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Puck Previews: Reebok hands out reward; Preds vs. Sharks [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 6:36 pm] 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. Preview: Nashville Predators at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. EST. From a solid write-up on this one from Fear The Fin: "Why have the Predators given the Sharks so much trouble? Well, they fit the bill of the type of team that gives Sharks problems. They have a solid defensive unit, an industrious group of forwards, and a forecheck that disrupts the Sharks ability to move the puck up on the rush." Section 303 points out that "with Martin Erat(notes) leading the Predators in scoring with 41 points, the Predators risk not having a 50 point scorer for only the third time in franchise history."Preview: Ottawa Senators at Calgary Flames, 9:30 p.m. EST. All of the "Burning Issues" pundits are digging the revamped Flames and selected them to win this game against the Ottawa Senators. Brian Elliott(notes) gets the call for the Senators, who are two points in back of the Devils (though New Jersey will have three games in hand after tonight).Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games (like the ones in progress) on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.Evening Reading• From Reebok on the end of the Sidney Crosby(notes) missing equipment saga:Last week, Reebok Hockey announced that is was offering a $10,000 reward for any information that directly led to return of Sidney Crosby's "golden" stick. With Hockey Canada's announcement on Wednesday that the stick had been recovered in a shipment heading to the IIHF Hall of Fame, Reebok Hockey has instead decided to donate $8,700 each to three worthy organizations: The Hockey Canada Foundation, USA Hockey's "Come Play Youth Hockey" program and The Sidney Crosby Foundation. Guess Patrice Bergeron(notes) gets a hearty 'atta boy' for find that glove. Sigh Ryan Kesler, the 'silver bullet' of NHL 2K11 video game [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 4:19 pm] Making the cover of the next 2K Sports hockey title, after the company limited its release to only Nintendo Wii, probably feels a bit like winning the NIT. Or having the toys for your summer blockbuster end up in kids' meals at Arby's. Or being the NBA all-star with the British Knights endorsement deal. You get the point.The entire series exists in the giant shadow of EA Sports' NHL juggernaut, which has cornered the market on popularity and industry respect. Having Alex Ovechkin(notes) rep NHL 2K10 was a coup at first but never felt like a comfortable fit; in a sense, his presence promised something the game couldn't deliver, and the quality of the title probably wasn't as vital to him as, say, the chance to drive a Zamboni through Manhattan. So while Ryan Kesler(notes) of the Vancouver Canucks doesn't have Ovechkin's star wattage, he has an authenticity when it comes to caring about the 2K series. He's consulted on past editions. He's done motion-capture for them. Above all else, he's a gamer; in talking to him about being on the cover for NHL 2K11, the "it's a dream come true" thing isn't just lip-service He's earned it, too: Both as an effective player in the NHL and with his profile-raising performance in Vancouver for Team USA. "Ryan got put on a main stage, showed off his tremendous two-way talent," said Chris Snyder, director of marketing for 2K Sports, who said the combination of Kesler playing for a Canadian franchise and starring for the U.S. was an appealing factor in his cover-modal status."We call it the silver bullet," he said. "The world got to see his game."Kesler's gamer creds can't be challenged. He's a Nintendo "Ice Hockey" nostalgist, telling us this week that's the video game cover he would have loved to appear on besides NHL 2K11. ("I would have been one of the skinny guys," he said)His game of choice lately has been "Bioshock 2" (hey, a 2K title!) and he plays games online Fantasy: Steer clear of Boston; sleeping on Purcell [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 2:28 pm] ("Sleepers, Keepers , Bench'em or Drop'em" is a weekly fantasy hockey column written by Darryl "Dobber" Dobbs, an honest-to-goodness expert on such matters and founder of DobberHockey.com. His column will run on Puck Daddy every Thursday.)Hockey people called it the Trade Dudline, but fantasy-hockey people -- a completely different breed -- actually found the moves exciting. Tomas Kaberle(notes) will produce at a 55-point clip no matter which team he plays for, but try to explain how Peter Mueller(notes) tallies six points in four games if he remained in Phoenix. We don't care if the big stars change teams, it's the dark horses that pique our interest.Injury replacement of the week: Steer clear of BostonWhen a star like Marc Savard(notes) goes down for the second time (or in this case, the third), my instinct naturally is to scan through the game logs of the rest of the roster to see who pops with the added ice time.So what did you find?Not good. Patrice Bergeron(notes) tallied just 13 points in 20 games with Savard out of the lineup, as opposed to 27 in 37 with him in. David Krejci(notes) managed just 10 in 22 with Savard gone, though his 23 in 40 otherwise is not much better. Other Bruins:Blake Wheeler(notes) - 10 in 24 without Savard; 22 in 41 withMarco Sturm(notes) - 11 in 19 without; 22 in 40 withMark Recchi(notes) - 11 in 24 without; 23 in 41 withAt this point, I got the message: look elsewhere. These numbers include Tuesday's contest against Toronto (i.e. Recchi's three points fatten up the above stats), so things could actually be even worse than they appear.The Keepers who are on fire...Peter Mueller, Colorado Avalanche - I know it's early, but after seeing Mueller tally a point in every game that he has played in a Colorado uniform, I have to wonder if he was Hitchcock'd in Phoenix. That is the term that describes a player who is not getting ice time befitting his skills seemingly because of his young age and shortfall of experience. Bu Puck Headlines: Chelios is old; Guerin wants Cooke hit banned [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 1:08 pm] 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.• Must-read of the day: Tim Wharnsby's profile of Detroit Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock as a focused, driven and very much blue-collar individual. [CBC Sports]• In honor of veteran (and we use that term loosely) defenseman Chris Chelios's(notes) return to the NHL with the Atlanta Thrashers, David Staples collects the best "Chelios Is So Old" jokes from around the Web. We're going with this one, from Mike DeNicola on Twitter: "Chris Chelios is so old ...... as a child, Gordie Howe wore a Chelios jersey." [Cult of Hockey]• Here's a list of prominent people that are, in fact, younger than Chelios. [Sports Crackle Pop]• To that end, Chris Chelios took the ice this morning with new defensive partner Johnny Oduya(notes) and eight Thrashers players that hadn't been born when he made his pro debut. [AJC]• We've covered stories in which hashish was smuggled inside hockey bags over the border. But never an actual Haitian. [Universal Cynic]• Kudos to Bill Guerin(notes) for breaking ranks and claiming that hits like the one his Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Matt Cooke(notes) put on Marc Savard(notes) should be outlawed in the NHL: "We're all under the same umbrella, whether the guy's on my team and I'm sitting right next to him or he's playing in California ... It doesn't matter. We're all playing in the same league. We all want the same safety. We all want to be looked after the same way. I understand he (Cooke) is on my team but, hey, he's in a tough spot." [AP]• Don't agree with Elliotte Friedman comparing the NBA's disciplinary measures to that of the NHL, because the games and cultures are far too disparate. But his point about the blindside hit rule having "much more bark than bite" is legit. [CBC Sports]• Boston Bruins GM Pet On hockey and national anthem etiquette for fans [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 11:57 am] For years at Washington Capitals game, the fans would scream out "OH!" when that word was sung in the Star Spangled Banner, a tradition that carried over from Baltimore Orioles fandom. As the team's "Red The Red" (which has now inspired "Barack The Red") campaign has grown, fans now shout out "RED!" at the appropriate times as well. So when the Dallas Stars were in town this week, the anthem gained another bit of audience participation from the Big D fans in the cheap seats who shouted "STARS!" whenever that word was mentioned in the lyrics. The reaction from some fans on various social media that night seemed to indicate a level of frustration with anything being said during the anthem. All of which begs the question: What's your tolerance with the anthem and fan participation? And can you believe someone actually could take issue with this scene in Chicago? ("O Canada" first)Coming up, a question of respect. George Malik of Snapshots captured an interesting rant-and-response between Rob Otto of MLive and David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune over the anthem tradition at Chicago Blackhawks home games. Otto's argument is that the huge ovation that drowns out the anthem is disrespecting the song and the military:It's something the fans started doing because they were so pumped up before a 1985 Campbell Conference playoff game against the Edmonton Oilers, and have continued it ever since.And it makes my skin crawl every time I hear it.I grew up in a military