Here are the morning papers for Friday the 13th of March:
- The Ducks need to gain momentum after beating the Canucks in overtime on Wednesday.
- Marty Reasoner struck back at his former team on Thursday with an overtime winning goal for the Thrashers.
- The Bruins won last night, but they need to improve their play with a lead, writes Fluto Shinzawa. Marc Savard is playing like a leader for the Bruins. You’d only believe it if you saw it, but Aaron Ward got a breakaway last night and scored. The fighting debate will continue after last night’s game.
- Buffalo was in a must-win situation last night and they came out with an important victory over the Panthers. Jaroslav Spacek’s offense and shot-blocking skills were a big reason for the win.
- “That’s a big win. As big as any this year,” said Flames captain Jarome Iginla after his team’s unbelievable 6-5 comeback shootout victory. The Flames had many chances to pack it in, but the group showed some great resilience, writes Randy Sportak. Calgary wouldn’t have had a chance without Miikka Kiprusoff. Andre Roy defends fighting.
- The Hurricanes were playing their fifth game in seven days, and came up just short in Dallas yesterday.
- The Blackhawks want these 15 games or so to be similar to the playoffs.
- The Avalanche have an insanely successful overtime and shootout record, and that success continued on Thursday versus Minnesota. Is Tony Granato’s job in jeopardy?
- “We beat Detroit. Beat Boston. And tonight we beat the hottest team in the National Hockey League,” said coach Ken Hitchcock after his team’s great 4-3 shootout victory over the Penguins. Steve Mason is money.
- The Stars ended their long home losing streak on Thursday with a 3-2 win over the visiting Hurricanes. Joel Lundqvist realizes he is playing for his next contract right now.
- Helene St. James says the Red Wings basically stopped playing in the third period against Calgary. Tomas Holmstrom played his 800th game on Thursday. Marian Hossa is expected to return tomorrow night versus St. Louis.
- On fan apprecaition night, the Oilers’ fans sure didn’t appreciate the team’s terrible loss to Atlanta. The Oilers called yesterday’s loss a “missed opportunity.” He did get injured last night but Ilya Kovalchuk has been on fire as of late.
- Florida had chances to win yesterday’s big game at Buffalo, but just couldn’t make it happen. Richard Zednik tried not to think about his last time at the HSBC Arena.
- The Kings play at Vancouver tonight, writes Helene Elliot.
- “It was a miracle after the third to be tied with them. … We had more than a handful of guys that didn’t play their game. So this is why we can’t win, and it’s been like this all year,” said Wild coach Jacques Lemaire after last night’s terrible loss at Colorado. Apparently the Wild is considering offering Marian Gaborik a short-term contract.
- Carey Price let in a weak goal in overtime, but there wouldn’t have been overtime had Price not played so well. Montreal doesn’t have a difficult schedule remaining.
- The Predators lost for the third straight game on Thursday and now find themselves in 10th place in the Western Conference. Nashville is close to meeting the ticket sales threshold to qualify for revenue sharing.
- After last night’s win over Phoenix, Martin Brodeur will have a chance to tie Patrick Roy’s win record in his hometown of Montreal on Saturday.
- Yann Danis helped his new team beat his old team at the Bell Centre, writes Greg Logan.
- John Tortorella woke up the troops after the first period last night and the Rangers were a different team from that point on. “He lit into all of us. I mean, he basically called us out,” said Scott Gomez. Colin Campbell won’t be partaking in any Panthers disciplinary decisions.
- Guys coming out of the box cost Ottawa more so than did guys actually being in the box. Cory Clouston is sure making a good argument that he should return next year.
- Last night’s game was a strange one, as the Flyers lost 2-1 to the Capitals. The booing didn’t really seem to affect Alexander Ovechkin as he scored the game-winner. Here are some Spectrum memories.
- The Penguins’ winning streak ended last night in Columbus, but they still picked up an important point. Will Miroslav Satan play his way back to the NHL? The Penguins open an eight-game homestand on Saturday.
- Todd McLellan was happier with his team’s play in last night’s loss than he was in its win on Tuesday. Tomas Plihal was injured at yesterday’s morning skate.
- The Blues persevered to a great victory last night over the Sharks, writes Jeremy Rutherford. Eric Brewer may not return this season.
- Olaf Kolzig wasn’t upset that he was traded to the Maple Leafs. On the ice, the Lightning defeated the Maple Leafs yesterday.
- Leafs coach Ron Wilson was ejected from last night’s game. The game had a fair share of no-show fans. Ben Ondrus was fuming after yesterday’s tilt.
- The contract talks with the Sedins have been halted until after the season. The Canucks have a favorable schedule down the stretch.
- When Jose Theodore is on, he’s on, and the former Hab was rolling on Thursday night.
