NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition): The Hawks embarass the Oilers, Gaborik makes return tonight and Linden to be honored

Here are the morning papers for Wednesday the 17th of December:

• The Ducks committed two big defensive turnovers which led directly to two Rangers goals, as the Blueshirts left the Honda Center with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday.
• Ondrej Pavelec was solid last night for the Thrashers, but coach John Anderson said the team in front of him was pretty good too, as Atlanta defeated the Senators 4-1.  Meanwhile, coach Anderson has increased Ilya Kovalchuk’s minutes as of late.
• The Bruins haven’t had a ton of power play chances this season, but when they do get a chance, they are very efficient.  Off the ice and more importantly, the Bruins visited numerous Boston area hospitals and brightened the days of some sick children on Tuesday.
• Nathan Gerbe will be out of the Sabres line-up for 10-14 days with a shoulder injury.  In other news, Derek Roy expects to tally a point in every game he plays.
• Jarome Iginla was a completely dominating force in last night’s win at St. Louis.  Last night’s victory put an end to the Flames’ three-game losing skid.  All Jamie Lundmark wanted to do was return to the NHL, so yesterday’s game in St. Louis was very fulfilling for him.  Todd Bertuzzi came to St. Louis from his hearing in Toronto regarding the Steve Moore case, but he’s keeping the details to himself.
• The Hurricanes held a ten penalty advantage over the Habs last night, and used that advantage to defeat Montreal 3-2.
• Chicago gave the Oilers a good old fashioned butt-whipping last night at Rexall Place.  Youngster Troy Brouwer demonstrated great chemistry with Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane.
• Colorado didn’t play well on special teams last night in Philadelphia and it cost them, as they were defeated 5-2.  Avalanche coach Tony Granato thought Tuesday’s score was a bit deceiving.  Ruslan Salei was a healthy scratch for yesterday’s game.
• The Sharks visit Columbus tonight, and make no mistake, they are the class of the NHL.  Fredrik Norrena looks to have played his last game for the Blue Jackets.
• Loui Eriksson scored the Stars’ only two goals on Tuesday, but that was enough to record the victory, writes Mike Heika.  Stephane Robidas has a fractured jaw but wants to get back in the Stars line-up soon.
• In Detroit, it is hard to describe how good Marian Hossa’s shot is.  The outdoor game is getting closer, as the ice maker arrived at Wrigley yesterday.
• The Oilers were just plain dreadful last night against the Blackhawks, writes Derek Van Diest.  Commissioner Gary Bettman thinks a new downtown area would really help the Oilers and the city of Edmonton.  In roster news, the Oilers have sent Rob Schremp back to the AHL.  Meanwhile, Jim Matheson tells us just how good Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith is.
• The Panthers are back in Florida after a successful road trip and now they have their entire first line healthy and ready to play.
• Marian Gaborik is ready to roll for tonight’s game against the Flames.  Sure Wild fans are excited, but coach Lemaire warns about expecting too much.
• Even though there was a ridiculous penalty discrepancy in last night’s Habs game, coach Guy Carbonneau thought that his team outplayed the Hurricanes.
• In exciting news from Nashville, Steve Sullivan took part in the team’s practice yesterday.
• Scott Clemmensen’s four-game winning streak came to an end yesterday in his team’s 3-2 shootout loss at Toronto.
• The Islanders pulled a nice comeback against Washington on Tuesday, but that Ovechkin character ruined it for them in overtime.  The Isles players are just sick of losing.  Mike Sillinger missed last night’s game with a groin injury.
• Rangers coach Tom Renney wouldn’t be surprised if his team is thinking about the Mats Sundin news.  Apparently Sundin loves New York.  By the way, the Rangers played last night and picked up an important win in Anaheim.
• Last night’s loss to Atlanta may have been the low point for the Ottawa season.  Unfortunately for Sens fans, Bryan Murray says there is nothing close on the trade front right now.
• The Flyers received good goaltending from Antero Nittymaki and were strong on special teams which helped them defeat the Avs 5-2 at the Wachovia Center.  Ed Moran opines that the Flyers have come a long way since a 5-2 loss in Colorado earlier this season.  With so many healthy defensemen, the Flyers decided to take it slow with Randy Jones, as he wasn’t in the line-up on Tuesday.
• Alex Goligoski is pretty chill with just about everything in life, writes Dave Molinari.
• The Sharks have to ensure they don’t overlook the Blue Jackets with a game against the Red Wings on the horizon.
• The Blues lost again on Tuesday, making it four in a row.  In injury news, Erik Brewer missed his second game in a row with an upper-body injury.
• The Lightning is expected to get a nice boost to the line-up this week with the return of Jeff Halpern.
• Jason Blake’s fancy shootout move gave Toronto the 3-2 shootout win at the ACC last night.  Ron Wilson sure doesn’t think a .500 record should be considered successful.  The Leafs sure don’t have a quiet holiday schedule.
• Trevor Linden will see his number 16 raised to the GM place rafters tonight.  Linden left a special mark on the Vancouver hockey landscape both on and off the ice.  Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province provides his take on Linden.  Here is a picture tribute to Captain Canuck.  Oh yeah, more Sundin news, as his deadline may not be Thursday now.
• The Capitals made last night’s game probably more difficult than it had to be, but the team still got its two points and that’s all that really matters.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.