Here are the morning papers for Monday the 23rd of February:
- Bob Murray is taking calls on just about everyone that is on the Ducks roster, writes Dan Wood.
- The Bruins were more intense last night in Tampa Bay, but it wasn’t enough as they lost 4-3. The Bruins really do miss Marco Sturm.
- It looks like Ryan Miller could be out for a while in Buffalo.
- Kyle Greentree had quite a trip to Edmonton for the Battle of Alberta on Saturday. Every point means something in the standings these days, writes Randy Sportak.
- Matt Cullen was the star on Sunday in Carolina, as the ‘Canes defeated the Avalanche 5-2.
- The Wild trapped the Blackhawks and Josh Harding played extremely well, as Minnesota recorded a 2-1 road victory. The Blackhawks defense is serving as a catalyst for the team’s offensive attack.
- The Avalanche took too many penalties and were outshot handily, as the Hurricanes defeated Colorado 5-2 at the RBC Center. Ian Lapperiere wants a contract extension and doesn’t want to be traded but he knows it is possible.
- Aaron Rome just wants a chance to prove himself on the Blue Jackets blue line. Here are Aaron Portzline’s NHL power rankings.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News says that Steve Ott is the NHL’s best agitator.
- Tomas Kopecky has to work to earn one of the last forward spots on the Detroit roster. The Red Wings need their fourth line to get on track.
- The Oilers have had problems all year with scoring goals.
- The Panthers have a difficult five-game stretch coming up, writes George Richards. Are rats making a comeback in Florida?
- “He was fantastic,” said Jacques Lemaire about Josh Harding’s performance at Chicago last night. Did you know Martin Skoula has played 700 NHL career games? Dan Fristche has been a nice pickup for Minnesota.
- Mathieu Schneider has been a terrific help to the Habs’ power play. Jack Todd has an interesting article about Russian players in this morning’s Montreal Gazette.
- What moves could the Predators possibly make before the trade deadline?
- Expect Martin Brodeur to return to the New Jersey Devils this upcoming weekend.
- On the Island, Jack Hillen’s play on the back-end made Chris Campoli expendable.
- Harry Howell and Andy Bathgate night didn’t end as the Rangers wanted it to last night, writes Steve Zipay. Jay Greenbeg thought honoring those two legends should have happened long ago. Larry Brooks takes issue with Lindy Ruff’s claims about Scott Gomez.
- Chris Campoli is happy to be off the Island and playing on the power play in Ottawa, writes Chris Steveson.
- Ed Moran doesn’t think the Flyers need to acquire a defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. Make no mistake, the players know the deadline is near.
- The Penguins power play wasn’t good enough as they lost 5-2 at Washington yesterday in a heated match. You can’t mask it, the Penguins have a lot of flaws. Alex Ovechkin is not Mr. Popular in the Pens dressing room.
- The Sharks want to prove they can succeed on the road on their upcoming road trip.
- St. Louis coach Andy Murray knows parity is the name of the game in the NHL these days.
- Tampa played a great game against the Conference-leading Bruins on Sunday, and got a late goal to record a 4-3 home victory. Gary Roberts won’t back down from anyone.
- Howard Berger says Brian Burke doesn’t anticipate a fire sale in Leafland. Ron Wilson wanted to avoid the shootout, and his team bailed him out with an overtime winner by Niklas Hagman. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Leafs.
- Alexandre Burrows is pumped to play in Montreal. The Canucks are going from a Sundin tribute to the disaster that is Montreal right now.
- Ovechkin and Co. dominated the Penguins on Sunday afternoon. Dan Daly says the Penguins just aren’t a good enough team right now to make this rivalry even on the ice.
