Illegal Curve Hockey

NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition): Marian Gaborik’s (possible) return to Minnesota, Valtteri Filppula out 6-8 weeks with broken wrist and Phil Kessel to return on Tuesday

Instead of having a lot of time off, the Ducks would rather be playing through their slump, writes Eric Stephens.
The Thrashers have been starting slow as of late and Alexander Ovechkin took advantage of that last night.
In roster news, Jim Slater was back in the Thrashers lineup after being a healthy scratch for seven consecutive games.
Claude Julien was happy with the way his team played, they just had a bad bounce go against them which led to a 2-1 loss to New Jersey.
If the Bruins are to stay close to the pack for the time being, they need some secondary scorers to step up and make up for the absence of Marc Savard and Milan Lucic, opines Kevin Paul Dupont.
The Sabres are keeping and even keel approach to their hot start this season.
Brent Sutter is not as unhappy with Olli Jokinen’s game as you would think.
That said, Brent Sutter was unhappy with the Flames’ performance as a whole on Wednesday and let them know at practice yesterday.
The Hurricanes practiced one-on-one battles on Thursday to increase the team’s work ethic and intensity.
The Blackhawks didn’t get any traffic in front of Pekka Rinne and didn’t have any success on the power play and it resulted in a 2-0 road loss to Nashville.
Avs third line center T.J. Galiardi has been sent back to Denver and is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
The Blue Jackest have improved up the middle but no team is as strong up the middle as the Penguins.
With the way Columbus has been playing defensively, Pittsburgh could cause problems.
Tonight will be Marc Crawford’s 1000th game coached in the NHL.
The news just keeps getting worse for Detroit, as center Valtteri Filppula is out for 6-8 weeks with a broken wrist.

Another injury to the Wings' forward group is going to be difficult for the team to withstand. (Picture courtesy of espn.com)

Sure they lost Filppula last night but to Detroit’s credit they team came back from a four-goal deficit to lose 6-5 in a shootout at Edmonton.
The reunion of Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky line was the main reason the Oilers were able to squeeze out a shootout win against Detroit.
Concussions are a serious issue, just ask Steve Staios and Sheldon Souray.
The Panthers are done with moral victories, they just want to start posting points on the board.
“I hate the shootout,” remarked Terry Murray after his team’s sceond straight shootout loss.
How ironic that Marian Gaborik’s return to St. Paul may be jeopardized by a lower-body injury.

Marian Gaborik may miss tonight's return to Minnesota because of a minor lower-body injury. (Picture courtesy of yahoo.com)

Carey Price will get the start for the Habs tonight as they visit Chicago.
With last night’s win at Boston, the Devils now sit at 6-0 on the road this season.
Yann Danis was in net for New Jersey last night and played a very solid game.
The Islanders have borrwed a tradition from the 2003/04 Flames by giving the hardest worker Islander player a white hat after each game.
It looks like Gaborik may miss his return to Minnesota tonight, writes Michael Obernauer.
Sean Avery and Chris Higgins missed practice yesterday.
“Right now, we’re not getting the breaks on the calls,” said an unhappy Cory Clouston regarding the referees.
Erik Karlsson is calmed down and now okay with his demotion to the AHL.
The Flyers have lost defenseman Randy Jones on waivers to the Kings.
Paolo Boivin of the Arizona Republic thinks Wayne Gretzky deserves better from the NHL.
The owners of the CFL’s Toronto Argos are interested in purchasing the Coyotes.
The Penguins decided rest was the best thing for Evgeni Malkin’s shoulder at this time.
The Penguins have outshot their opponents in nine of twelve games this season.
The Sharks will be looking for revenge against an Avalanche team that beat them on opening night.
Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle knows the Sharks look good now but it is 23 weeks from now that really matter.
St. Louis cannot win at home this season and cannot score on the power play either, writes Jeremy Rutherford.
At least Eric Brewer returned to the lineup on Thursday.

Eric Brewer made an early return to the Blues lineup last night. (Picture courtesy of globesports.com)

Steven Stamkos looks like a different player than he did at the beginning of last season.
Vincent Lecavalier sounds like a man who is confident in his teammates.
Phil Kessel is expected to make his Maple Leafs debut on Tuesday versus Tampa Bay.
“We need to win games like these. It was greasy, but it was a good win,” said Ryan Kesler after his team’s 2-1 shootout victory at L.A.
The Capitals got out to an early lead in Atlanta and held on for the win, but coach Bruce Boudreau wishes they’d have that killer instinct.