Afternoon Headshots: February 19th

Courtesy hockey memes

Wheeee! It the day that Canucks and Blackhawks fans have been waiting for, the chance to call eachother stupid, lame, wimpy…

Lots out there today, click past the jump for two videos and a selection of the web’s best. (One vid may start right away, so don’t be shocked. Just hit pause.)

Elliotte Friedman’s 30 thoughts this week features a point about Manny Malhotra, on top of musing about safety in hockey in general. He mentions three (or two depending on how you count) specific instances where Malhotra could have been at risk in last week’s 4-1 defeat of the Wild. [cbcsports.ca]

Why does the NHL tolerate players making (outwardly) crazy decisions about their own welfare? Do they need to be saved from themselves, Daniel Wagner asks today. Yes, it’s more about Malhotra and what teams allow their players to do. [Backhand Shelf]

The Canucks are motivated enough as it is, says Elliott Pap. The matchup with the Blackhawks is par for the course; the Hawks being on the verge of history makes this no different. [Vancouver Sun]

Jonathan Toews talks rivalry: [Chicago Tribune]

You know how calm Chris Tanev is, right? Tim Wharnsby has written all about it. [cbcsports.ca]

The Canucks Hockey Blog boys are back with with episode three of CHB TV, and they talk Malhotra, Henke and music: [Canucks Hockey Blog]

Cory Schneider starts tonight in Chicago. Here’s Jason Botchford on AV’s new flip-flopping approach. The coin’s been put away, it seems. There’s also some notes on David Booth, who will skate on the fourth line to start. Botch asks, is this the fastest Canucks lineup ever? [The Province]

More Botch: Booth admits that he has no idea how his groin will go – it’s his first groin injury, after all. [The White Towel]

Daniel Wagner is everywhere today. First he’s at The Score (as above), now he’s got a new bit up at Pass it to Bulis. Today’s topic: how long will the current Canucks pairings last? [Pass it to Bulis]

Knights, dragons, Iron Maiden...it’s the wildest Canucks trip you could imagine. Blame Kent Basky on this one. [Nucks Misconduct]

Lead Chicago media cheerleader Barry Rozner has been pumped up all day about the Canucks being in town. There’s too much folly to post here, so why not go check out his twitter stream and have some fun? [Barry Rozner]

Since you haven’t figured out the storylines yet, Kevin Vanstone has a bunch to consider at The Flying V. It’s a solid list. [The Flying V]