Well, at least Paul Stastny was named USA's top forward, 3g6a, and totally dominated the faceoff circle. Thanks JIMMY HOWARD, always.

Please people, have a little self-respect. This is the worst jersey foul ever! This guy is obviously one of those Detroit transplants.

A happy stroll down memory lane featured today on NHL.com. That was the last we saw of the rats (thankfully).

New rules in hockeyland: Tiebreakers.

The first tiebreaker will be a combination of regulation time and overtime victories, with shootout wins excluded, according to the online report.

In the past, the first tiebreaker had been total wins of any kind.

Perhaps some stat-happy MHHer will enter an alternative universe, and see how this rule would have affected the Avs standings in the playoffs last year, or before when we missed it by one point. I think it's a great change.

Mr. Shot Blocker signed by Lightning to a two-year contract worth $3.2 million. Good for him! Editor's Note: And good for us!

Some funny player nicknames by their teammates on the Altitude TV feature. Some of the gems:

Paullie Wallnuts ~ Paul Stastny
Old Farmer ~ Clarke
Factor, Snook ~ O'Reilly
Simple Jack, Randy the Ram ~ Matt Hendricks
Deuces, Kofax (or Colfax?) ~ Hannan
Sauce, Special Sauce ~ Ryan Wilson (Awesome!)
Meh ~ Cody McCloud
Diesel, The Giraffe ~ Durno.

Avalanche hockey may be over, but Dutchie continues to shine on a line with Tavares and Whitney.

"I was pretty happy with how things went with our line," Duchene said of the combination he played on with Whitney and John Tavares. "We connected right away. Razor [Ray Whitney] had a great game. We created some stuff. As a team, we started a bit slow. Big ice hockey is pretty different from back home."

"Ray's a guy who likes to slow things down a bit, and I like to speed them up," Duchene noted. "He slows things down, pulls the other team to him, and then dishes to me. That's what happened on my goal. He's more of an east-west guy and I'm more of a north-south."

"Taylor Swift showed her support for the Avs during an encore performance in front of a sold-out crowd at Pepsi Center last night. KSE Executive Vice President Paul Andrews and Colorado Avalanche Chief Marketing Officer Kurt Schwartzkopf presented Taylor a personalized jersey before her concert that she wore during her final songs on stage."

She probably has no idea what hockey is, but nice to see someone famous sporting the Burgandy and Blue!

Why #13 do you suppose? Tribute to Dan Hinote? Get it? High Note? Folks, I'll be here all night...

FINALLY, NBC has come to their senses and will be broadcasting Friday's Quarterfinal game LIVE, coast to coast, between Team USA and either the Czech Republic or Finland. So tune in with the rest of the world at Noon Pacific, 1pm MST, 2pm CST, or 3pm EST. Why they would ever want to broadcast an event happening in the Pacific time zone live in the Pacific time zone is beyond me....

Equipment truck fire torches the Wild's gear. Great photos for future game thread here.

Does this really surprise anyone here?

Jibble's top 19 Super Joe moments deserve to be read by the quadruple...

Oh Captain, My Captain!!!

Jonathan Roy will have more to sing about after he stands trial on October 7th for assult (Goalie Fight) during a game in March of 08. The charges were filed three days after new provincial rules, that hadn't been in place when the attack occurred, were instituted.

Pretty good overview from Bryan Thiel at the Bleacher Report

Was the signing of Anderson the biggest steal of the off-season, as Spector speculates? Lets hope so!

Ironman streak ends at 509 games, eight years. What a wimp!

Forbes magazine just ranked Denver as the #1 most desirable city to live in, and Detroit as the #1 least desirable... again. Attention top prospects: come play for the Avs!

According to the Denver Post, during some games last season, Peter Forsberg wired up his leg and carried a battery hidden in his pants! Robofoppa also plans to return again this season if and when he heals from yet another surgery.