Some LHinks* before we preview Brendan Witt's return to the lineup later. Witt will be a hated man among Leafs fans, but I wonder if any Leafs players will bother to see it that way. I'm betting the NHL hopes so because, you know: drama sells.
*"Blade Splinters" -- a carry-over from my old blog -- is cute, but a shorter, copy-friendlier LHinks (as in Lighthouse Hockey links) may be cuter still. We'll see.
- The Rangers lost and fell into ninth place, leapt in the standings by the team that shut them out. Rejoice!
- ... but the fellow playoff-chasing Panthers have lost Nathan Horton for 2-4 weeks after a skate blade sliced a tendon in his finger. Yikes.
- Tonight's opponent lost to provincial rivals Ottawa despite a successful illegal stick call on Spezza. But you know what's better? This: "Mike Comrie needs a bit more intensity." Meanwhile, fellow rental Dean McAmmond has been a delight and is remembered fondly by Silver Seven. Campoli played 22:51 and was +1.
- Oh, and Bob Gainey fired Guy Carbonneau, making Guy Lafleur look good. The news stunned Habs Eyes on the Prize. Many of you may not know that Carbonneau (as a Star) broke Pierre Turgeon's hand (as a Blue) with a slash in 1998, so don't feel bad for him. Yeah, my ledger has a looong memory.
- Craig MacTavish unhearts Dustin Penner. Again. Maybe Larry Brooks will hire Tom Renney to replace Mac-T and it will all be better.
- Good grief. Do we really need to acknowledge this as if it was a real issue? Do random Canadian columnists and NY talk jockeys have that much influence? (Don't answer that.) Didn't E. Lindros's karma prove it's Bad Idea Jeans even if JT did want to refuse to dance with who drafted him?
- Oh well, the rest of LeBrun's piece has intresting updates on Tavares.
- Finally, Islanders Outsider heard 'How I Met Your Mother' acting like Turgeon and LaFontaine played together. Which sounds positively dreamy.