family. My father was a Commander in the United States Coast Guard and he taught me a deep love of our country, and respect for our flag. That includes standing during the National Anthem with my right hand over my heart and singing the words. I understand it is a very difficult song, and many Americans feel embarrassed to sing it in public. However, if you're not singing you should at least stand in silent reverence until it is compl Roundup: Blind-side hit rule reveals hockey’s other headaches [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 10:28 am] Now that the NHL GMs' decision to recommend a blindside hit ban has had about 24 hours to settle, the majority opinion seems to be appreciation for the effort but frustration with the vague consequences for those soon-to-be-illegal actions.Heck, even Don Cherry wants something more explicit than the vague punishments recommended by the GMs. From the AP:Speaking after a Paralympic luncheon in Vancouver on Wednesday, the Hockey Night in Canada personality and former Bruins coach feels the threat of leaving a team shorthanded for five minutes is the best way to change players' behavior."A major will (work)," Cherry said. "When you get a five-minute major, you're going to think. You can fine them all you want. So what, the guys peel off money. The major, that's one thing you don't want to get because you're going to be five minutes short."I know if I was a coach I would be really ticked. ... The two-minute minor, that's nothing."Many of us have been wondering if the proposed rule can be tweaked by the competition committee before the NHL Board of Governors votes on it, and David Shoalts of the Globe & Mail writes that it can:Offenders will be subject to either a minor or major penalty at the discretion of the referees. But in either case, the hit will be automatically reviewed by the league and a suspension could follow. What will be decided between now and when the proposal goes to the competition committee in June is whether offenders can also receive an automatic game misconduct.If they can tinker with that aspect, perhaps they can add an automatic suspension provision as well. There's been gallons of digital ink spilled on this head-shot issue in the last day, and we've collected some of the more controversial, insightful and revealing takes in this post. As you'll see, the debate isn't just about a shoulder to the head; it's about the speed of the game, the equipment, fighting and, in the end, what hockey should become for the sake of t Video: Minnesota high-school player wipes out in opening intros [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 8:56 am] For about 55 years, the Minnesota state prep hockey championships have been the "crown jewel" of local high school sports, with fans and families planning trips months in advance to watch games and local television broadcasting championship rounds live.In other words: There are a lot of eyes on the MSHSL Tourney ... which means plenty of puckheads witnessed Alexandria defenseman Zach Van Orsdel stumble into one of the most memorable pregame intros we've seen. But the dude was a very good sport about it. Watch and wince:(Apologies on the quality; only clip available as of this morning.)Our only regret for this clip: That there wasn't an isolated camera on Van Orsdel and the teammate standing next to him stone-faced during the tumble, just to see when that tension was broken. And that Bob Saget wasn't around to add the requisite sound effects. We'd have gone with a "Scooby-Doo running in the air," followed by a "PLONK."Loren Nelson, editor of Minnesota Hockey Hub, was live blogging Alexandria's 7-1 loss to Mahtomedi on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. His take:Alexandria's Zach Van Orsdel just lived out the nightmare of every player who has ever been to the state tournament. During the announcement of the starting lineups, as players skate to the blue line and toward the camera man ... you know where we're going with this ... yes, he wiped out. He did fall gracefully, however, and did not take out the cameraman. He also recovered well, flashing a big smile and giving a mock fist pump as he got up.Damn right. Nicely done by Van Orsdel, and major respect for him. Stuff happens, you move on. Heck, Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) bounced back nicely from his epic intro fail the following season for the Penguins, didn't he? Video: Minnesota high school player wipes out in opening intros [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 8:56 am] For about 55 years, the Minnesota state prep hockey championships have been the "crown jewel" of local high school sports, with fans and families planning trips months in advance to watch games and local television broadcasting championship rounds live.In other words: There are a