NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Luongo returns tonight, Senators rumored to be interested in Klesla and is the Wild’s goaltending a product of the system?

Here are the morning papers for Thursday the 15th of January:

• The Ducks were in good shape heading into the third period on Wednesday, but they blew the game, writes Dan Wood.
• The Thrashers lost Ilya Kovalchuk’s first game as captain of the club last night when visiting Ottawa defeated them 3-2.  Meanwhile, the Thrashers traded Jason Williams to Columbus.
• Apparently Andrew Ference’s return to the Bruins lineup is still not imminent.  In more injury news, the Bruins will be without Aaron Ward for at least two games.
• Tim Connolly is feeling strong for the Sabres, and that has resulted in an increase in his on-ice responsibilities.
• The Flames are looking forward to tonight’s return to the Shark Tank, writes Randy Sportak.  Todd McLellan’s talk with Ryane Clowe was really the starting point of the big forward’s breakout season.
• The Hurricanes want to get back on the winning track prior to the All-Star break.  None of the media personnel following the Flames this season thinks that the team will win tonight.  Eric Nystrom is starting to put some points on the board for the Flames.
• “I thought it was a completely dirty hit,” said Blackhawks foward Ben Eager about Drew Stafford’s hit last night on Duncan Keith.  It is certainly fair to say that the Blackhawks have had a highly successful first half of the season.
• Peter Budaj will start for the Avalanche tonight against the Blues.  Meanwhile, both Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk are closing in on the 300 goal mark.
• Newest Blue Jackets forward Jason Williams should sure help the team on the power play.  (Writer’s note: I actually touched on this yesterday afternoon prior to the trade.  This is a good move by Scott Howson.  He addresses an obvious need going forward.)  The Blue Jackets fans are really getting into this year’s version of the team.
• The Stars’ top players have not played up to their capabilities this season, writes J.J. Taylor.  The Stars haven’t exactly passed the mid-season grade, opines Mike Heika.
• The Ducks didn’t panic heading into the third period against the Ducks and that’s one of the reasons they came out with a 4-3 victory.  Interestingly, Kirk Maltby was a healthy scratch on Wednesday.
• The Oilers don’t expect Ales Hemsky back before the All-Star break.  Ladislav Smid is still without a goal this season.  Gilbert Brule is doing his best to stay in the NHL.  Erik Cole has demonstrated some great chemistry with Sam Gagner.
• Down in South Florida, Cory Murphy is on the outside looking in.  The Panthers don’t play for five days, so Peter DeBoer’s goal is to keep the team focused during this long break.
• Jack Johnson may return to the Kings lineup this weekend.
• The Wild’s goaltending success is not just because of the system the team plays, explain Michael Russo.  Dwayne Roloson believes Niklas Backstrom is really that good of a goaltender.
• If Carey Price doesn’t play before next weekend’s All-Star game, then Guy Carbonneau doesn’t understand why he’d play in the game itself, writes Herb Zurkowsky. Pat Hickey doesn’t think Price will suit up in the All-Star game.  Meanwhile, the Habs have changed their policy on revealing team injuries, in an effort to become more transparent.
• David Legwand has played a lot better since being moved to the wing.  Jason Arnott may miss tonight’s game.
• The Islanders have used just about as many goalies as humanly possible this season, writes Greg Logan.
• New Yankee Stadium could be the host of next year’s Winter Classic.  The Rangers aren’t any good on the power play, writes Larry Brooks.
• Senators fans may not believe it, but their team has won two games in a row.  Are the Senators interested in Rostislav Klesla?
• Daniel Briere had a two-point game in the AHL last night.  The Flyers are trying to figure out why they have been so consistently poor in the shootout.
• The Coyotes have a bunch of nicknames for each other.
• The Penguins/Capitals rivalry is real and it’s spectacular.  The game was tremendous last night, but the Penguins fans are holding their collective breath, as Sidney Crosby left the game with a knee injury.
• People don’t give him a lot of attention, but M.E. Vlasic is a very steady force on a star laden Sharks team.
• Should the Bolts trade Lecavalier?  Erik Erlendsson tells us what Lightning players do to warm up.
• Brian Burke knows his fans are frustrated but he has been spending his time scouting college players to build the team for the future.  On the ice, Ron Wilson has moved Nikolai Antropov to a line with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.
• The long awaited return of Roberto Luongo happens tonight for the Canucks.  With the team finally intact, now is the time for the Canucks to make a push.
• Alexander Ovechkin took over the Penguins/Capitals game in the third period.  It was a playoff-like atmosphere in the Igloo last night.

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