Here are your Morning 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.
• What does it say about the state of Swedish journalism when Larry Brooks is the one fact-checking their stories? Turns out New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist isn't taking cortisone shots every week for his knees, which are still wonky after a collision in Game 4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He last took a shot in early August and is trying to play through the pain. See? Everything's cool. Well, save for the part where the team's franchise goalie still played in the world championships with a bum wheel. [NY Post]
• Nathan McIver of the Vancouver Canucks dropped the gloves with Zack Stortini of the Edmonton Oilers last night, and gave him a bunch of body blows like he was fighting King Hippo. Weak. [YouTube]
• A candid interview with Derian Hatcher in which he talks about being cap relief for the Philadelphia Flyers and stares down retirement. [Philly Burbs]
• Yahoo! is now in cahoots with the NHL for fantasy hockey. Luckily, it appears everyone with any authority in either company missed the Gary Bettman Art Contest. (For everyone who's been e-mailing, we'll announce our fantasy hockey coverage fairly soon.)
• Speaking of fantasy hockey: Sidney Crosby will be playing a lot more in shorthanded situations. Hello shorties that can mean a win or loss for the week! [Post Gazette]
• The really awful news: St. Louis Blues defenseman Erik Johnson will basically miss 2008-09 with a torn ACL and a damaged MCL in his right knee. The good news: The Blues haven't cancelled their season. The great news: The Red Wings, Predators, Blackhawks and the Blue Jackets should all increase their point totals from last season. [St. Louis Game Time]
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• The NHL is charging more for games shown online than Major League Baseball does. [LCS]
• Despite being able to be sent to the minor without waivers, Jimmy Howard still believes he can unseat Ty Conklin as the Detroit Red Wings backup goalie. [Snap Shots]
• The forgotten man in Washington, D.C. No, not John Edwards ... Olaf Kolzig. [On Frozen Blog]
• Finally, from Light the Lamp, Martin Gerber embraces the Dark Side with a Vader-inspired mask. Hopefully he doesn't look like a half-eaten moldy potato like Anakin did at the end of "Jedi."
