Your savory breakfast links:
- If you missed any exciting hockey-related news from over the weekend, guess what? We’ve got you covered.
- After the NHL tabled a new offer on Friday (and the two sides chatted informally over the weekend), face-to-face negotiations are expected to get underway once more today… [ESPN (and again), CBC]
- …at which point the NHLPA is expected to make a counter-offer. Ride a painted pony, let the spinnin’ wheel spin. [Sportsnet, SLAM]
- In WJC news, Riley Barber and Team USA fell to the Canadians 2-1 yesterday and needed a win against Slovakia this morning to advance to the quarterfinals… [Globe and Mail, CBSSports, National Post]
- …which they got in a pretty definitive way, downing the Slovaks by a lopsided 9-3 score. [SI]
- Alex Ovechkin get mad, fall down, score pretty goal from buttocks. [Alex Ovetjkin]
- Meanwhile, apparently Michal Neuvirth is such a beast that he has the power to break a skate blade IN HALF. [Hokey.cz, @mneuvirth30]
- Braden Holtby earns coveted “Newcomer of the Year” honors from Puck Daddy. Here’s hoping it doesn’t have the bad mojo of the Best New Artist Grammy…right, Starland Vocal Band? [Puck Daddy]
- Happy 57th birthday to Gary McAdam.
- And finally, from all of us here at Japers’ Rink to all of you – wishing everyone a happy, safe, healthy and hopefully hockey-filled New Year!