Toews, Carter, Halak in; Sedin out; Devils inspire Newark mayor to write poetry (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.
• The Mad Men-themed header image for this Pens/Flyers preview may be the best thing you see today. [The 700 Level]
• Love this: Newark mayor Cory Booker's feud with the New Jersey Devils has reached its boiling point, where poetry is born. Booker wrote the following on his Blackberry last weekend at the height of the disagreement: "I will not lie down and I'll never say die/Fallen to the ground — I still believe I can fly/Curse me and you just make me strong/Say I can't and I will prove you wrong." [NJ]
• Alain Vigneault confirms that Daniel Sedin will not suit up for Game 1, as his father told Swedish newspapers Tuesday night. [PITB]
• Jonathan Toews expects to play in Game 1 for the Chicago Blackhawks. [NY Times]
• Jeff Carter also expects to play in Game 1 for the Los Angeles Kings. [NHL]
• The Blues have named Jaroslav Halak their Game 1 starter, which comes as no surprise since Brian Elliott is nursing an upper-body injury. [NHL]
• Think Corey Crawford is tired of being asked about going up against Mike Smith? "I think I've been asked that probably 10 times already. I'm not scoring on him, unless I fire a lucky one from 200 feet. … I'm not playing against just him. I've got to worry about their forwards, not what he's doing on the other side. Let our forwards and our D worry about him." [CBC]
• The NHL playoffs channel finder allows you to enter your zip code to learn which networks are airing the postseason game you're looking for. [MSNBC]
• Here's a playoff primer for the uninitiated. Who's good? What should I watch? What should I say if cornered by hockey nerds (besides "That's my purse! I don't know you!")? [Business Insider]
• Much more interesting than ridiculously photogenic guy: guy in Hartford Whalers T-shirt behind him. [Good Morning America]
• Turkmenistan president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered his officials to establish ice hockey teams, because he knows what's up. [Toronto Sun]
• "Hockey is fun, but you want to win," said Ilya Kovalchuk, blowing minds. I've never thought of it this way before. [Boston Herald]
• Dirty Dangle's guide to picking a playoff team to cheer for. [Dirty Dangle]
• Some potential trading-down scenarios for the Edmonton Oilers at the draft. [Edmonton Journal]
• This playoff predictions blog post has cartoons of sexy women in hockey jerseys. [Atom Bomb Bikini]
• Lindy Ruff has declined an invitation to coach Canada at the worlds, meaning the job falls to Kirk Muller of the Carolina Hurricanes. [TSN]
• The Boston Bruins made the right call in shutting down Nathan Horton. [NESN]
• One of my favorite things about the postseason is when newspapers try to make their other sections appeal to the hockey-crazed. Here's a recipe for chili that you can eat while watching hockey. [Times Colonist]
• Mike Brophy on the Leafs getting the fifth pick: It could have been worse. [Sportsnet]
• And finally, here's a nicely done collection of the year's best saves.
