Quick Strikes for Thursday, March 26

The Syracuse Crunch beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6-1 last night, but without their captain Mike Angelidis . He stayed behind to welcome his new son into the world. Congratulations to the Angelidis family! [syracuse.com]
As those of us who regularly use this service already know, the NHL’s online viewing product – NHL GameCenter Live – is not the best. Of course, it doesn’t rival AHL Live’s horrificness, especially when taking cost into consideration, but still. A major league North American sport should be better than…this. [Winging It In Motown]
Are mainstream media talking heads trying to drive damaging narratives of the sport into the psyche of hockey fans by manipulating storylines? You betcha. And I think it all started when the NHL deliberately decided to set up Alex Ovechkin as the completely unnecessary antihero to the media’s designated Sidney Crosby NHL’s Savior role. #ratings [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
We interrupt your links post with this important announcement. The Ottawa Senators would like fans to stop throwing hamburgers on the ice during their games. Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading. [The Score]
Craig Custance discusses raising the draft age in the NHL from 18 to…something. While definitely an interesting idea, the article is behind a paywall. So enjoy if you’re a subscriber, and feel free to discuss the pros and cons of raising the draft age in the comments if not. [ESPN Insider]
The players making the big money are having not-great seasons all at the same time. And, naturally, the Carolina Hurricanes sitting at third worsts – just ahead of the Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs – in the standings. It’s almost like if your best players don’t show up, it’s hard to win games. Wonder why that is. [Canes Country]
Here’s a preview of the United States women’s hockey team that will be playing at World Championships this spring. And, no, they don’t all come from Minnesota. Or play for a Minnesota college. Or used to play for a Minnesota college. Just…um…maybe six of them do? [Hockey Wilderness]
Rick Nash has gone from hero to goat (no, not G.O.A.T., but goat) in Madison Square Garden. But we all already knew that the New York Rangers did that to players. Which is why most of the rest of the fans from other NHL teams wonder why anyone would want to play there in the first place. …And I’ll just leave it at that. [Blueshirt Banter]
People are speculating as to who will be the new (official) head coach for the Edmonton Oilers next season. My question is, why haven’t I ready anything about this since Dallas Eakins was fired in December? What exactly are you doing up there in Edmonton, Oilers’ fans? Anywhere else, and that’s about all you’d be reading about – who their next coach ought to be. [Copper & Blue]
Finally, former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Eric Brewer celebrated his 1,000th game last Monday, as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Frankly, I’m very happy that the Leafs did the honors, especially despite the fact that that was only his 10 game with that team. Congratulations on such a huge career milestone! [NHLPA]

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