NHL Morning Papers (Saturday Edition): Bruins need to play with a chip on their shoulder, NHL plotted to fire pro union official, Hawks to roll out the red carpet in Opener, Osgood calls out refs, whiteout time in Phoenix.

General NHL:

• Are NHL clubs being foolish in not dealing with the harsh reality of swine flu?
• In the what were they thinking category, news is coming out that the NHL plotted to fire a pro-union official.
• Free Press reported Randy Turner feels that with the latest revelations from Theo Fleury’s book Playing with Fire, that Graham James needs to be dealt with.

Eastern Conference:

• Have you ever wondered which is the favorite restaurant of Atlanta’s Colby Armstrong?  Well wonder no longer as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution brings you this info in his rapid 5 session.
• Coach Julien knows that the Bruins need to get back to playing with a chip on their shoulders as it appears they have lost that underdog attitude that had served them so well last season.
• Despite the fact that he is usually quite tight lipped about who he is starting in net, Bruins coach Claude Julien said that Tuuka Rask could see his first action of the season.  Boston’s starting goalie, Tim Thomas is still trying to find his game and despite a leaky defence, he needs to figure out why he’s let in ten goals in three games.

  Thomas might be getting some time off. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

• The Buffalo Sabres powerplay is expected to be up and down by coach Ruff  as newcomers Myers and Butler get used to playing a bigger role.
• Business is business and former Carolina Hurricane Dennis Seidenberg and current Florida Panther realized this as he made his return to Raleigh last night.
• Mike Boone of the Montreal Gazette wonders what have we learned through four games of what the Living Legend of Sports Journalism likes to call the infernally long hockey season?
• Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin said one area where he would like to see his team improve is in penalty-killing.
• When longtime Canadiens fans look back over the years to the dynasties of the late 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, there’s little to choose between them. In a seven-game series, which one would prevail?
• Ottawa coach Cory Clouston has flipped Foligno and Alfredsson in an effort to get the Senators top players scoring.
• The Ottawa Sun’s Chris Stevenson, Don Brennan, Jason York and Tim Baines roundtable a number of NHL issues including whether they should be planning a Stanley Cup parade, hot NHL wives, The Untold Chronicles and who is The Sweaterman?
• New Jersey Devils’ Travis Zajac ranks his third-period goal against Lightning with playoff overtime winner from Game 3 of last spring’s playoff series with the Carolina Hurricanes as his finest moment.  Devils coach Jacques Lemaire changed some of his lines in practice Friday at Bank Atlantic Center.
• New York Islanders first overall pick John Tavaresmight use the occasional cliche line, but overall he is handling himself quite well as he adjusts to life in the NHL.
• Rangers coach John Tortorella may be barking at a lot of his players but one guy he is happy with is Ryan Callahan, who brings a quiet intensity to the team.
• The Penguins new arena got a nice $2.3 million dollar cheque from the owners of the River Casino.  Despite the assertion that their player was bitten, no suspension was issued by the league, and the Pens expect Kris Letang to be in the lineup tonight.
• Veteran forward Bill Guerinhas accepted that the Pens won’t be undefeated this season but for the team to have success he will need to play a pivotal role.  The Pens will be expanding the role for center Jordan Staaland even gave him some time with Malkin.
• A Stanley Cup win last season hasn’t diminished the Penguins desire to winwrites David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail.
• Tampa Bay Lightning rookie defenceman Victor Hedman proves he belongs in the NHL.
• Coach Ron Wilson is mixing things up and changing the Leafs lines for tonight’s game against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
• Looks like the groin injury to Jonas Gustavsson’s means Vesa Toskala has another chance to nail down the No. 1 position.  Leafs current back-up goalie Joey MacDonaldknows all about having patience and with the Monster on the IR and Toskala struggling, this might be his chance. 
• Leafs sophomore defenceman Luke Schenn to work on minding the gap and positioning inside own blue line as buds look for first win against Pens.
• This season is a bit different for the Washington Capitals as they are expected to be at the top of the East and for that to happen they are going to have to be more consistent.

Western Conference:

• Chris Pronger fits in Philly but still has many fond memories of his time in Anaheim. 
• The trend continues for Flames backup goalie Curtis McElhinney as he gave up a goal on the first shot he faced and didn’t look strong in Calgary’s first loss of the season.
• One thing Jay Bouwmeester may not have planned when he left the travel-friendly confines of the Eastern Conference for the wearisome world of the Western Conference was the amount of travel involved.
• The Chicago Blackhawks have come out firing whenever they are in the offensive zone and so far they lead the NHL in overall shots.  The team also leads the NHL in innovative season openers as they roll out the red carpet to open the season in Chicago.

  Rolling down the red carpet.

• One Avalanche player who may be at home for the Hawks opener is Illinois born goalie Craig Anderson who also played for the Hawks from 2002-2006.
• Dallas Stars’ Mark Fistric is taking what he learnt from the 22 playoff games he played in with the Moose last season and putting it to use as he tried to make the most of his opportunities in the NHL.
• You can tell that Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood is less than pleased with some of the calls that have led to 5-3 so far this season.
• The newest Wing Brad Maywas just happy to get a jersey number but now that he has one, he is looking to trade up, by the jersery previously worn by Chris Chelios.
• The Edmonton Oilers are wondering if they are snake bitten because if games lasted 59 minutes they would be top of the league.
• It is time that Wild coach Todd Richards wipes off his Minnesota nice attitude and adopts some Minnesota ice as he promises that things are going to turn around.
• The two longest tenured coaches in the NHL will do battle tonight as the Predators Barry Trotz takes on Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.  Nashville gets back surprise forward Joel Ward who missed the first two games of the season with a groin strain.
• One cheap ticket at a time: win or lose, discounted tickets and an aggressive marketing campaign will make the Phoenix CoyotesSaturday home opener a success writes Eric Duhatschek of the Globe.  If you missed his Friday weekly notes feature it is a must read about Coyotes GM Don Maloney.

  Whiteout conditions tonight in Arizona.

• Phoenix Coyotes coach Dave Tippett is still bothered by the penalties his team took in Buffalo as he felt that they could have taken points away from the game.
• If there is one thing that has been solid with the Yotes is that Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason LaBarbera have given stellar performances so far this season.
• Perhaps former Sharks captain Patrick Marleau is flying around the ice because he isn’t feeling the weight of pressure that comes with wearing the ‘C’, but really he is just picking up where he left off last season.
• Veteran defenceman Barret Jackman was placed on the injured-reserve list Friday with a sprained ankle and this gives rookie Alex Pietrangelo a very good opportunity to show the Blues his stuff.
• The Blues are keeping a three story moving stairway shut down as they try and ascertain what malfunctioned and injured 13 Blues fans recently at a game.
• Speculation continues for the Canucks Daniel Sedin as his apparent foot injury is being reported by head coach Alain Vigneault as “bruised” while other suggest it is broken.
• Two years of NHL experience have flattened the learning curve for Mason Raymond and the speedy winger wants to make the most of it.
• Despite being sent down to the minors, Sergei Shirokov sure knows how to make a splash, finishing his first game with the Moose with a goal and an assist.