NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Character assassination for Gaborik, Brodeur stands tall and Babcock would love to coach Team Canada

Here are the morning papers for Thursday the 23rd of October:

• Here are the three things to watch for tonight when the Flames face-off against the Predators.  The Flames are looking forward to getting out on the road and spending some more time with their teammates.
• The Hawks continued their strong play last night with a 3-0 win over the previously undefeated Oilers.
• The Avalanche have strong scoring depth which is why they have already tallied 24 goals on this young season.
• Dwayne Roloson allowed three goals in the Oilers’ first defeat of the season yet he was the team’s best player last night, writes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.  Matheson also has an article on hockey’s return to prominence in the Windy City.
• Marian Gaborik’s agent claims his client has suffered a character assassination, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.  On a nicer note, current Rangers winger Aaron Voros wrote Jacques Lemaire and the Wild coaching staff a letter thanking them for all that they did for him during his time in the Twin Cities.  Meanwhile, Sid Hartman likes the job Gary Bettman has done as Commissioner of the NHL.
• With all their scoring depth, Tomas Plekanec’s scoring troubles have gone fairly unnoticed.
• Sure the Senators lost last night to the Panthers, but coach Craig Hartsburg was very encouraged with the way his team played over the final two periods.  For a team that should have been jacked up to play last night, the Senators got off to a pretty poor start.  You can talk about Spezza, Heatley and Alfredsson all you want but the Senators need production from Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette.
• The Canucks played very poorly on their six-game road trip and Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun has the stats to back it up.
• The Coyotes are looking to start a streak when they begin a four-game homestand versus the Capitals tonight.  Meantime, veteran scrapper Brian McGrattan has accepted his diminished role with the team as a true professional and will probably check into the line-up in the near future.
• The Islanders may get Chris Campoli (shoulder) back in the line-up tonight.
• The Predators are confident that Dan Ellis can grow into a very solid starting NHL netminder.
• Sarah Palin is going to drop the puck at the Blues game on Friday night.  In roster news, the Blues have waived Jeff Woywitka.  Oh yeah, the Blues played on Wednesday night too, but lost to the defending champs 4-3.
• Only the Flyers score six goals in today’s NHL and still lose, writes Ed Moran.  Without much depth on defense, are the Flyers going to keep Luca Sbisa up with the big club for the entire season?
• You know the Sharks have their sights set on the Cup when they sound like they lost last night’s game at Philadelphia.
• Sean Avery talked and talked but Martin Brodeur proved why he is the best goalie of all-time by shutting the door in the Devils’ dominanting 5-0 performance over the Stars.  Who is the bigger pest? Sean Avery or Claude Lemieux? Larry Brooks examines.
• Hal Gill is expected to sit out tonight’s game for the Penguins with an undisclosed injury.  Whenever backup netminder Dany Sabourin gets the call next, he’ll be ready.
• Erik Christensen has struggled for the Thrashers so far this season, writes Mike Knobler.
• With Craig Rivet on the sidelines for a couple weeks, Nathan Paetsch will see an increased workload on the Sabres’ back-end.
• Ryan Bayda is ecstatic to finally have a secure spot on an NHL roster.
• Mike Peca is still angry about his suspension but realizes that it is now in the past and he is looking to get back into action for the Jackets.  Steve Mason’s rehab has gone really well and he is hoping to be ready to play in the near future.
• The Stars were awful last night in Newark, playing their worst game of the season.
• The Panthers got an early lead on the Senators and netminder Craig Anderson made sure it held up.  Anthony Stewart remains a consistent healthy scratch on the sidelines.
• Mike Babcock would love the opportunity to coach Canada’s Olympic team.  By the way, the Wings played last night versus St. Louis and won 4-3.
• Marek Malik is going to debut for the Lightning on Saturday.  Here is more on Brian Lawton’s new title.
• The Rangers need to start playing full sixty minute games, writes Steve Zipay.  Captain Chris Drury has been struggling but he is going to just keep working hard to get out of his slump.
• Ron Wilson is bringing a new attitude to Leaf-land that has players on their toes.  Coach Wilson loves Luke Schenn and, in fact, he’d like his veteran players to learn some things from the youngster.
• After their power play was so poor in Calgary, the Capitals got to work on it on Wednesday.
• The Bruins want to improve in the shootout.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.