Puck Headlines: Danny Briere continues MVP season for Flyers

Here are your Evening 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.

Preview: Colorado Avalanche at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. EST; TV: ALT2, CSP). Defenseman Randy Jones is on a conditioning assignment for the Flyers in the AHL. Marty Biron's out tonight with the flu. Meanwhile, forward Danny Briere has been placed on the long-term injury list and could miss another month with a bad groin ... which is a crushing blow for a team mired in last place. Wait, what was that? The Flyers are fourth in the conference and one of the hottest teams in hockey? Why, it's almost like they're paying $8 million to a superfluous player. Until 2015 ...

Preview: Washington Capitals at New York Islanders (7 p.m. EST; TV: VS). Brent Johnson gets the start for the Caps. A new book counts down the greatest Washington Capitals of all time. Rod Langway over Alexander Ovechkin? Meh. Mike Gartner sixth, behind Dale Hunter? Whoopee!

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, MSG). Scott Clemmensen gets the start against his former team, and he's saying it'll be a special night for him. The Leafs are looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season. The Bleacher Report, god love'em, has articles asking if Ron Wilson for the Leafs struggles and asking for Sean Avery to come to Toronto. 

• An attempt at Rorymania for the all-star game, this time with Shean Donovan. Hey, look, Chuck Norris/Gary Roberts jokes. [Vote for Shean]

Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis said the Mats Sundin announcement could come on Thursday. So if someone else announces a deadline for Mats, can he still break it? [CP]

• Gary Bettman said Sean Avery's "sloppy seconds" remarks offended him as a parent. "To be perfectly honest I wouldn't want to have to explain to my 12-year-old daughter what he said." We'll volunteer. [CP]

Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. EST; TV: RDS, FSS). The Canes aren't exactly what you'd call a "good" home team, so Coach Paul Maurice is asking for an A-plus effort with two home games this week. Goalie Post reports that Jaroslav Halak gets the call tonight for the Habs.

Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Ottawa Senators (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: RSN). Hypothetical quandary of the night: If you switched the coaches on these teams, would either of their records be affected and how?

Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Dallas Stars (8:30 p.m. EST; TV: FSAZ, FSSW). Now that the whole Avery thing is over, we can focus on the routine stuff for the Stars again. Last place in the conference? Check. Sergei Zubov going to Colorado to see a specialist on his hip? Check. Marty Turco, still last in the NHL in GAA based on over 20 starts? Check.

• Gary Bettman makes the argument that the Oilers need a new downtown arena, calling it "critical" for the future of the franchise. [Faceoff]

• Adrian Dater goes into detail about his scoop from earlier about Peter Forsberg, explaining that Foppa believes he's closer than ever to solving that pesky foot problem. [Denver Post]

• Eric McErlain argues against the idea of an NHL ticket price freeze in this piss-poor economy, especially when it comes to the playoffs. "If you take away the ability to increase ticket prices for these games, it could very well mean the difference for some teams between posting a profit or a loss." [Sporting Blog]

• The cast of NBC's "Chuck" takes in the Kings and Sharks. Curl is smitten. [Wrap Around Curl]

Preview: Calgary Flames at St. Louis Blues (8:30 p.m. EST; TV: RSW, FSMW). Interesting story from the Calgary Herald about how Mike Keenan "nurses a power play." It involves a male breast pump. Kidding. But he does chew up food and spit it into the power play's mouth like a mama bird. Also, it wasn't a good Monday for Todd Bertuzzi.

Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, RIS, Yahoo! Sports). Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal believes Erik Cole of the Oilers is one of the biggest busts of the season. "With one third of the season in the books, more or less, the 30-year-old Cole is on pace for just 25 points, which would stand out as a single-season worst for the six-foot-two, 205-pounder, whose last three campaigns produced 51, 61 and 59 points."

Preview: New York Rangers at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. EST; TV: MSG, FSPT). Jonas Hiller gets the call for the Ducks against Henrik Lundqvist. This could be a fun one, even if there aren't a hell of a lot of goals scored. A fight would be welcome. Very, very welcome.  

Marian Gaborik will be back on the ice for the Minnesota Wild this Wednesday against the Flames. [CBC]

• Finally, the Los Angeles Kings enter the all-star commercial campaign fray. ACTING! And a Drew Doughty sighting!

Copyright PuckD - Puck Daddy
Contact Us