lot of eyes on the MSHSL Tourney ... which means plenty of puckheads witnessed Alexandria defenseman Zach Van Orsdel stumble into one of the most memorable pregame intros we've seen. But the dude was a very good sport about it. Watch and wince:(Apologies on the quality; only clip available as of this morning.)Our only regret for this clip: That there wasn't an isolated camera on Van Orsdel and the teammate standing next to him stone-faced during the tumble, just to see when that tension was broken. And that Bob Saget wasn't around to add the requisite sound effects. We'd have gone with a "Scooby-Doo running in the air," followed by a "PLONK."Loren Nelson, editor of Minnesota Hockey Hub, was live blogging Alexandria's 7-1 loss to Mahtomedi on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. His take:Alexandria's Zach Van Orsdel just lived out the nightmare of every player who has ever been to the state tournament. During the announcement of the starting lineups, as players skate to the blue line and toward the camera man ... you know where we're going with this ... yes, he wiped out. He did fall gracefully, however, and did not take out the cameraman. He also recovered well, flashing a big smile and giving a mock fist pump as he got up.Damn right. Nicely done by Van Orsdel, and major respect for him. Stuff happens, you move on. Heck, Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) bounced back nicely from his epic intro fail the following season for the Penguins, didn't he? Wednesday's Three Stars: Sabres' Myers makes statement [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 12:35 am] No. 1 Star: Tyler Myers(notes), Buffalo Sabres Just as the Jimmy Howard(notes) Calder Express is rolling in the media, the rookie defenseman posts the first four-point game of his NHL career in the Sabres' 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars. Myers opened the scoring with a pinball-style deflected goal and then added three assists, earning a plus-4 on the night. Thomas Vanek(notes) scored his 20th for Buffalo, which overcame 38 saves by Marty Turco(notes) for the win. Ryan Miller(notes) made 17. No. 2 Star: Patrick Sharp(notes), Chicago Blackhawks Sharp opened and closed the scoring in the Blackhawks' impressive 3-2 OT victory over the Los Angeles Kings. He netted goal No. 20 2:34 into the game on an assist from Adam Burish(notes), playing his first game of the season after injury rehab. In overtime, Dave Bolland(notes) converted a Kings turnover into a lead pass for a Sharp breakaway, and the Chicago forward used a nifty move to beat Jonathan Quick(notes) (40 saves) for the win. Anze Kopitar(notes) scored his 31st for the Kings. No. 3 Star: Lee Stempniak(notes), Phoenix Coyotes In an effort to torture Maple Leafs fans to their breaking point, Stempniak now has three goals and an assist in three games for the Coyotes. He scored twice in regulation and added a shootout goal in the Yotes' 4-3 OT victory over the Vancouver Canucks, who naturally had to experience a protracted skills competition on the last night of their road trip. Adrian Aucoin(notes) had the definitive shootout goal; Ilya Bryzgalov(notes) made 36 saves and a few more in the shootout. Honorable mention: Wild game between arch rivals in Newark, as the New Jersey Devils chased Henrik Lundqvist(notes) (12 saves on 17 shots) for the first time and defeated the New York Rangers, 6-3. Zach Parise(notes) scored his 31st, and Jamie Langenbrunner(notes) and Brian Rolston(notes) tallied 2:13 apart in the second to put the game away. ... After carrying the puck from the defensive zone, Eric Belanger(notes Video: Andrew Raycroft's blind robbery of Lee Stempniak [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 11, 2010, 12:10 am] Andrew Raycroft(notes) has been a serviceable backup to Roberto Luongo(notes) for the Vancouver Canucks this season. Appearing in 17 games and starting 11 of them, the 2004 Calder Trophy winner has posted a 7-4-1 record having been mostly used on the road. Only three times this season has Raycroft played in front of the fans at Canada Hockey Place GM Place. That's why it's fitting that he's closed out Vancouver's monster 14-game road trip Wednesday night in Phoenix during a 4-3 shootout loss to the Coyotes. The Canucks finish their trip with an 8-5-1 record but with the Colorado Avalanche still lurking in the Northwest Division standings. As for Raycroft, just minutes into the Canucks' final road game before returning home on Saturday night, he went all Dominik Hasek(notes) on Coyotes forward Lee Stempniak(notes) for a "Save of the Year" contender: The entire lower bowl was on their feet thinking Stempniak had scored. Oh, you precious Coyotes fans. Poor Raycroft had you thinking it was 1-0 until he turned into Spider-Man for a second.Stempniak would later get his revenge on