Here are the morning papers for Saturday the 14th of March:
- The last ten games for Anaheim, Chris Pronger has averaged just under 30 minutes per game.
- Ilya Kovalchuk (undisclosed) will not play tonight versus Buffalo.
- Michael Ryder and David Krejci are starting to return to their early season form in Boston, writes Fluto Shinzawa. Boston has to start playing playoff-style hockey right now.
- If a number of Sabres turnaround their respective seasons now, the early season struggles and lack of production can all be forgotten, writes John Vogl. The Sabres cannot overlook the streaking Thrashers tonight.
- Olli Jokinen was ecstatic that he had to tell his family that the family vacation may be postponed this year. Eric Francis says the Flames are now among the NHL’s elite.
- The Hurricanes’ tough road stretch is almost done, but tonight is a big game versus the division-rival Capitals.
- The Blackhawks are starting to get some good news on the injury front.
- Former Oiler and current Avalanche forward Ryan Smyth would like nothing more than to spoil Edmonton’s run at the playoffs tonight with a victory at Rexall Place. Avs grinder Cody McCormick has been suspended two games for his cross-check on Cal Clutterbuck.
- Mike Modano and Brendan Morrison developed some nice chemistry during the team’s last game agaisnt Carolina.
- Marian Hossa returns to the Detroit lineup to face the Blues today. The Wings are hoping this Saturday’s game is a substantial improvement over the past three.
- Dustin Penner looked like a different player last game against Atlanta and he hopes that carries over to today’s game versus Colorado. Ales Kotalik has struggled since coming to Edmonton and no one knows that more than Kotalik himself.
- A sign of the apocalypse? The Panthers are talking about playoff ticket prices. Peter DeBoer wants to make sure his team doesn’t begin to panic.
- The Kings lost again on the road, and sit five points from being in a playoff spot.
- Let’s just say Doug Risebrough is not a fan of excuses in Minnesota. In interesting news, Mario Tremblay doesn’t plan to pack it up any time soon.
- All eyes are on Martin Brodeur tonight in Montreal, writes Dave Stubbs. Pat Hickey says the Habs could sure use a revved up Alexei Kovalev. Here is Red Fisher’s Saturday notebook.
- Barry Trotz has confidence in his group, even though 9 of its last 14 games are going to be on the road.
- Martin Brodeur’s first championship at any level was the Stanley Cup, writes Mark Everson. Tonight could be an historic night in Montreal.
- If you have looked at the Islanders’ record lately, you’d realize that this team is tough to play against, writes Greg Logan.
- New Rangers coach John Tortorella has great confidence in the young defensive pairing of Marc Staal and Daniel Girardi. If he’s not happy with a player’s contributions, Tortorella won’t hesitate to bench that player. Rangers GM Glen Sather made the news yesterday by literally bailing out Peter Pocklington. Nikolai Zherdev’s struggles may save the Rangers money and a headache this summer.
- The Senators’ young players have a lot to play for over the final stretch of the season. If the Senators want to make the playoffs they’ll have to run the table, which is why they have to embrace the role of spoiler.
- With back-to-back games on the schedule, the Flyers know this isn’t the same the Rangers team they played earlier in the season. “It’s a huge weekend,” says Flyers sniper Jeff Carter.
- Sidney Crosby has improved in the face-off circle steadily since coming into the NHL. The Penguins’ eight-game home stretch begins today against the Senators. Petr Sykora is questionable for the Pens’ two afternoon games this weekend.
- Evgeni Nabokov returns tonight for San Jose.
- Coming off a victory over San Jose, the Blues will try to make it two in a row over the conference’s top teams, as they face the Wings tonight.
- Somehow, Martin St. Louis is a plus six on the poor Lightning squad. In sad news, former Lightning Bill Davidson has passed away.
- Ron Wilson tells the Toronto media his team is “short on talent.” Wilson also wants to make sure his team knows they need to be in better shape next training camp. Tomas Kaberle won’t return to the lineup tonight.
- Henrik Sedin was the star last night for Vancouver. The Canucks have their sights set on catching the Blackhawks.
- After his crazy goal-scoring streak, Mike Green has only scored once in his past thirteen games.
**The Columbus Dispatch website was having troubles, so the Jackets articles are not included in the morning papers**
***Also of note, David is on vacation until Monday night, so the Nightly Scores will return then. Sorry for the inconvenience***
