Top Line: Fleury's miraculous save; Stamkos sets return date; more links
By Allan Muir
An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:
• "Unfortunately, I'm going to be on the highlights for quite a time with that one,” said Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson on Monday night after being victimized by the highlight-reel save above. Save of the year? Maybe. What do you think of Marc-Andre Fleury's larcenous glove grab?
• Sidelined by an unidentified illness, Kris Letang sat out his third consecutive game for the Penguins. Team doctors are running tests on the All-Star defender, but haven't come up with any answers for what might be ailing him, or how long he'll be out of the lineup.
• Steven Stamkos is aiming for a return to action on Saturday night, but skating against the Red Wings doesn't guarantee that he'll be ready to join Team Canada.
• The TSN panel talks NHL trade rumors, including the latest on Ryan Callahan (he wants how much?), David Legwand and Thomas Vanek, who reportedly is willing to leave money on the table to sign with the team he wants. Wonder who that could be ...?
• Whenever the Islanders get around to moving Vanek, they'd better address this area of immediate need with the return.
• This won't make Sabres fans crazy at all: Tyler Seguinalmost came to Buffalo last summer. Watching what he's done to accelerate the Stars' rebuild, that thought is gonna hurt for a long time ...
• Are the Canucks the the NHL's worst third-period team? They certainly played like it -- again -- as John Tortorella made a fruitless return to the bench in last night's 2-0 loss to Detroit. Tortorella's frustration led him to call for changes to the lineup ... or at least, changes more significant than the Dale Wiese for Raphael Diaz swap.
• Tim Thomas wouldn't pump Roberto Luongo's tires, but one of his old Bruins teammates is happy to do it.
• Speaking of Thomas, he says he has an idea of where he'd like to play next season.
• The NHL's best rivalry could be headed outdoors in 2015.
• A chat with a Hall of Famer helped Flyers goalie Steve Mason get his game back on track.
• The Olympic hockey head shots are online ... and let's just say they are not particularly flattering. I mean, poor Alfie.
• More Olympic talk: Sidney Crosby says it can be a challenge staying focused on his NHL job with the Olympic tournament just days away. Meanwhile, after being snubbed by Team USA, Bobby Ryan plans on ignoring the Winter Games.
• They didn't introduce the entire Swedish Olympic team at last night's Sochi send-off in Detroit, but they came pretty close.
• These Olympic dorms aren't likely to earn that elusive fourth star ... but they'll sleep at least three:
https://twitter.com/SWhyno/status/430676101724372992
• Damien Brunner talks about Switzerland's chance to surprise in Sochi, and takes a shot at Jaromir Jagr in the process.
• With his new team in Raleigh to play his old one, Jets coach Paul Maurice reflects on his impact during his time with the Hurricanes.
• James Mirtle reveals details about the soft, noodley stick that frustrates most players, but which has also powered Phil Kessel's race to the top of the scoring charts.
• Here's another great piece from hockey historian Joe Pelletier, this time focusing on what could have been an early European invasion of the NHL.