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Timonen update for Flyers; Ott laments Sabres selling (Puck Headlines)

Greg Wyshynski

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.

• You know, this starter thing might be going to Cory Schneider’s head. In the sense that he apparently believes he’s now the Chairman Mao of the NHL.

• Raffi Torres and Scott Hannan will not be in the lineup for the San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary; in the case of the former player, it’s because he has a “mother nature” issue. [Mercury News]

• It’s looking good for Kimmo Timonen to play for the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. [CSN Philly]

• Steve Ott is not happy to see the Buffalo Sabres as sellers: “What Jason has done for the Buffalo Sabres over the last 10 years or so is unbelievable. He's a heckuva player. It's not easy to replace a guy like that. It takes years to build a prospect into a Jason Pominville. It's disheartening in the fact that our team obviously wasn't playing up to where it needs to be." [Buffalo News]

• Why the Jussi Jokinen trade signals the end of the Hurricanes’ season: “The issues facing the Canes are vast. It's an expensive, underachieving team that Rutherford rightfully thought would be better. It isn't, and the doubling down with long-term, big-money contracts have put the team in a position where there is no easy way out. No wonder Rutherford looked depressed.” [WRAL]

• Chris Kelly is working his way back for the Boston Bruins. Said Claude Julien: “He's progressing and I don't know what his status is going to be here moving forward, whether it's going to be tomorrow or the beginning of the next week.'' [Bruins Blog]

• Interesting comparison piece between Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop, within the context of Redden vs. Chara. [SensShot]

• Terrific stuff from Dellow on the concept of “Schedule Losses” for teams. [mc79hockey]

• Read the first line of this article as “If the NHL has syphilis, it would have to be John Tavares.” [SI]

• Danny DeKeyser on his debut with the Detroit Red Wings tonight: “I’ll be amped up and ready to go.” [Red Wings]

• Jesse Spector on blocked shots: “So, how about blocked shots as a percentage of opponents’ shot attempts? The Philadelphia Flyers allow 54.9 shot attempts per game and block 16.3 — their rate of 29.7 percent opponent shot attempts blocked is tops in the league. Considering that the Flyers have allowed the sixth-most goals in the NHL, such a figure would suggest a lack of correlation between blocking shots and quality of defense, regardless of issues surrounding the quality of goaltending in Philadelphia.” [Sporting News]

• Bourne breaks down some Edmonton Oilers' defensive faux pas. [Backhand Shelf]

• How are the Washington Capitals able to rise to the top of their division? Not by defeating elite teams in regulation. [Japers’ Rink]

• The New Jersey Devils suck at the shootout, and it’s killing them. [NHL.com]

• Hey, remember when Alex Ovechkin sucked at the shootout? [Alex Ovetjkin]

• Marc Staal is traveling with the New York Rangers again: “The Rangers said Staal will not make the full road trip, but part of the reason he’s travelling is to visit with family in Carolina on Saturday, when the Rangers take on Staal’s brothers Eric and Jordan in a game against the Hurricanes.” [NYDN]

• Allan Muir on Pat Quinn becoming Hockey Hall of Fame chairman: “First thing you need to do is increase the number of voters. Currently there are 18, 14 of whom must support a candidate to grant admission to the Hall. That tight gap makes it too easy for a small bloc to prevent someone from gaining admission for any perceived flaw or slight. More to the point, it gets a little too incestuous, too tightly knit. Open it up a bit, decentralize the voting power and get some new blood in there.” [SI]

• Finally, in case you missed it, here’s Scott Hartnell’s fan doppelganger.