Here are the morning papers for Friday the 27th of February:
- Given a chance to acquire a top-four puck-moving defenseman, Bob Murray couldn’t pass up that opportunity, writes Dan Wood. On the ice, the Ducks got demolished by the Bruins in Boston by a score of 6-0.
- The Thrashers took too many penalties against the high-flying Capitals and it hurt them, writes Mike Knobler. For those who aren’t aware, Rich Peverely has been a point-per-game player since coming to Atlanta.
- Boston didn’t look like a team that was struggling last night. It was old-style hockey at the TD Banknorth Garden yesterday. Bob Ryan has some nice things to say about Michael Ryder. Matt Hunwick was back in the Bruins lineup last night. Are the Bruins looking to acquire Chris Pronger?
- After last night’s shootout loss in Carolina, the Sabres are tied for eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
- Jacques Lemaire doesn’t want Jarome Iginla breaking any records with the Wild in town. Theoren Fleury has an interesting take on Iginla’s pursuit of his record. Here are predictions for tonight’s Wild/Flames game.
- Carolina secured an important two points in a very even game last night versus Buffalo.
- One of the biggest factors of the Blackhawks’ success this season has been the team’s ability to avoid multiple game losing streaks.
- Martin Brodeur shutout the struggling Avalanche 4-0 in Newark on Thursday. J-M Liles was kept out of last night’s game. With the trade deadline around the corner, the Avalanche are certainly sellers.
- Raffi Torres went back into Edmonton and scored the only goal of the game in a huge win for the Blue Jackets last night. Even though Jakub Voracek doesn’t get much press, he’s been very good in his rookie season.
- The Stars feel like they are in the playoffs right now, which is why the pulled the trigger to acquire Steve Begin. The Stars hit an amazing five goal posts last night versus St. Louis and that lack of luck ended in a 3-1 loss.
- Chris Osgood gets his first start since February 15th tonight versus Los Angeles. Watch out for another Chelios in the state of Michigan. Tonight is Kirk Maltby’s 1000th NHL game.
- That was not a playoff-like performance for Edmonton on Thursday versus Columbus. Shawn Horcoff plays more than a lot of minutes for the Oilers. At least the team got Fernando Pisani back in the lineup. Tom Gilbert’s play left much to be desired last night. The rumors of Georges Laraque wanting out of Montreal were apparently false.
- The Panthers were outplayed last night at MSG, but with two quick third period goals they scurried out of NY with a 2-1 victory. Florida played last night’s game without Cory Stillman and Tomas Vokoun.
- Wild GM Doug Risebrough likes his mix of youth and veteran leadership. If the Wild wants to stick around the playoff hunt, the team has to play solid road hockey.
- Pat Hickey calls out Georges Laraque in the Montreal Gazette. Here’s more on the Steve Begin trade. The aforementioned Laraque will find himself back in the lineup with the Flyers next up on the schedule.
- Steve Sullivan remained hot for the Predators and the team is now as close to a playoff spot as you can get, writes Jessica Bliss.
- Injury? What injury? As only Martin Brodeur can comeback from a few months off and post a shutout in his return. Rumors of Jay Pandolfo being on his way out of town haven’t stopped.
- The Islanders lost last night to the Maple Leafs but at least they didn’t quit. Charges have been pressed against a couple former Islanders executives.
- Even with John Tortorella behind the bench, the Rangers still cannot score. The “Fire Sather” chants were out last night at MSG. Larry Brooks tells Rangers fans that Slats isn’t going anywhere.
- After last night’s stupid penalties, Brian Lee probably wants to crawl under a rock. The Senators have placed Martin Gerber on re-entry waivers.
- The Flyers will decide after the morning skate whether Daniel Briere will play tonight versus the Habs. The Flyers have waived Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen.
- The Coyotes’ slide continued Thursday in Nashville. More on the off-ice saga that has come to be commonplace around the Coyotes.
- Chris Kunitz will not only bring more goals to the Penguins lineup but will also bring a physical presence. Ron Cook of the Post-Gazette thinks the Pens will miss Ryan Whitney. Mike Prisuta thinks the trade was necessary.
- The Ducks don’t lose consecutive games, so they weren’t going to start last night. Joe Thornton had no problem with coach McLellan telling the media he needed to be better.
- The Lightning needs to improve its team defense. The Bolts are cutting ticket prices for next season.
- No matter how much some Leafs fans want their team to lose and end up in the lottery, the team continues to win. Tim Stapleton was the star last night on the Island.
- Shane O’Brien wants to ensure that his new team dominates his old team. Kyle Wellwood isn’t exactly in Alain Vigneault’s good books.
- They made it interesting, but the Capitals got the victory over Atlanta.