NHL Morning Papers (Sunday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for Sunday the 21st of September:

• Matthew Lombardi is really looking forward to proving that he is a top-six forward for the Flames this season, writes Steve MacFarlane.  Mark Giordano is back from a season in Russia and could find himself parternering up with Dion Phaneuf this campaign.
• His record may have been impressive the first time around, but Tony Granato is far more comfortable in his coaching shoes now than he was a few years ago.
• The Habs fans were out in full force at a local arena and saved their biggest ovations for Alexei Kovalev and Robert Lang.
• Bryan Murray likes his Senators team but he is not making any promises on what they accomplish.  Chris Stevenson with a great article on his golf game with Jason Spezza earlier this summer.  On the ice, the Senators defeated the Rangers 3-2 in the team’s pre-season debut.
• Things got off to a good start for Brian Campbell in Chicago, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• Fernando Pisani is proving to be a quick-study as he attempts to become the Oilers’ third line center.  Dustin Penner is in a lot better shape than he was last training camp and thinks the Oilers are going to score a lot more goals in 2008/09.  The battle for spots on defense will be fierce in training camp because the Oilers have so many defensemen that are capable of playing NHL minutes.
• Derek Boogaard took to biking this off-season and he thinks it will make a difference on the ice, writes John Shipley.  Brent Burns still can’t participate in contact drills, but he is on the road to recovery and has looked good on the ice.
• Mikhail Grabovski found himself lining up in between the two wingers who played alongside Mats Sundin last season.  Meanwhile, Alex Steen wants to play center this season and coach Ron Wilson is going to give him the oppurtunity to prove he belongs there.  Did you know that Ron Wilson hates traffic?
• Sami Salo is looking forward to playing in a more offensive system this season, writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.  Alain Vigneault hasn’t really been focusing on particular players yet at training camp, he is just focusing on the group as a whole.
• His teammates and coaches appreciate Teemu Selanne’s willingness to join them in camp without a contract.  The forwards on two-way contract want to make the decisions difficult on Randy Carlyle, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• Both Slava Kozlov and Zach Bogosian are using the beginning of training camp to recover from their respective injuries.
• Kevin Paul Dupont tells readers what the Bruins need to do if they want to put it all together.  The Bruins will be pushing their defensemen to jump into the play this season, explains Fluto Shinzawa.  In between the pipes, Manny Fernandez is hoping for a bounceback season.  Zdeno Chara is not yet 100% after off-season shoulder surgery.
• The Sabres have not decided whether they will continue to rotate captains or just name one.  Team owner Tom Golisano wants the playoffs badly.
• Jeff O’Neill could end up being Justin Williams’ replacement, but there are a bunch of other roster possibilites as well.
• The fans are jacked up for this season’s version of the Blue Jackets.  Meantime, you can expect continuous line shuffling at Jackets camp.
• Stars coach Dave Tippett excels by not getting too high or too low, writes Mike Heika.
• Helene St. James has a great story on former Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer.  Darren Helm may have been part of the team’s cup run but there is no guaranteed roster spot waiting for him.
• Jay Bouwmeester tells Florida reporters that he is not worried about his contract situation right now.  While that controversy is bound to carry on during the season, new coach Peter DeBoer is just excited to get camp underway.
• Patrick O’Sullivan still is not under contract so he won’t be at Kings camp until that situation is resolved.
• J.P. Dumont has a new plan of how he wants to attack training camp this year, writes John Glennon.
• Wild netminder Niklas Backstrom is not going to get the contract extension he covets right away, explains Michael Russo.
• The Islanders sure are not going to rush Rick DiPietro back from injury this training camp.
• Nigel Dawes is feeling comfortable riding shotgun on Chris Drury’s wing, writes Steve Zipay.
• After concussion problems last season, Simon Gagne says he is ready to take hits.
• Todd Fedoruk is looking forward to a new start in the desert, writes Jim Gintonio.
• Sergei Gonchar may have separated his shoulder in last night’s first exhibition game against Tampa.  In other Penguins news, the team has named Evgeni Malkin an alternate captain.
• If you want to use excuses and play for the Sharks, there may be a problem with the new coach in town.
• Here are some questions facing the Blues heading into the season.
• Rookie Steve Stamkos scored the shootout winner in his first ever NHL preseason game.  Trying to crack the NHL roster, Brandon Bochenski impressed for the Bolts last night.
• Chris Clark is feeling healthy after rehabbing his groin over the off-season.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.