Top Line: Top goalie rankings; Sons of Anarchy mask rejected: more links

Ondrej Pavelec got a vote of confidence from his coach, but is it justified? (Marianne Helm/Getty Images) By Allan Muir An annotated guide to this morning's

Ondrej Pavelec got a vote of confidence from his coach, but is it justified? (Marianne Helm/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:

• A group of NHL players were asked the league's top goalie. And the winner is...

• Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel says he had no problem with Ondrej Pavelec failing to be recognized as one of the league's top-25 netminders in that poll, but still thinks the team's goaltending is good enough to get the team into the playoffs. So what, do 26 teams make the postseason now?

• The OHL's Kitchener Rangers hold told goalie Tyson Teichmann he won't be allowed to wear his Sons of Anarchy-themed mask during the regular season. The club feels that associating with a murderous gang, even a fictional one, is inappropriate for their brand. Wonder how the Windsor Spitfires will feel when Jordan DeKort unveils his tribute to Breaking Bad's murderous drug overlordHeisenberg.

• Could Tim Thomas make his Panthers debut tomorrow night in Dallas? Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease...

• The Department of Player Safety had no problem with Jordan Nolan's hit on Rusty Klesla, but laid a 10-game suspension on Paul Bissonnette for leaving the bench to join an altercation. Can't imagine the kind of headshot it would take to earn a player that kind of punishment.

• Here's the NHL's reasoning for letting Nolan off the hook.

• You don't suppose Alexander Ovechkin will be embarrassed by this, do you?

• Adam Oates made an unconventional choice for the shootout last night. Just hand him the Jack Adams Award now. The man can do no wrong.

• Elliotte Friedman writes that a steady stream of complaints from the Capitals and Rangers last spring led to the decision to enforce the league's uniform guidelines.

• Good to see the kinder, gentler John Tortorella we were all promised has already been junked for the good, old, crazy model.

• Sure, let's play Ryan Kesler for nearly 27 minutes in the preseason opener. No possible downside to that, right?

• By looking to make plays instead of simply preventing them, the fresh-starting Rangers are turning their backs on the Tortorella era.

• Here's a great piece from Mike Russo on Matt Cooke, a guy who's not as bad as you think.

• Hockey's viability in trendy Brooklyn is being put to the test this week. Here's how it's going so far.

• You can count at least once coach among the fans of the NHL's new hybrid icing rule.

• A full house greeted the Canadiens and Bruins for their Monday night preseason tilt in Montreal. In Florida, the enthusiasm for hockey's return was a little more restrained.

• The first NHL battle of the Subban brothers went to Boston's Malcolm.

• Jarome Iginla is on pace to score about 200 goals for the Bruins this season. Well, if you count preseason.

• Here's Josh Cooper with some Predators' camp talk, including news on a more sensible partner for Seth Jones and what's shaping up to be the worst first line in the NHL.

• It didn't take Teemu Selanne long to prove that he still has a little something left in the tank. It would have to go down to the wire, but there's a real chance he makes it to 700 career goals this season.

• The Devils signed former Red Wing Damien Brunner to a PTO yesterday. Good luck fitting that square peg into that round hole.

• Hard to believe that Tom Gilbert had to settle for a PTO offer from a team that desperately needs some defensive help.

Zemgus Girgensons

Sabres

by scoring a lot of goals.