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.
• Just a reminder that we're still rocking and rolling here on Puck Daddy during the holiday, with Three Stars wrap-ups and Puck Headlines and a special Thanksgiving treat on Turkey Day. Happy holidays, everyone. Be safe, get fat, be happy. And as always, thanks for reading.
Preview: Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. EST; TV: RIS, CSBA). Quite the love-fest going on here, despite this being Brian Campbell's first game back in San Jose after selling out to the Blackhawks. Soupy is happy for the Sharks, and thinks playing in Buffalo will be more difficult. Ryane Clowe knows the fans feel cheated, but "I guess we know the situation more as a player what some guys go through." Aw, group hug at center ice, you guys ...
Preview: Atlanta Thrashers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. EST; TV: SS, CSN). Caps fans couldn't be happier to see Karl Alzner make it to the show. OK, they might be happier if half their team wasn't injured. Thrashers might go with either Ondrej Pavelec or Johan Hedberg tonight. Meanwhile, coach John Anderson recently recalled when he and Leafs coach Ron Wilson were hazed as teammates. "Instead of shaving our heads, they kind of cut pieces out of it, so we looked like the Sex Pistols ... They called me Johnny Rotten. They called him Sid Vicious. I said hello to Sid today." Awesome.
Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSPI, MSG). Answer: Marc-Andre Fleury, Rick DiPietro, Sean Leahy. Question: Who are three people who can load up on all the beer they want at Nassau tonight because they're watching instead of playing?
Preview: Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. EST; TV: MSG, NESN). The last time these two teams met it was like an offensive skills competition in the first period. Ryan Miller will get a chance for redemption. Meanwhile, Maxim Afinogenov is turbo pissed about his benching for the last two games.
Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. EST; TV: CN8, FSS). Jeff Carter is now tied with Thomas Vanek for the NHL lead in goals with 15. Those Flyers have some decent centers, don't they?
Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. EST; TV: FSAZ, FSOH). Hey, shocker: Ken Hitchcock said he starts eating turkey on Thursday and "is still munching on turkey sandwiches on Tuesday." Phoenix has lost six in a row.
Preview: New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. EST; TV: MSG2, SUN). Since they met in Prague to start the season, the Bolts and Rangers are finishing up their season series tonight. Mike Smith is in goal tonight for Tampa, and interim coach Rick Tocchet issues a stern warning to his players that he will "get rid of people" if the effort isn't there. Bet on it.
Making fun of referees is awesome:
Preview: New Jersey Devils at Florida Panthers (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: MSG2, FSFL). Slowly, Scott Clemmensen is winning the Devils' starting goaltending job; he'll make his fifth start in six games tonight. Now, if he can just perfect that whole "playing for three good periods" thing.
Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, NHLN). The Habs no doubt wish they were coming into this game with different momentum. And by that we mean having a little more confidence that they can pull their goalie on a delayed penalty without squandering a one-goal lead. Meanwhile, Darren Helm and Darren McCarty flip-flop for the Wings.
Preview: Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. EST; TV: FSSW, KSTC). Mark Parrish makes his return to Minnesota after the Wild bought out his contract. This can only be a good thing for fantasy owners who might have him on the roster.
Preview: St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. EST; TV: FSMW, ALT2 , Yahoo! Sports). Tony Granato is becoming a punching bag for frustrated Avs fans. "Avalanche fans have had to endure what may be the most boring Avalanche team since, well, ever." Ouch.
Preview: Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. EST; TV: TSN, NHLN). There's really nothing more annoying than when a team takes all the air out of a good storyline. With that. Mathieu Garon will not start against his old team, as the Oilers will go with Dwayne Roloson. At least we'll have the Lubomir Visnovsky/Matt Greene/Jarret Stoll drama.
• Finally, Sarah Spain with an interesting look at how some of the Blackhawks ended up choosing their sweater numbers:
