NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for Friday the 10th of October:

• For a team that was geared up to start the season, the Flames really weren’t any good last night in Vancouver, writes Scott Cruickshank.  Calgary just had too many defensive breakdowns to beat the Canucks.  Dustin Boyd was in the line-up for the Flames last night after his Thursday demotion to the AHL.
• The Leafs surprised everybody, maybe even themselves, last night with a 3-2 victory at Detroit.  Here are ten things the Leafs can take from their impressive victory.  Damien Cox was impressed with the Leafs’ play.
• The Sharks were sure impressive in Todd McLellan’s coaching debut.  The season couldn’t have started off any better, writes David Pollak.  There may have been changes to the team’s defense and its forward lines but Evgeni Nabokov remains the same steady force between the pipes.
• Hockey is back in Chicago again, all the Hawks need to do now is win hockey games, writes Chris Kuc.  Denis Savard has been working on his team to be more defensive this season, in order to take the next step into the playoffs. 
• The Wings had a banner night on Thursday, until the game started and they somehow lost to the Maple Leafs.  The banner raising actually pumped up the Leafs too.  Newcomer Marian Hossa wasn’t happy with his team’s play in his Detroit debut.
• Peter Budaj was not good enough last night in the Avalanche’s 5-4 home opening loss to the Bruins.  The Avs were trying to play an up-tempo style last night, however they may have been moving a little too fast at times.  Joe Sakic, for one, was not too upset with the way his team played last night.  Sure he’s a veteran, but Darcy Tucker still gets nervous.
• Jason Strudwick played well enough at training camp that he has beat out teammate Ladislav Smid for the right to start amongst the top-six Oilers defensemen.  Nobody on the Oilers can understand why Zack Stortini is picked on by the officials so much.  Meanwhile, Dustin Penner freaked out a bunch of his teammates with a hilarious halloween prank.  Kevin Lowe is enjoying being a little more hands off with the Oilers in his new role.
• Andrew Brunette has been a great addition to the Wild’s locker room, writes Michael Russo.  Are the Wild lacking in the toughness category?  The Marian Gaborik contract situation does not seem to be any closer to a resolution, writes John Shipley.
• Rich Peverley has made the Predators and it looks like he’ll start the season alongside Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont.  Even with all the uncertainty off the ice, David Poile brings a certain calm and stability to the organization and their chances on the ice.
• The Devils are going to focus on improving their divisional play this season, starting tonight versus the Islanders.
• Scott Gordon is ready for the real games to begin for the Islanders.  Josh Bailey’s CHL teammates want him to succeed at the NHL level but wouldn’t exactly be angry if he came back to junior for one more season.
• Markus Naslund is very excited to play his first home opener at MSG tonight versus Chicago.  The Rangers have some lofty expectations surrounding them as their North American season begins.  Meanwhile, Larry Brooks of the NY Post is none too happy about Sarah Palin dropping the opening night face-off in Philadelphia tomorrow night.
• Even though they are media darlings going into the season, the Habs understand they still have to play all the games, writes Pat Hickey.  Patrice Brisebois has great respect for Habs GM Bob Gainey.
• After the team’s first two games overseas, Senators defenseman Alex Picard is a lot more confident, writes Ken Warren.  In injury news, Mike Fisher will know today whether he can play tomorrow night versus Detroit.
• The Canucks looked like the 80’s Oilers last night, writes Gordon McIntyre.  Last night’s win was an emotional one and after the game Roberto Luongo dedicated the victory to Luc Bourdon.  It was about as perfect a home opener as you will find, writes Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun.
• Tim Thomas made the big saves at the right times last night and helped the Bruins squeak out of Denver with a 5-4 victory.  The Bruins weren’t great defensively last night, but they made up for it with a nice balanced attack up front.  It sure felt great for Patrice Bergeron to get back into regular season NHL action on Thursday.
• The Sabres have set lofty goals for the upcoming season, writes John Vogl.
• The Capitals are looking to continue the momentum built up from last season, writes Tarik El-Bashir.
• The Ducks looked like the 2007/08 version of the team last night, rather than the 2006/07 version, writes Helene Elliot of the L.A. Times.  Anaheim just took too many penalties, writes Dan Wood.
• It may take a little bit of time to get completely comfortable, but the Thrashers are learning how to play under John Anderson.  Here are the five areas the team needs to improve on this season.
• Rod Brind’Amour is the Hurricanes’ leader today, but he is grooming Eric Staal for the job once he retires.  Starting tonight, the Canes want to put the past two playoff-less seasons behind them.
• With an increased payroll for 2008/09, the Blue Jackets are hoping for a move up the standings.  R.J. Umberger knows what it’s like to be a rookie playing under Ken Hitchcock, so he passed on some words of advice to Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek.  Here are the Jackets’ lines for tonight’s contest.
• The Stars have a nice blend of youth, veteran savvy and players in their prime, writes Mike Heika.
• George Richards breaks down the Panthers by position in this morning’s Miami Herald.  It is hard to deny the fact that this is Nathan Horton’s year to break out and prove how good he can be, write Steve Gorten.
• Drew Doughty has made the Kings’ opening night roster.
• Here are some questions surrounding the Flyers heading into the season.  Injuries have hurt the Flyers’ ability to debut the defense they had set for opening night.
• Coyotes rookie Kevin Porter has made the team and has received positive reviews from coach Wayne Gretzky.
• The Brooks Orpik-Michel Therrien relationship problems written about at length last season were blown out of proportion.  The Penguins acquired Mike Zigomanis from Pittsburgh yesterday.  The Penguins are staying patient as they try to establish some new chemistry up front.
• Here is a Q & A with Blues owner Dave Checketts.  Dan O’Neil of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks this needs to be Keith Tkachuk’s season.
• After struggling in Europe, the Bolts have gone back to simplifying their offensive attack.  Do the Lightning have a new third jersey coming out?

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.