Daily Cupcakes - Links from Around the NHL - March 27th, 2012

Here is a nice article about Jamie McGinn .

On Monday morning, though, he was saying all the right things about a game that is essentially a must-win for his club. The Sharks and Avalanche each have 86 points and are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, and Colorado has just five games left as opposed to San Jose’s seven.

"It’s hockey, trades happen. You can be buddies off the ice, but once you’re on the ice you’ve got to forget about it and worry about what’s at hand," McGinn said. "With five games, every night is important, and you can’t take a night off."

Whether you believe him or not, McGinn said that he hasn’t thought about why the trade occurred in the first place. He was in the midst of a breakout year, and the deadline deal caught many by surprise, including him. It’s still early, but it’s hard not to view it as a sweetheart of a deal for Colorado, even with Winnik’s improved play in the last week.

Rather Dashing pointed out this story in the pre-GDT. Skrastins was honoured recently. The players have set up a fund for the children.

Karlis Skrastins, who played in Dallas from 2009-2011, was honored before the club's game against the Calgary Flames at American Airlines Center. Skrastines was among those killed when a plane carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL crashed last September.

"Obviously it was really tough to see his family, first time for me to get to see them after the tragedy. It was pretty emotional," Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas said. "It was a nice gesture by the Stars honoring Skratch. I think we kind of dedicated our season right from the get go (to his memory). We all know he played with heart and passion. He was the kind of guy that never complained. He was just willing to do anything for his teammates."

The NHL will be dimming its' lights during Earth Hour.

For the first time an unprecedented number of NHL facilities have pledged their commitment to Earth Hour by switching-off non-essential lighting for one hour.

Twenty of the league’s thirty teams will be in action that night.

Participating facilities, including all of those hosting NHL games, as well as NHL headquarters in New York City, will scale-back energy used in their operations during Earth Hour.

"For the NHL, the success of this event is about more than turning the lights off for one hour," Bernadette Mansur, SVP of NHL Green, said in a statement issued earlier this week.

"It’s about changing the way our sport approaches energy consumption. Our facilities are challenging themselves to operate more efficiently."

An article about the difference between the experiences of professional female and male hockey players- and their experiences off ice.

After the Montreal Stars defeated Brampton 4-2 in Niagara Falls Sunday to win the Clarkson Cup, emblematic of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League championship, the players boarded a bus.

This ride wasn’t a short one. Seven and a half hours later, the bus pulled into Montreal at 3 a.m. There was a stop for fast food along the way and most of the players had a few hours to sleep before reporting to their day jobs Monday morning.

Both teams have players who are among the best in the world, but the weekend experiences illustrated the gap between men’s and women’s hockey.

If you ask an NHL player about his love for the game, he might tell you that he loves it so much he would play for free.

The women love it so much they pay for the right to play.