael Grabner on the phone regarding this head check to Nathan Gerbe on Saturday. [Islanders Point Blank]

• Why the Islanders loss to the Hurricanes exposes big problems for them, and not just because they lost Lubomir Visnovsky to a concussion. [Eye on Isles]

• After declining a demotion to the AHL, New York Rangers goaltender Martin Biron decided to retire after 16 NHL season. [NY Times]

• Jonas Gustavsson, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Marleau are your NHL Three Stars of the Week. [NHL]

• Brent Burns will not play against the Detroit Red Wings Monday night. Why? Let Todd McLellan explain: “Brent won’t play tonight. He got hit in the teeth – well, he doesn’t have teeth, I guess in the gums – the other night, and they are bothering him right now." [CSN Bay Area]

• One, possibly two returns for the Red Wings this week. First, Darren Helm is expected to re-join the team this week after playing only one game in the past 18 months. Second, Niklas Kronwall is expected to be in their lineup for Wednesday's game against Ottawa. This would be less than a week after being on the receiving end of that nasty Cody McLeod hit. [Freep]

• Want to go to the Winter Classic on Jan. 1? A limited number of tickets will be available beginning Tuesday morning. [NHL]

• Rest in peace, four-time Stanley Cup winner and hockey Hall of Famer, Allan Stanley. [Star]

• In only his second game for the WHL's Kootenay Ice, defenseman Rinat Valiev accidentally puts the puck into his own net. [Buzzing the Net]

• Corey Tropp is back to practice after having his jaw broken in the preseason by Jamie Devane of the Maple Leafs. But he's not mad at Devane: “If you do that type of stuff enough, eventually something like that’s going to happen." [Bill Hoppe]

• Examining the Maple Leafs' penalty kill and asking, "Wassup wit dat?" [The Leafs Nation]

• Three things to take away from Toronto's first nine games. [Maple Leafs Central]

• Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon on Tim Thomas: "He's a difference maker and he gives our guys some confidence out there. He's a champion. He's what we need.'' [Miami Herald]

• When pointing fingers at what's gone wrong for the Philadelphia Flyers, point them all toward general manager Paul Holmgren. [Spector's Hockey]

• A Q&A with Beau Bennett of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which he tells of the time when his suit pockets were sewn together and that was the end of that suit. [Pittsburgh Mag]

• Mike Blunden and Patrick Holland get the call up for the Montreal Canadiens after Brandon Prust goes down for a month with a shoulder injury. [Habs Inside/Out]

• Looking at the top goalies to have in your keeper fantasy hockey league. [Dobber Hockey]

• Did you know the Vancouver Canucks have blocked a ton of shots (150) so far this season? Crazy when you consider who their coach is. [PITB]

• Finally, in honor of Mike Smith becoming the 11th NHL goalie to ever be credited with scoring a goal, here's a montage of some others: