Right up there with hurting yourself playing tag in the yard or while sleeping on a pillow, cutting yourself on your own skate has to be a pretty crappy way to get injured. When you’re skating around with razor-sharp skates and you’re getting pushed around, ish happens, as it did to Teemu Selanne. Check out how Selanne hurt himself to the point where he’s out 4-6 weeks:

Those bad boys must be sharp as all hell, considering Selanne’s comments, “I knew right away that I got cut. It was scary how much blood was coming out. It was all over. You couldn’t even stop it.” 4-6 weeks seems pretty extensive but I’m not going to doubt them. At least he didn’t cut a tendon because the Ducks are in a tight race in the Western Conference.

OK, so it’s pretty unanimous that Sean Avery’s an idiot. The guy interned for some femme magazine over the summer and talks about women’s purses like Bill Belichick breaks down defenses. I don’t even want to get into his childish antics in the playoffs last year. But the guy does have a pretty impressive dating record, so I wouldn’t mind his sloppy seconds. And if you don’t understand that line, watch the following video:

That’s what Avery said to the media the morning before the Stars’ game against the Flames — the team for which Dion Phaneuf plays. Phaneuf also happens to be dating hottie Elisha Cuthbert, one of Avery’s ex-girlfriends. Another one of his exes is former SI cover girl Rachel Hunter, who’s currently engaged to Kings defenseman Jarret Stoll. Wyshinski over at Puck Daddy says the NHL is making fools of themselves by suspending a guy for merely making a silly remark. I agree. I even feel bad that I’m playing into Avery’s game by posting the video, but I found the remark too funny to ignore. At least the NHL is getting some publicity out of this.

Man, you know that great feeling when you do something for the first time after working on it for years? Run a mile in under six minutes, nail that hot chick from the office, knock out a 20-pound hamburger? Or how about finally scoring your first goal of the year, 17 games into the new NHL season? That has to be a great feeling for a hockey player. Unless of course, you scored the goal on your own net like Ryan O’Byrne did …

Yes, the team had pulled the goalie to get a sixth attacker out their because of a delayed penalty, and O’Byrne scored the game-tying goal on his own net. And his Canadiens went on to lose 4-3 in a shootout to the Islanders. Ordinarily I’d have some sympathy for the poor fellow but I’m a Bruins fan and of course could not be more delighted. The only thing positive I have to say is good thing for O’Byrne hockey isn’t played in Colombia.

(vid via Ballhype)

There’s something about shattering glass that makes a hit seem so much more exceptional than it really is. For instance, Milan Lucic’s hip check on Mike Van Ryn of the Leafs was pretty standard. Sure, it was well-timed and unleashed with incredible force while Van Ryn was a sitting duck, but it wouldn’t be much more than a monster hit had the glass not broken. But with the glass shattering, err, exploding, this easily has become a nominee for NHL hit of the year. A must see:

I heard one announcer say that hit would be in highlight reels for the next ten years. He was right. Man, was that precious! Too bad the Bruins blew their 2-0 lead and lost 4-2. Bet you didn’t even know the final score nor cared.

You might be inclined to go with the Laker girls over the Kings ice girls at first reaction, but I might have to change my initial thought based on what I saw from the Kings tryouts that took place recently. I’m not exactly sure what role ice girls have at a hockey game, but I’m all for anything that brings extra skin to a sporting event. The Kings have said that they’re looking for girls that will help represent the team as well as possible. My advice for them: You can teach anyone to skate better, but you can’t teach hotness. Feel me? Check out some of the talent on the ice:

LBS reader Andy happened upon the front page of the LA Times online the other day and noticed a nice feature story on Rob Blake getting some prominent play on the site. We’re talking about the front page of the entire site mind you, not just the sports section. And that’s in a town with fan favorites like the Lakers and Dodgers. Needless to say, it was a big step for the NHL to get that type of pub. Only problem, the web editor creating the captions isn’t exactly Mr. Current Affairs when it comes to the NHL. Check it out:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Rob Blake did sign with the San Jose Sharks a few weeks ago, no? Heck, didn’t the LA Times even have the story a few weeks ago? That’s what I thought. You know, I much prefer when web editors just stick to dirty titles instead.