A report from ESPN's Katie Strang indicates that New York Rangers forward Marian Gaborik will need surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder. As a result of the surgery required, Gaborik is expected to need six months to recover which should force him to miss the beginning of the 2012-13 season. 

Will Gaborik's injury force the Rangers to make a bigger play for Rick Nash over the summer now that their prized offensive weapon is on the shelf?

If you're a Kings fan or a neutral hockey fan that took in LA's OT win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, you probably enjoyed the action quite a bit. Unfortunately, there weren't that many people watching with you.

Steve Lepore of PucktheMedia.com offered a nice recap of the ratings from Game 1 on Twitter, offering a troubled look at how ratings in Game 1 left a lot to be desired. 

There once was a time where hockey fans had to sit back and wonder what their favorite player was like away from the rink. Those days are a distant memory thanks to technology that allows us to take a glance behind the scenes with some of the NHL's most recognizable names. 

The NHLPA has embraced the idea that fans want to see their favorite players away from the rink by filling their YouTube channel with different players cooking, fishing or engaging local wildlife. The end result, like the video above with Scott Hartnell and some geese, offers an interesting and new perspective on what certain NHL players are like when they aren't out on the ice.

You can say a lot of things about the KHL. Foreign. Unprofessional. Funded by oil money. The negative things that people usually think of when you mention the Russian-controlled league are something that the owners are trying hard to push out of Americans' minds. They don't want to be the also-ran to the NHL anymore. They'd rather not be where the old stars play out their days for millions more than could be made in America (if their contracts are honored). They want to be the Russian kids' first choice for professional hockey, and they'd love to be seen as the legitimate equal of the NHL.

(Graphic courtesy of RLD Hockey)

We've come to the final stage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is now a race to four wins between the Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils. After notching 12 victories each, the two teams will be leaving everything they have on the ice in hopes of getting their names recorded in the history books.

Join us as we conclude our PDL picks for the 2012 playoffs. Who do you have winning the Stanley Cup? Weigh in below!

David Rogers:

Earlier this week I mentioned that a chunk of NHL experts have yet again labeled the Los Angeles Kings as the underdog heading into the Stanley Cup Finals. I understood this logic in the first round against Vancouver. I understood this logic in the second round against St. Louis. I could even make an argument on how this idea again was plausible in the third round against Phoenix. However, this theory of LA being an underdog ends now.

The Los Angeles Kings enter the Finals as the 8th seed from the West while the New Jersey Devils enter as the 6th seed from the East. Now that it's been mentioned, through this figure out of your head as it doesn't mean a thing in the Finals. What does matter is how the two clubs have played prior to arriving in the Finals. The Devils have been an extremely solid team, beating the likes of Florida, Philadelphia and New York. The Kings have been an unstoppable force, tearing through the best teams the West can offer. The Devils have been just as successful but haven't been as dominant as the LA Kings have been in the first three rounds.

Stanley Cup predictions are filing in and one fact remains constant: Los Angeles is an underdog yet again. 

The writers and experts over at NHL.com have released their selections for the Stanley Cup and once again the Los Angeles Kings aren't receiving much love. Considering LA's extremely impressive march through the playoffs the question must be asked - why are they still being labeled as the underdog?

In the United States, Memorial Day is a day dedicated to remembering all the brave men and women who have served in the United States armed services over the years. Their strength and sacrifice has allowed many to live in freedom to pursue their own dreams. When you consider all the nonsense that many people pay attention to on a daily basis, none of that focus would have been possible if the generations before us didn't fight for our freedoms. In the big picture, we realize our jobs as hockey writers are pretty insignificant compared to what the brave men and women are asked to accomplish.

On behalf of the entire staff at Puck Drunk Love, we'd like to thank all those who have served and who continue to serve. We sincerely appreciate your hard work and sacrifice. As hockey writers, we hope that our posts can be a small source of entertainment and that we can bring the game to you no matter where you may be. If there are ways we can help out, please don't hesitate to ask us by email.

Do you know of a group or an association that connects our armed forces with the game of hockey? If you do, please send us information about it so we can spread the news to all of our readers.

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The Rick Nash rumor train has taken a few weeks off as the attention of the NHL has been purely focused on the playoffs. However, as the summer heat arrives it brings Rick Nash trade rumors as reports are indicating that the Blue Jackets are prepared to resume talks over their prized forward. 

The NHL GM meetings, set to start Wednesday in New Jersey, will likely be the start of some serious trade talk between the Columbus Blue Jackets and any interested team that wants to acquire Nash. It's believed the process could be completed prior to or near the NHL Draft or the start of the free agency period so the parties involved can focus on other needs without having to contemplate Nash's future. 

Outdoor hockey and Los Angeles seem to work together like oil and water, dogs and cats, or Canadiens and Bruins. But don’t tell that to the newly installed Dodger brass who are touting their ballpark as a future site of the Winter Classic.

The new ownership group led by former Lakers point guard Magic Johnson is seeking to break away from the poor stewardship of Frank and Jamie McCourt, and improve the Dodgers image and relationship with the rest of Los Angeles.

ProHockeyTalk’s Jason Brough poked a couple of holes in a story that the LA Times initially ran with quoting LA Dodgers President Stan Kasten and Chairman Mark Walter announcing the club’s intention to explore the possibility with the NHL.

Challenges exist, but the new ownership group in LA is looking to make a splash and capitalize on the very popular New Year’s Day tradition. With the Dodgers off to a great start, the Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals and LA the center of the pop culture and entertainment in these United States, idle speculation can quickly lead to a trial balloon and then feasibility studies and then Doc Emrick is talking about palm trees visible beyond the centerfield wall after an offsides in the middle of the second period.

Below the fold, we’ll discuss the difficulties that will need to be overcome to land the Winter Classic in LA, and why it is in everyone’s interest that those hurdles get cleared.

In a story that would fit well under the "Strange Injuries" umbrella, Alexander Semin injured himself with his very own gold medal, as seen on Russian Machine Never Breaks.

Evidently, Semin cut his forehead open when he was pulling his jersey off with the recently won gold medal from the IIHF World Championships still around his neck. As he pulled his jersey over his head, the medal smacked into his forehead leaving a cut and a trail of blood down his forehead (pictured above).