NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

For this morning’s Morning Musings I have divided the papers into two categories: Western Conference and Eastern Conference. If any readers have any feedback as to whether they prefer this format to the old format (which didn’t divide up the papers at all), please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom had two goals last night as the Red Wings thoroughly dominated the inferior Canucks, outshooting them 39 to 15 and taking the contest 3-2.
• Canucks’ head coach Alain Vigneault said his players looked like they were playing in quicksand last night versus the Wings.
• Ducks’ forward Todd Bertuzzi, who sustained a concussion versus the Wild earlier on this season, has been symptom-free for a couple of days now and is hoping to return to the lineup in the not-so distant future. In other Ducks’ news, centers Ryan Getzlaf and Rob Niedermayer are both day-to-day with minor injuries.
• Alex Tanguay scored his first two goals of the season leading the Flames to an impressive 5-3 comeback victory over the stingy wild. The Wild led the game 3-0 at one point, but the momentum shifted after Dion Phaneuf levelled Matt Foy and then promptly defeated Stephane Veilleux in a fight; Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald has the story.
• Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune called the Wild’s loss last night, the “most remarkable collapse in franchise history.”
• Denis Savard is not content with the Hawks’ fairly impressive start and wants more from his team writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. Meanwhile, Don Cherry favorite Yanic Perreault was a healthy scratch for the team’s last contest versus Columbus on Tuesday night.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post answers questions from the Avalanche mailbag in this morning’s paper.
• Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch has a must-read article about the friendship of Michael Peca and Jason Blake. (Writer’s note: If you are going to read one article today, make it this one.) Jackets’ defenseman Duvie Westcott feared he might have suffered another concussion on Tuesday night, but felt fine on Wednesday; nonetheless, the Blue Jackets are taking proper precaution and Westcott is not expected to be in the lineup for tonight’s contest. Here are the Jackets’ probable lines for tonight’s game versus the Blues.
• Mattias Norstrom is comfortable being a member of the Dallas Stars now and his leadership and tough style of play have been terrific additions for both the Stars’ blueline and locker room.
• The Oilers have told Sam Gagner to move out of his hotel and looked for a more permanent residence writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. Things are backwards in Oiler land, with the youngsters carrying the scoring burden for the struggling veterans; Dan Barnes of the Journal has the details.
• As Lisa Dillman of the L.A. Times tells us, Kings’ forward Michael Cammalleri has been absolutely tremendous this season scoring in every single game except for one.
• Coyotes’ netminder David Aebischer has cleared waivers and will join the team’s AHL affiliate.
• David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News provides readers with the details of the team-building exercises the Sharks have undertaken in beautiful Banff, Alberta.
• Keith Tkachuk has been the key to the Tkachuk–Kariya–Boyes line for the Blues writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• Predators’ general manager David Poile knows everyone on his team’s roster can play better and says that he is not considering any significant roster changes after the team’s poor start to the season.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The last few days have been quite the whirlwind for Thrashers’ rookie goaltender Ondrej Pavelec.
• The last thing Tim Thomas is going to do is take anything for granted writes Nancy Marrapese-Burrell in this morning’s Boston Globe. Don’t expect Bruins’ coach Claude Julien to move into panic mode after the team’s tough loss to the Habs on Monday. (Writer’s note: This article also includes information on Reebok’s plans to change their new jerseys due to player complaints.)
• Not only were the Sabres thoroughly outclassed in their 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Wednesday night, but they also lost defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and forward Paul Gaustad to injuries.
• Rod Brind’Amour says the Hurricanes are playing like they did in 2005/06. Eric Staal is a great skater with a terrific shot but you just can’t teach having long arms.
• Olli Jokinen scored two goals leading the Panthers to a 4-3 victory over the Flyers and, in the process, became the team’s all-time leading scorer. It wasn’t all good news for the Panthers as winger Rostislav Olesz will be out of the lineup for the next several weeks with a broken hand.
• Coming into the 2007/08 season, Michael Ryder and his linemates wanted to make a point of improving on their dismal +/- ratings; Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story.
• The Devils sure won’t be going easy on their former teammate Scott Gomez tonight as the Devils square off against the Rangers. Devils’ coach Brent Sutter says that Gomez is now a player on the team’s biggest rival and expects there to be no display of friendsip out on the ice tonight.
• As John Dellapina of the New York Daily News explains, Gomez is actually more excited than he is nervous for tonight’s contest.
• Islanders’ coach Ted Nolan is looking at the positive aspects of having six days off between games.
• The value that Chris Kelly brings to a team is not easily quantifiable writes Alan Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen. Dean McAmmond’s concussion symptoms have subsided but his injured shoulder is hindering his ability to return to the lineup.
• The Lightning were defeated by the Capitals 5-3 on Wednesday night and have still yet to win a game on the road.
• Glen Hanlon looked like a smart man last night because his promotion of Chris Clark to the Caps’ first line was one of the main reasons that Washington snapped its losing streak.
• Even though Sidney Crosby has only scored twice this season, he is helping the Pens in many other areas writes Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• The Flyers lost last night’s game to Florida and also lost Simon Gagne to a possible concussion.
• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun thinks it is time to fire John Ferguson Jr. Possible firings aside, rookie Jiri Tlusty will make his Leafs debut tonight.

Note: Today I will include articles from the major national papers in Canada and the United States, however, this may not be a daily occurrence and will depend on the volume of articles I have to sift through the morning I post.

Here are the national papers:

• Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail has a good piece this morning on the pressures that Penguins’ netminder Marc-Andre Fleury faces today and has faced for his entire career.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today details the expectations and intentions that new union boss Paul Kelly has for the NHLPA.
• Former Leafs’ assistant general manager Bill Watters thinks it is time to blow up the Maple Leafs’ roster and that the team should start by trading Mats Sundin. (Writer’s note: Why is one radio broadcaster’s opinion almost instantly written in the paper as if it is news????)

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.