Here are the morning papers for Saturday the 22nd of November:
- The Ducks tied the game with one second left last night in St. Louis but ended up losing the game in overtime, writes Dan Wood. Mark Whicker has a feature on new Ducks GM Bob Murray in this morning’s Orange County Register.
- The Thrashers need to improve on their penalty killing, writes Mike Knobler.
- The Bruins did a good job of not looking ahead on Friday and took care of business with a 4-2 victory over the Panthers. Georeges Laraque will be ready to drop the gloves tonight when the Bruins face the Habs. Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald loves watching this Bruins team play.
- The Sabres had their chances to score last night against Philadelphia, they just kept missing their opportunities. Maxim Afinogenov and Henrik Tallinder were both healthy scratches for yesterday’s game.
- Flames center Matthew Lombardi is very close to returning to the line-up. Did you know Adrian Aucoin led the Flames in ice-time last game? Meanwhile, Randy Sportak wonders if the players and owners will get along with the economy struggling so badly.
- Eric Staal waited for his parents to come watch him play and break out of his long slump with a hat trick in Carolina’s win over Phoenix.
- The Avalanche may be getting both Joe Sakic and Marek Svatos back in the line-up this weekend. Those returns should help the team considering its recent goal-scoring troubles.
- The Blue Jackets defense has the green light to join the the play up front and has been capitalizing on those opportunities, writes Tom Reed. Raffi Torres is lacking confidence in his game right now. Here are the Blue Jackets’ probable lines for tonight’s contest.
- Mike Heika has all the details surrounding Brenden Morrow’s season-ending injury.
- Niklas Kronwall is playing tonight in Calgary but Tomas Holmstrom is not. The Wings are going to play Derek Meech at forward tonight.
- It isn’t too complicated, the Oilers just need to start playing a more physical game. Did you know the Oilers have only led five games after the first period? Craig MacTavish wants his Oilers players to improve their mental toughness.
- The Panthers were just no match for the Bruins on Friday, writes George Richards of the Miami Herald. Coach Peter DeBoer benched Rostislav Olesz last night.
- The Wild needs Pierre-Marc Bouchard to break out of his offensive slump, writes Brian Stensaas.
- The Habs will be without Mike Komisarek for the next 4-5 weeks with an apparent shoulder injury. Legendary netminder Patrick Roy will have his number 33 raised to the rafters tonight. Red Fisher with this must-read article on Patrick Roy.
- Barry Trotz says the Predators lost Friday’s game in Tampa in the first period. David Legwand took a stupid penalty last night and it ended up changing the game’s momentum.
- The Devils aren’t using injuries as an excuse, as they handily defeated the Islanders 5-2 last night. Bobby Holik won’t return to the Devils’ line-up before December.
- The Islanders lost to New Jersey on Friday but were more concerned after the game with the status of youngster Frans Nielsen who was elbowed in the head by Mike Mottau.
- The Blueshirts are not as strong on draws as they were in 2007/08. The Rangers will be looking to bounce back in Ottawa this afternoon.
- You can’t blame the Senators for just hating the shootout, writes Allen Panzeri. Sure the Senators are interested in Mats Sundin, but are they planning a trade in the meantime?
- Martin Biron shut the door last night against Buffalo, as the Flyers registered a 3-0 victory over Buffalo. Meanwhile, Brendan Shanahan is still exploring the free agent market.
- Ryan Whitney was back at practice on Friday for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury won’t be in the line-up tonight for Pittsburgh.
- Rick Tocchet recorded his first NHL coaching victory last night, which he analogized to scoring his first NHL goal. Steve Stamkos should expect added responsibility in the coming weeks. In shocking news, Steve Downie has been disciplined by the AHL for a hit from behind.
- Both Nik Antropov and Carlo Colaiacovo may be in the line-up for Toronto tonight. Wendel Clark is going to be honored by the Leafs and Doug Gilmour wrote an article for the Toronto Sun to honor his former teammate.
- It will be a Luongo versus Crosby showdown this afternoon. In injury news, Sami Salo was sent home by the Canucks with a minor leg injury.
- Alexander Semin is doubtful for the Capitals’ tilt with San Jose tonight.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.