Raycroft, scoring twice and adding a goal during the six-round shootout. With the victory, Phoenix inches closer towards the playoffs and having head coach Dave Tippett's earn this season's Jack Adams Award. Puck Previews: Sid’s stick located; radio prank awkwardness [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 5:45 pm] 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. • The timing of stories today got us all turned around, so Puck Headlines will return on Thursday. Expect the Crosby Golden Roar vote to begin on Friday, through the weekend. Any entries you think have to make the cut, make the case in the comments here. Preview: New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. EST. For both teams, the stakes are rather obvious: They either build momentum with a huge win over a hated rival, or they get pushed into a deeper depression with a loss. The Devils are in a 6-12-2 funk that's seen them tumble out of the division lead. The Rangers are in a three-game winless streak as they try and climb back into the eighth seed. Blueshirt Banter has a good across-the-Hudson preview.Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m. EST. Game of the night, as the Blackhawks look to bounce back from an awful loss to Detroit and the Kings look to ride high after a 6-0 dismantling of the Blue Jackets. Antti Niemi(notes) gets the nod for Chicago, but the big news for the 'Hawks is the return of Adam Burish to the lineup to cause havoc and make women swoon. Preview: Vancouver Canucks at Phoenix Coyotes, 10 p.m. EST. The nightmare road trip from hell comes to an end! The Coyotes fans see this game as a measuring stick. The Canucks, 8-5-0 in the NRTFH, see it as their last road game until Feb. 23. Check out previews and updated scores for all of today's games (like the ones in progress) on the Y! Sports NHL scores and scheds page.Evening Reading• Call off the dogs, tell the national guard to stand down and bring us all the way down to DEFCON 2: Sidney Crosby's(notes) stick and glove have been located. His stick? It was headed, by mistake, to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg, Russia where U.S. Senate candidate on how campaign 'stole' Columbus logo [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 3:55 pm] Marc Delphine was fond of the logo a volunteer had designed for his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Oregon: a silver star wrapped in a star-spangled banner that his designer told him evoked the letter 'D' for branding purposes. It certainly was a memorable symbol. In fact, it was already being used by the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, as Delphine was stunned to discover on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets PR staff was alerted by fans over Twitter of the trademark infringement, and passed the matter along to their legal department. Delphine said he received a phone call from The Oregonian newspaper about misuse of the logo, followed by "30 consecutive emails" from around the country about it. "They were all like, 'What are you doing with their logo?' and I was like, 'I didn't make the logo!' and we pulled it immediately," said Delphine, a Libertarian candidate making history as the first openly homosexual man to run for the U.S. Senate in Oregon. "I'm not interested in any kind of infringement. We don't even need a logo."He said a volunteer associated with his Web site developer created the logo and donated it to the campaign. As you can see, the Blue Jackets' current logo (right) was simply flipped from left to right and the red circle synonymous with the Ohio state flag was removed. Instead of a 'D' the logo actually makes a 'C' for Columbus. Sometimes you get what you pay for, according to Delphine. "I don't know if you know anything about Libertarian candidates, but they typically don't have a lot of money coming in. I was thinking this was so nice, but it was too good to be true," said Delphine, a self-professed "huge sports fan" but not a hockey fan. "It's not very original."The logo was removed from the candidate's official Web site, though it remained on Delphine's Facebook page as of Wednesday afternoon. He said he hoped his candidacy wouldn't become synonymous with this logo foul-up. "If any No suspension for Matt Cooke after blindsiding Marc Savard [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 1:52 pm] Boston Bruins announcer Jack Edwards threw a fit on Tuesday over the NHL's delay in doling out discipline to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke(notes) for his hit on Marc Savard(notes). But now that the League has announced there'll be no suspension for the blindside hit that may have ended Savard's season, we all know why they implemented stall tactics. On Wednesday morning, hours before the announcement, the NHL's GMs made Cookie's hit illegal