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.
• Day Two in the coverage of the Alexei Cherepanov tragedy shifts the focus squarely on what the KHL did or did not do to save the New York Rangers prospect's life. A member of the Russian Hockey Federation tells the Globe & Mail that "there may have been negligence" involved. Pierre McGuire of TSN observed footage of Cherepanov on the Omsk bench and said, "There is no stretcher. And you see the players carrying him off like a bag of potatoes."
• Steve Zipay of Newsday calls for a full probe of the situation, as reports state that "an ambulance arrived 15 minutes later and that the batteries in a defibrillator apparently were dead."
• Finally, in a bizarre obit, Gare Joyce of Sportsnet lashes out at those who claimed Cherepanov couldn't handle the physical grind of the NHL, a league he never had the chance to compete in. "At best, they're xenophobic stereotypes. At worst, slander. Maybe they'll be cleaned up in remembrances and tributes. Maybe they'll be given an extra layer of veils."
• Meanwhile, the Rangers continued their mastery of the New Jersey Devils, who couldn't figure out a way to move Aaron Voros from Martin Brodeur's crease -- with Coach Brent Sutter comparing him to Tomas Holmstrom. [Staten Island Advance]
• Speaking of Homer, some of you may have seen this but it was new to us: Please stop Holmstrom abuse. [YouTube]
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Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
• We'll no doubt have more about this later today, but the new Fan Cost Index from Team Marketing Report (.pdf) is out. Your top three average ticket prices: Toronto Maple Leafs ($76.15 per ticket), Montreal Canadiens ($64.26), Vancouver Canucks ($62.05) and Boston Bruins ($61.40). [Philly.com]
• Steven Stamkos has a blog ... er, "diary" for the Tampa Tribune. In the latest edition, the Tampa Bay Lightning rookie talks about trying to find a place to live. "It's like an introduction to the real world, doing what real people have to go through every day to live their lives." Yes, so many "real people" in Florida can no doubt relate to finding a place to live with $875,000 burning a hole in your pocket. Doesn't Vinny have a basement like Mario does? [Tribune, H/T Puck Update]
• Is it time for the Colorado Avalanche to panic at 0-2? OK, more to the point: Is it time for the Colorado Avalanche to panic about Peter Budaj at 0-2? [Mile High Hockey]
• The Vancouver Canucks are threatening the world with yet another new jersey. Whales, city names, electric skates, flying V's ... of all the teams, that's one track record we're eager to see continue. [Icethetics]
• The CHL and its players' association ended what could have been a debilitating players' strike, thus saving their season and avoiding cultural irrelevance. Wow, what a concept, huh Gary? [Northern Colorado Business Report]
• The Washington Capitals trounced the Canucks last night, and it appears fans are rather happy about it, judging from the street dancing and brass band. [Harrison Keith]
• Battle of California asks: What would Todd Bertuzzi have to do to gain your forgiveness (or at least your respect)? [BoC]
• With the Dallas Stars struggling out of the gate, Razor thinks they need Good Cop nurturing and Bad Cop fanny kicking. So, in other words, do you go Modano and Jere or Ott and Avery? [Razor With an Edge]
• Are the St. Louis Blues actually set up for a nice little run in the Central Division this season? [St. Louis Game Time]
• Finally, with a H/T to UniWatch, this Andrew Brunette commercial for the Minnesota Wild is pretty darn funny:
