• So, I chose a bad night not to skip school.  5-2 with a hat trick from the Mule and more scoring from TPH?  I'm sad that school got in the way of that. Don't forget the curly fries today. [The Production Line - MLive - Detroit Free Press - Mile High Hockey - Nightmare on Helm Street]
  
• This is just an awesome read about the experience of Joe Louis Arena. [The Score]
  
• With realignment a month away, Puck Daddy has posted a visual look at every single league alignment since 1967. [Puck Daddy]
• The Blues shutout the Blakchawks 3-0 in Ken Hitchcock's debut behind the bench.  I have to admit, I was rooting for them to win.  I root for every Blackhawks opponent to win. [St. Louis Game Time]
• Sidney Crosby may finally be on the verge of returning.  [Yahoo! Sports]
• Speaking of the Penguins, they traded Mark Letestu to the Blue Jackets for a fourth round pick yesterday. [Pensburgh]
• Copper and Blue point out something that has always been a limiting factor for the Canadiens: their preference for players, coaches, GMs, and personnel who speak French.  I know it's a big part of your identity, Montreal, but you shouldn't choose spoken language over the people that give you the best chance to win. [Copper and Blue]
• Mike Knuble doesn't sound too confident in his Capitals right now, questioning their commitment.  Don't worry, Mike, it'll get better when you have a T-1000 and a weird cross between a horse and donkey score a bunch of goals for you. [Washington Post]
• A Junior player received a 20 game suspension for a hit that likely would have seen a similar Shanaban, if not more.  That is the kind of hit that makes you cringe. [Pro Hockey Talk]

Discussion of the Day: Do you think last night will be followed by another cold streak from Johan Franzen?  He himself has said he doesn't like scoring this much all at once because he has a tough time scoring afterward.  Let's hope he has a hat trick every night.