and suspension-worthy ... starting next season (and pending further approval). The NHL can claim consistency in not having taken any action against Mike Richards(notes) for his blindside hit against David Booth(notes) or on this Cooke hit, while promising fans that the loophole has been closed and these stretcher-ride head-checks are being legislated out the games. You know ... next season. NHL VP Colin Campbell tipped his hand on Cooke when discussing the hit on Fan 590 in Toronto, vehemently claiming no elbow was involved and that it was "shoulder-to-head" contact. He wasn't framing the following his as a cheap shot, and clearly the NHL's ruling is in sync with that belief:We disagreed at the time of the hit, and disagree now. The hit came after Savard had fired the puck on net and there was intent to injure on the part of Cooke, who doesn't get the benefit of the doubt as a repeat offender. Again: Richards hit Booth after Booth made a backhand pass while skating at Richards; Cooke hit Savard after Savard shot the puck. Cooke earned himself another suspension in our eyes, but obviously not those of the NHL. The situation will be rectified in 2010-11, but try to telling that to Marc Savard. No, seriously, try to: He'll nod off in the middle of the word "rectified" thanks to Cooke. The Puck Daddy Hockey Live Chat Returns! [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 11:53 am] Lyle "Spector" Richardson of Fox Sports? Check. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period? Check, we think. Must be the return of the Puck Daddy Hockey Live Chat, in which we drop the word "rumors" after the trade deadline but are hesitant to use the word "playoffs" with about 18 games left.Join us at 1 p.m. EST for playoff race talk, GM meetings banter, tales of Olympic debauchery and hamburger women. Bring your questions, bring your speculation and, above all, bring the funny. We'll supply the cynical answers and abrupt shifts in tone. NHL GMs approve blindside head-shot ban with vague penalties [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 11:37 am] Pending a rubber stamp from the competition committee and the Board of Governors, the Mike Richards(notes) hit on David Booth(notes) will be an illegal hit next season. But according to a proposed rule change, so would Doug Weight's hit on Brandon Sutter from 2008.The annual GM meetings in lovely Boca Raton ended with the suits proposing a rule change for hits to the head. From NHL.com:The following language was agreed to unanimously by the group: "A lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted. A violation of the above will result in a minor or major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline."The rule goes to the competition committee of players and GMs, and then to the NHL Board of Governors if it's approved. Which, one imagines, it will be for the 2010-11 season. While the Matt Cooke(notes)/Marc Savard hit was the hot topic before the meetings -- and don't you just love this rule being approved before Colin Campbell gets around to making a decision on Cooke's mugging of Savard? -- it was Richards/Booth that inspired this rule. From NHL.com and Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk:"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel though. We have a great game. The David Booth hit is kind of the alarming one that everyone kind of took notice of, so I think it'll be for the good of the game if we can straighten this out."Again, this is a good step towards "straightening out" hits to the head: We were in favor of this type of incremental rule change, rather than banning all contact with the head on checks. One of our arguments against a total head-shot ban was that it creates more questions than it'll answer, because the NHL's officials and League disciplinarians are hardly arbiters of consistency or fairness. Think Ovechkin on Jagr in Vancouver: Brilliant hockey hit, technically illegal via the IIHF rules. You think that gets pe Gold medal game affected air travel, sales and Canadian urination [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 11:01 am] For all the facts, figures and revelations that have emerged from the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament, none can equal the hilarious confirmation that Canadians fans were more dedicated to watching the gold medal game than answering nature's call.From Pat's Papers comes this graph from EPCOR, the water utility in Edmonton, which tracked the local water consumption during the Feb. 28 gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada. EPCOR told the Globe & Mail that it saw a similar pattern during 2006 Stanley Cup final games between the Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes. As you can see, consumption reached its lowest point as Canada entered the final minute of the third period with a lead, before Zach Parise's(notes) game-tying goal for the U.S. It reached its highest point after the gold medal ceremony, when Canadian fans were on Cloud 9 at the same time their back teeth were apparently floating. We imagine the inverse of this chart could be published as an accurate depiction of beer consumption in Edmonton on that day as well. Meanwhile, in other gold medal aftermath news:• Canwest reported on Wednesday that an Air Canada flight out of Vancouver was delayed when passengers ignored calls to board while they watched the gold medal game on airport TVs. Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu: "We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence."• XP Events, which handled concessions for the Vancouver Games, gambled and won: They didn't order a single item depicting a U.S. gold medal in men's hockey, but invested in gold medal hats and T-shirts from Nike in case Canada won. XP President Alan Few told Sports Business Journal (reg. required) that "a few thousand units" were sold immediately after the gold medal ceremony, and no doubt continue to move. • Finally, a man robbed a pretzel shop in suburban Buffalo this week in a shoplifted Sidney Crosby(notes) Pittsb Gold medal game affected air travel, sales, Canadian urination [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 11:01 am] For all the facts, figures and revelations that have emerged from the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament, none can equal the hilarious confirmation that Canadians fans were more dedicated to watching the gold medal game than answering nature's call.From Pat's Papers comes this graph from EPCOR, the water utility in Edmonton, which tracked the local water consumption during the Feb. 28 gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada. EPCOR told the Globe & Mail that it saw a similar pattern during 2006 Stanley Cup final games between the Edmonton Oilers and the Carolina Hurricanes. As you can see, consumption reached its lowest point as Canada entered the final minute of the third period with a lead, before Zach Parise's(notes) game-tying goal for the U.S. It reached its highest point after the gold medal ceremony, when Canadian fans were on Cloud 9 at the same time their back teeth were apparently floating. We imagine the inverse of this chart could be published as an accurate depiction of beer consumption in Edmonton on that day as well. Meanwhile, in other gold medal aftermath news:• Canwest reported on Wednesday that an Air Canada flight out of Vancouver was delayed when passengers ignored calls to board while they watched the gold medal game on airport TVs. Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu: "We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence."• XP Events, which handled concessions for the Vancouver Games, gambled and won: They didn't order a single item depicting a U.S. gold medal in men's hockey, but invested in gold medal hats and T-shirts from Nike in case Canada won. XP President Alan Few told Sports Business Journal (reg. required) that "a few thousand units" were sold immediately after the gold medal ceremony, and no doubt continue to move. • Finally, a man robbed a pretzel shop in suburban Buffalo this week in a shoplifted Sidney Crosby(notes) Pittsb Calder rookie race down to goalies, Myers and Duchene [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 9:59 am] Ah, the sweet naiveté of September 2009, when we predicted that Victor Hedman(notes) would be the NHL's top rookie defenseman, Cody Hodgson(notes) and Sergei Shirokov(notes) were going to be impact players for the Vancouver Canucks and Jimmy Howard(notes) didn't warrant even an honorable mention. With roughly 16-18 games left for most teams, the Calder Trophy race is fairly solidified and rather surprising ... at least in the sense that, for the second straight season, we may not see an offensive player win the rookie prize. At least if Tyler Myers(notes) or Jimmy Howard have anything to say about it. Colorado Avalanche rookie Matt Duchene(notes), the No. 3 pick last summer, is going to win the points title barring a collapse. He has 47 points in 66 games, which means he's on target for around 60. The last offensive rookie to win the Calder was Patrick Kane(notes) of the Chicago Blackhawks with 72 points in 82 games. John Tavares(notes) of the New York Islanders had to be the best offensive rookie in order to win the Calder, and he's second overall at 18 goals and 18 assists in 66 games. That's one point better than Devils-turned-Thrashers rookie Niclas Bergfors(notes) (35 in 64 games) and two better than James van Riemsdyk(notes) of the Philadelphia Flyers (33 points in 62 games). In hindsight, Boomer Gordon of XM Radio was right: Tavares is going to be right around Steven Stamkos's(notes) rookie numbers (23-23-46); so congratulations to the Islanders for managing the hype and expectations better than the Tampa Bay Lightning did, and for what we expect will be a breakout sophomore season for Tavares in 2010-11. With none of the offensive players dominating, the focus returns to the other side of the puck for the second straight season. Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers still has to be the Calder favorite, even though he's cooled off offensively. He leads all rookies in ice time (23:40) and blocked shots (110), although his giveaways (71) actually pl Which wacky ideas from GM meetings do you want in the NHL? [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 8:46 am] "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm" is the famous quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. The same can be said for some NHL general managers who are currently down in Boca Raton, Florida trying to convince their colleagues of changes that the League should instill in the future. The GMs meetings are laboratory of ideas with many failures, few successes, but plenty of open minds. Who could forget ESPN's Pierre LeBrun donning a prototype of a helmet that would provide better protection for players in a fight on Hockey Night in Canada?In the past, these meetings were held not long before the NHL trade deadline and the GMs were a bit more focused on changing personnel than brainstorming potential rule changes. Though last year, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland did propose setting the trade deadline during the meetings. While headshots have been the topic du jour this week, during the breakout sessions, four groups of general managers discuss various proposals for improving the game. Coming out of these groups, many ideas gain little traction, while a few are picked up among the GMs and some find themselves presented to all 30 GMs and eventually seek the approval of the NHL's Competition Committee and Board of Governors before being enacted. Some ideas are logical and some are result of great out-of-the-box thinking, but the brainstorming sessions are what help to jump start future discussions and get the ball rolling on other ideas.After the jump, we take a look at five proposals that were brought up in the breakout meetings this week and examine whether or not we see a future in the NHL for them. Which ones would you like to see adopted for the League, if any?Reporting on these proposals was done over on NHL.com and via Bob McKenzie at TSN.1. The first standings tiebreaker is changed from "most wins" to "most regulation/OT wins"Florida Panthers GM Randy Sexton would whole-heartedly agree with this proposal. Had this been the case Tuesday's Three Stars: Canucks' latest trick; Wings fold [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: March 10, 2010, 12:32 am] No. 1 star: Mikael Samuelsson(notes), Vancouver Canucks After playing 531 career regular-season games without a hat trick, Samuelsson scored three goals in the second period alone as the Canucks erased deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 in what would conclude as a 6-4 victory. The Canucks won for a league-leading 10th time when trailing after two periods, not surprising when you realize they've been outscored 25-6 in the first period during their arduous road trip. Samuelsson, who scored twice on rebounds in close and also assisted on Daniel Sedin's(notes) empty-netter, has been critical of the team's tendency to fall behind. Hats off to the Swedish Olympic snub. No. 2 star: Jarome Iginla(notes), Calgary Flames A 4-2 win allowed Calgary to leapfrog Detroit in the race to eliminate San Jose from the playoffs for the final postseason spot out West. We'll expend a "did you know" bullet early here: Iginla's third-period, game-tying goal was his first against Detroit since March of 2004. About 90 seconds later he batted a puck out of the air and off the leg of teammate Rene Bourque(notes) for what held up as the game-winner. No. 3 star: Scott Gomez(notes), Montreal Canadiens Gomez led a balanced attack with one goal and two assists in a 5-3 victory over the desperate Lightning. Gomez, who has 15 points in 11 games dating back to early February, was involved in the scoring of Montreal's first three goals, as the Habs chased Antero Niittymaki(notes) before the midway mark of the second period. Honorable Mention: Getting another shot to provide stability in the Nashville net, Dan Ellis(notes) made 30 saves in a 2-1 win over Atlanta to strengthen the Preds' hold on No. 7 in the West. … Nice homecoming for Toronto native Luca Caputi(notes), who scored to force overtime in his first home game in a Leafs sweater, an eventual 4-3 win. … Steven Stamkos(notes) set a Tampa franchise record with his 17th power-play goal and extended his team-record point streak t |