NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition): The Coyotes lay off 18 employees, Sundin expected to make debut tonight and Mark Streit is proving his worth

Here are the morning papers for Wednesday the 7th of January:

• The Ducks defense clamped down last night, as Anaheim defeated the Kings 2-1.
• “We’ve got some guys who show up every night, some guys who just decide when they’re going to play or not,” said Ilya Kovalchuk after last night’s loss to Pittsburgh.
• The high-scoring Bruins got trapped last night by Jacques Lemaire’s Wild and fell at home by a score of 1-0.  Manny Fernandez sure was not the problem on Tuesday.  When the Bruins are playing well, the team’s forecheck generally serves as the catalyst.
• Sabres forward Andrew Peters was bitten last night by Jarkko Ruutu of the Senators.  Biting aside, Ryan Miller shut the door for the Sabres when it mattered most, as his team defeated Ottawa 4-2.
• The Flames finally exacted revenge last night for their embarassing loss at San Jose in November.  Calgary was just tremendous in the first period.  Last night’s win was certainly a statement game for the much improved Flames.
• Last night’s win over New Jersey made it four consecutive wins for the streaking Hurricanes.
• The Hawks absolutley dominated the Coyotes in Phoenix on Tuesday, as they scored 6 goals even without Patrick Kane in the lineup.  Chicago sniper Patrick Sharp has his sights set on his first 40 goal season.
• Andrew Raycroft probably won’t instill any kind of fear in his opponents, but even so, his record now stands at 7-1 after Tuesday’s victory over Nashville.  Tony Granato’s shifting of Wojtek Wolski to center seems like a smart decision.  The Avalanche have placed Adam Foote on IR.
• The Blue Jackets lost to Detroit last night, but more importantly, they lost Rick Nash to a lower-body injury.  Teams are starting to run Steve Mason.
• The Stars have sure been racking up frequent flier miles as of late.
• The Wings dominated the 3rd period against Columbus last night.  If you watched the WJHC, the Red Wings’ future looks bright.
• Lucky for the Oilers, it looks like Mats Sundin will make his season debut in Alberta’s capital.  There has been no such thing as a sophomore slump for speedster Andrew Cogliano.
• Bryan McCabe’s new team outplayed his old team, writes George Richards.
• Niklas Backstrom continued to make his All-Star push with a tremendous shutout against the high-flying Bruins on Tuesday.
• Guy Carbonneau is going back to Jaroslav Halak against the Rangers after two questionable performances in the past week.  You think the Habs miss Mark Streit?
• The Predators shockingly scored one goal again last night and lost 2-1 to the injury-riddled Avalance.  Ryan Jones helped provide some offense for the Predators, but it wasn’t enough.
• The Devils pulled their goalie twice during the third period last night and it actually paid off, but it still wasn’t enough in Carolina.
• Did you know Mark Streit is leading NHL defensemen in scoring?
• Former Rangers star Ron Duguay says bring back Sean Avery.  Tom Renney wants to make it easier on his goaltender.  Meanwhile, Scott Gomez claims he is healthy and ready to go.
• After last night’s loss, the Senators have 15 losses in their last 16 road games.  Jarkko Ruutu claims he didn’t bite Andrew Peters yesterday.
• The Flyers didn’t play poorly on Tuesday, they just lost in a shootout, writes Ed Moran.  The Flyers and Capitals sure don’t like each other.
• The Blackhawks just dominated the Coyotes this season.  In other news, the Coyotes have laid off about 10% of their staff.
• As Pittsburgh found out last night, there is nothing like the Atlanta Thrashers to help end a losing streak.  If you were wondering, Michel Therrien isn’t the problem in Pittsburgh, writes Joe Starkey.
• The Blues certainly miss Eric Brewer on the back end.  Paul Kariya had successful hip surgery on Monday and is expected to be out for the season.
• Rick Tocchet heads back to Phoenix with his Lightning hoping to register a victory.
• “I was not very happy with the effort. We had zero energy at all from any veteran players to show up and lead the way,” said Leafs coach Ron Wilson after last night’s game.  Bryan McCabe left Toronto last night with the last laugh.  The Leafs need a wakeup call.
• Mats Sundin says he is ready.  Boy is he sure making a lot of money.  Sundin is expected to lineup between Mason Raymond and Kyle Wellwood.
• Last night’s game at the Verizon Center was about as even as you’ll get, and that’s why it took a shootout to decide the winner.  Jose Theodore was a rock in the shootout.