NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition): Grading the Blues/Leafs trade, Habs react to own-goal and Gretzky returns to MSG

Here are the morning papers for Tuesday the 25th of November:

• J.S. Giguere thinks last night’s 4-1 win over Colorado was the Ducks’ most complete effort of the season, writes Chris Foster.  Teemu Selanne’s two power play goals didn’t hurt either.
• Thrashers coach John Anderson wants his team to start throwing more pucks at the net.
• After last year’s terrible concussion, Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron is just happy to be back on the ice playing the game he loves, writes Fluto Shinzawa.  Tim Thomas continues to make those at the NHL’s head offices regret not placing him on the All-Star Ballot.
• John Vogl of the Buffalo News provides readers with the good and the bad from the Sabres’ season so far.
• The Flames are surely not going to overlook the Kings even though they have back-to-back games with the Canucks to follow, writes Steve Macfarlane.  Matthew Lombardi felt good in his return to the line-up on Saturday.  Meantime, Curtis Glencross is hoping his goal on Saturday is a sign of things to come.
• The Hurricanes played better last night than they did on Sunday but the result was still a loss.
• The Avalanche’s performance sure wasn’t pretty on Monday night, writes Adrian Dater.  Adam Foote and Wojtek Wolski missed last night’s game due to injury.  The team was also without Joe Sakic who underwent a root canal.
• Columbus rookie Jakub Voracek has been slumping as of late, but seemed to have turned the corner on Saturday night.  Voracek can take a lesson from Rick Nash who was slumping for a while before he began his current five-game goal scoring streak.
• After last night’s loss, the Stars are now the worst team in the NHL, writes Mike Heika.
• The Wings were close to leaving Western Canada with six points in three games but gave up a late third period goal and had to settle for an overtime loss last night in Vancouver.  Expect the Wings to give Chris Osgood even more time off over the course of the season to ensure he is rested for the playoffs.  Dave Dye of the Detroit News seems scared of the Sharks.
• Oilers youngster Tim Sesito was surprised to be called up to the NHL but now he is going to try and do what he does best, bang and crash, on Wednesday night.  Jim Matheson says the Oilers may benefit from the trade of Lee Stempniak to the Leafs.
• The Panthers got off to a great start at home versus Carolina last night and that set the table for the team’s 3-2 victory.  The Panthers are at their best when the team receives scoring from throughout the top four lines.  Wade Belak has returned to the Panthers after clearing waivers.
• Kings forward Brad Zeiler was given a three-game suspension by the NHL for his hit on Adam Foote.  Without Zeiler, the Kings face the Flames tonight.
• The Habs know they are hard luck right now when their own player scores the tying goal on their own net, writes Pat Hickey.  Last night’s game was just bizarre, writes Red Fisher.
• Pierre-Marc Bouchard thinks his young brother Francois is actually a better player than he is, writes Michael Russo.  Meanwhile, the Wild finally started scoring some goals on Monday, as they tallied four in their victory over Washington.
• Overall, the Predators are happy with their play so far this season, considering the heavy road schedule, and are looking to bring those lessons back home.
• The Islanders will take the own-goal that Ryan O’Byrne scored last night, as they ran out of town with two points in one of the toughest arenas to play in in the entire NHL.  Colin Campbell, the NHL’s vice-president of hockey operations, says he has no bias towards the Islanders.
• Scott Gomez provided a big boost to the Rangers’ cause on Monday in his return to the line-up.  Vic Ziegel with a great article about Wayne Gretzky in his return to the MSG.  By the way, the Rangers were victorious 4-1 over Phoenix yesterday.
• The Senators are on pace to post an unimpressive 74 points this season if they continue their currently horrible pace, writes Bruce Garrioch.  To simplify things, the Senators need to be far more consistent over the next three-quarters of the season.
• Jeff Carter is taking it to another level in Philadelphia, writes Ed Moran.  The Flyers scored a late third period goal to defeat the Stars 4-3 at the Wachovia Center.
• Coach Michel Therrien has made some changes to the Penguins’ power play.  Apparently goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is still day-to-day with an undisclosed ailment.
• Devin Setoguchi has earned his spot on the number one line in San Jose.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch with the details on the acquisitions of Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Steen from Toronto.
• Rick Tocchet learned a lot from the coaches he used to play under.  Bolts GM Brian Lawton says the team will have patience with Tocchet.
• After Monday’s trade, it is clear that Cliff Fletcher is not just sitting idly by waiting to be replaced by Brian Burke.  Here is Damien Cox’s take on the trade.  Mike Zeisberger also provides his opinion of the deal.
• Curtis Sanford made it three straight wins, as he led the Canucks to a 3-2 overtime victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings on Monday.  Here are Roberto Luongo’s comments on his groin injury.
• The Capitals tried for a late comeback last night in St. Paul but it just wasn’t enough, writes Tarik El-Bashir.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.