- “We didn’t play well enough to win,” said Randy Carlyle even after his team held a 3-0 lead heading into the third period last night Minnesota.
- In injury news, Joffrey Lupul left the game to get 14 stitches last night, but he did return for the third period.
- In Atlanta, big Boris Valabik is slated to have an MRI on his right leg.
- “Begin plays with his heart out,” said Derek Morris about team favorite Steve Begin.
- Off the ice, Boston made sure it signed Milan Lucic to a three-year contract extension on Tuesday.
Milan Lucic has signed a three-year extension in Boston. (Picture courtesy of yahoo.com)
- The Sabres have five days off between their first and second game, so coach Lindy Ruff is treating it like an extended training camp.
- Eric Nystrom played with boundless energy last night for Calgary, and was one of the main reasons the Flames beat the Habs.
- Meanwhile, Flames coach Brent Sutter has yet to indicate whether Curtis McElhinny will see any action this week or next.
- The Hurricanes finally got some good news, as the team defeated Tampa Bay in a shootout last night.
- Steve Rosenbloom touches on Joel Quenneville’s decision to use Patrick Kane on the penalty killing unit.
- Craig Anderson wasn’t at Avalanche practice on Monday because of a groin injury, but he may return today.
- Jared Boll who was injured (head) on Monday after taking a hit from Darcy Hordichuk, is hoping to be back in the lineup by Thurday.
- With maturation, the Blue Jackets have learned how to win on the road.
- The Stars lost again in extra time, but Marc Crawford isn’t blaming Marty Turco.
- In injury news, Mike Modano (ribs) will likely miss the next week of action.
Mike Modano has a rib injury. (Picture courtesy of hockeydraft.ca)
- Charlie Huddy returned to Edmonton for the first time last night, since being let go by the club this off-season.
- Coach Mike Babcock is hoping the Cleary-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi lines begins to click.
- The Wings may lack some flow and chemistry up front right now, but at least they have Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski on the back-end.
- The Oilers brass wants Robert Nilsson to keep his game simple.
- Nikolai Khabibulin knows a couple of the bad bounces his team has been on the receiving end of will eventually bounce the Oilers’ way.
- Scott Clemmensen is away from the Panthers right now because of a family situation.
- “These are games that a year ago, I don’t think we would have won, being up 4-0 and blowing it in the third,” said Kings forward Dustin Brown about his team’s new found resilience.
- “The most important thing out of this game that we needed to take away . . . was the composure to stick to the game plan,” said Kings coach Terry Murray.
- The Wild was certainly accomodating to Twins fans yesterday.
- Coming back from down 3-0 in the third period was one heck of a way for coach Todd Richards to pickup his first victory with the Wild.
- In injury news, Pierre-Marc Bouchard may have a concussion and was pulled from the lineup last night.
- The Habs outshot the Flames last night, which was a first on the season, but they could not come away with the victory, writes Pat Hickey.
- Meanwhile, with the injury situation as it is, the Habs have signed Marc-Andre Bergeron to a one-year deal.
- Here we go again, as Predators coach Barry Trotz will not announce his game two starter.
- “Patric has been one of the most consistent forwards right through training camp,” said Trotz about youngster Patric Hornqvist.
- There is still pressure on Carey Price this season, but his calm demeanor is working wonders so far this season.
- The Devils are a veteran team, so do not expect the team to suddenly panic after two losses.
- Patrik Elias (groin) skated on his own yesterday.
Patrik Elias was back on the ice on Tuesday. (Picture courtesy of cbc.ca)
- It wasn’t the usual crazy Battle of Ontario, but the Senators are happy to have a victory under their belts.
- Daniel Alfredsson surprised Jonas Gustavsson with his penalty shot move and that goal turned out to be the game winner.
- Mike Richards and Alexander Ovechkin don’t like each other, so Richards was especially happy to defeat the Capitals in overtime last night and score a hat trick in the process.
- Mike Knuble seems happy to be in Washington, but also seems to really miss Philadelphia.
- In injury news, Blair Betts has a dislocated right shoulder.
- Shane Doan admits that the Coyotes have the “us against the world” mentality.
- The Penguins were once a team with ownership turmoil, but the players know that Phoenix players won’t be lacking focus tonight.
- “We won’t win games looking for players for the first half of the night,” said Sharks coach Todd McLellan.
- With Joe Pavelski out of action for a couple weeks, his linemates have been moved to different lines.
- Jay McClement has become a leader in the Blues’ dresssing room this season.
- If the Bolts want to start winning, they’ll have to be better on the power play.
- There is no timetable for Kurtis Foster’s return but his lower-body injury isn’t believed to be serious.
- The Leafs have lost three games in three different ways, writes Damien Cox.
- Let’s just say that Ron Wilson didn’t mince words after last night’s contest.
- Consider Jeff Blair among those who are impressed with the calmness of Leafs rookie Jonas Gustavsson.
- Talk about media obsession, everyone is after Roberto Luongo to find out the reason for his slow start.
- It was sure an exciting game in Philadelphia, but the Capitals need to stay out of the box if they want to win.
- The NHL’s return to Winnipeg may be inevitable, explains Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press.
**Remember that tonight is the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show live at 7pm Central time. Tonight’s guests are Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star and Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press.**
