The Morning Papers: Thursday

• The Thrahsers attempted a comeback last night, but were thwarted by Flyers goalie Antero Niitymaki.
• The newly acquired Cory Murphy picked up 2 points as the Lightning won again.
• The Panthers jumped out to an early lead against the Stars, but couldn’t hold on for the win.
• The Capitals have sent three players, including Karl Alzer, down to Hershey for the All-Star break. Meanwhile, Caps play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati has become a big deal.
• Yann Denis was the story for the Islanders, who doubled up on the Ducks 2-1. Coach Scott Gordon thinks Denis is playing well, but still wants to see improvement.
• Brendan Shanahan talks about his return to the Devils, who beat the Canadiens 5-2 last night.
• Sidney Crosby (who has been advised by team doctors to skip the ASG, according to XM Radio) talks skating style.
• The Flyers blew a 3 goal lead over the Thrashers, but Mike Knuble saved the day. Centre Daniel Briere will be out at least 2 more weeks.
• The Leafs were burned last night by taking some bad penalties. Leafs GM Brian Burke says that fights help to control the Rat Factor in the NHL. Ken Linesman is back?
• The Senators are hoping to use the All-Star break to rest and regroup.
• The New Jersey devils “manhandled” the Habs in last night’s loss. The Canadiens were disappointed in the way that they are enterting the All-Star break.
• The Buffalo Sabres, who may have lost Henrik Tallinder to injury, had a poor effort against Tampa.
• Michael Ryder, chosen on a hunch by Claude Julien, scored the shootout winner against Toronto. The battered Bruins feel they were somewhat lucky to catch some breaks against Toronto.
• Injuries will keep Nik Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk out of the ASG.
• The BlueJackets remain positive despite their setback last night in Calgary.
• Cary Stolarczyk has been identified as the lucky Hawks fan who won a cool million at a recent game.
• Fresh from a big win against Boston, the Blues shutout the Hawks last night.
• The Nashville Predators may buy up their unsold tickets in order to qualify for NHL welfare.
• The recently returned Todd Bertuzzi popped the shootout winner for the Flames, while Matthew Lombardi is thriving in his role as a scorer.
• The Avs have been mediocre all year, and go into the break the same way. GM Francois Giguere would like to pick up a goaltender.
• Oilers defenceman Sheldon Souray will be making his 3rd trip to the All-Star game. The Oilers have 4 D-men amongst their top 10 scorers.
• The Canucks need to make their move fast, lest they find themselves out of the playoffs again.
• The Wild and Leafs made a minor deal, swapping wingers Ryan Hamilton and Robbie Earl.
• Despite a few mistakes, the Kings held on to beat Colorado 6-5 last night.
• JS Giguere was chased from the net after giving up 2 first period goals in last night’s loss to the Islanders.
• Mike Ribeiro fired a hat trick last night as the Stars downed the Panthers.
• The Coyotes are once again looking to Wayne Gretzky to save them.