Puck Previews: Kings vs. Wings; Dale Hunter giving John Erskine the silent treatment
Back by popular demand, 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.
These posters are popping up all over social media, based on this. Wickedly clever.
Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET. No Lidstrom, Bertuzzi, Howard or Kindl for the Wings here. History will be made tonight: "For the first time, two Slovenian-born players will face each other in an NHL game, as the Kings' Anze Kopitar and Detroit's Jan Mursak meet." Arguably the biggest night in Slovenian history since that Olive Garden opened.
Preview: Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET. Although not tonight, the Penguins could get both Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang back in the near future. As the Panthers struggle (4-5-1 in their last 10), an impassioned plea from The Rat Trick: "It would be a complete and utter shame if the Panthers' Cinderella story ended the same way that it has every year in the last decade. Of course it always hurts to miss the playoffs and the true fans in South Florida know full well what disappointment feels like. I don't want to go through another postseason picking a temporary "second favorite" that I can pretend to care about and want to see succeed. For once, I want MY team to succeed and this year it would hurt worlds more than any year in the past."
Preview: New York Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. ET. Niklas Hjalmarsson is back for the Blackhawks, as the Rangers finish their road trip with a third game in four days.
Preview: Winnipeg Jets at Calgary Flames, 9 p.m. ET. Here's irony: The Jets can't win on the road but have one of the best "traveling fan bases" around. Fire this one up on Center Ice to see what kind of spark Sven Baertschi can provide the playoff bubble-licious Flames.
Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page. For tonight's starting goalies, check out Left Wing Lock.
Evening Reading
Mike Green suspended 3 games. More in a moment. [NHL]
Defenseman John Erskine said that Washington Capitals coach Dale Hunter hasn't talked to him since Jan. 18. "Who? Dale? He hasn't talked to me one little bit. I talk to [assistant coaches] Deano [Evason] and Jimmy Johnson here and there, but that's about it." [CSN Washington]
The Dallas Stars take Brenden Morrow off IR, after missing 18 games. [ESPN Dallas]
Why you can expect Morrow, Mike Ribeiro and Michael Ryder back with the Stars next year. [Dallas FW]
Great story on Nashville assistant Brent Peterson and Parkinson's awareness. [FS Tennessee]
Puck Daddy Reader Comment of the Day: On the Winnipeg/Vancouver Jersey Foul, via Swift's Toole Box:
I must now conclude that Canada has flyover provinces like the US has flyover states, and I will list the suspects: all of them
Indeed.
Bold Prediction: Patrick Kane pots two against the Rangers in a Chicago OT win.
