Puck Headlines: Penguins, uh, slightly shorthanded vs. Anaheim

Here are your Evening Puck Headlines and Previews: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

Preview: Anaheim Ducks at Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: FSPT, FSPI). The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without captain Sidney Crosby (left knee), defenseman Rob Scuderi (head), forward Max Talbot (upper body), defenseman Kris Letang, forward Pascal Dupuis (knee) and, as usual, defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Or pretty much two injuries away from signing Troy Loney and Peter Taglianetti to 10-day contracts.

Preview: New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. EST; TV: MSG, FSOH). No Brendan Shanahan for the Devils tonight, and Rick Nash is on IR for the Jackets. Kevin Weekes will get the start for the Devils, as Scott Clemmensen is starting to play a little bit too much like Scott Clemmensen these days.

• David Lee explains the simmer hatred between Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes fans, and why he's not a part of it. [Red and Black Hockey]

• The San Jose Sharks are preparing for their huge showdown with the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, with revenge and first overall in the Western Conference on the line. Dan Boyle: "They certainly embarrassed us in their building. At the end of the day, it is still two points and we have to play better in these kinds of games." [Sharks]

• A 52-year-old Idaho woman has been issued a misdemeanor battery citation for hitting a male opponent with her stick during a coed, non-contact hockey game. According to police: "She became angry, I guess, because she thought a player had tried to hit her with the puck." Just so we're clear: A dude who was slashed by a girl in a coed hockey game called the police on her. And then, we assume, watched "The Notebook" while eating a pint of Cherry Garcia on his husband. The pillow, not ... yeah. [Idaho Mountain Express, via SbB]

Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Atlanta Thrashers (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: RSN, SS). As captain of the Thrash, Ilya Kovalchuk is in charge of planning the team's Super Bowl party. You guessed it: Pizza, chips and three kegs of Smirnoff. 

Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Colorado Avalanche (9:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, ALT ). "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate Glenn Anderson Day in Edmonton!"

• The Vancouver Canucks are losing in a Sundin World, and panic is starting to set it: "You will hear that Alain Vigneault has lost this team and he has to go. You will hear, for the 3,000th time, that the Sedins aren't frontline players and they have to go. You will also hear the pursuit of Mats Sundin is somehow at the root of this fiasco. And finally, you'll hear it's all Taylor Pyatt's fault, well, just because you always hear that." [National Post]

• Washington Post baseball writer Barry Svrluga is doing some hockey coverage these days, and mistakenly wrote that Sidney Crosby won the Calder instead of Alexander Ovechkin. Capitals fans =  not amused. [Bleacher Report]

Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: CW57, FSFL). The Panthers haven't played in five days. The Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' minor league and current hosts to Danny Briere, could either split time between the Wachovia Center and Trenton or move to Glens Falls, NY next season, according to this report. 

Preview: New York Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. EST; TV: MSG2, CSNC, Yahoo! Sports). Perhaps the must-see game of the night, as this Original Six matchup features two very solid defensive teams. The Hawks are concerned about the health of Duncan Keith after the shot from Drew Stafford the other night.

• Following the Montreal Canadiens is like following a religion. Seriously. [CP]

Benoit Pouliot is rather upset the Minnesota Wild have decided to demote him. [Star Tribune]

• For the blog-watching smarts in the audience, a little more about the BD Gallof/Masked Avenger thing that's become the inside story of the day. [Lighthouse Hockey]

• Finally, it's a been a challenging week on several fronts, and thanks for the support here and there. This, however, was pretty cool: Our Semin interview getting name-checked on SportsCenter. Nothing like Barry Melrose breaking down a big story, is there?


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