Here are the Western Conference morning papers:
- The Canucks were able to withstand the Stars’ comeback last night and came out of Dallas with an important 4-3 victory, writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province. Before Vancouver took the ice last night, Trevor Linden addressed the team with a pre-game speech.
- “This was the biggest game of the year for us, and we got outplayed,” said Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky after his team’s 5-2 home loss to the Oilers last night.
- The Oilers gave Dwayne Roloson his first start in net since February 1st, and the veteran netminder led the team to a 5-2 road victory over the Coyotes. Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun tells readers about Coyotes rookie Peter Mueller.
- Jose Theodore was outplayed by Martin Brodeur yesterday afternoon, and the result was a 4-2 road victory for the Devils, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post. Terry Frei of the Denver Post provides readers with a number of tidbits in his Sunday column.
- Niklas Hjalmarsson has been getting a chance to prove his worth on the Chicago blue line, writes Chris Kuc.
- The Ducks stayed disciplined yesterday, and that allowed them to easily defeat the struggling Blues by a score of 5-2 on home ice.
- Jean Lefebvre of the Calgary Herald believes that this season may be Jarome Iginla’s last good chance to take home the Hart Trophy. Meanwhile, Flames center Craig Conroy used to play with Chris Pronger in St. Louis, so he knows the big defenseman can snap.
- Tom Reed delves deeper into the significance of Rick Nash being named captain of the Blue Jackets. The Jackets have a tough schedule next week, writes Aaron Portzline. Here are the Jackets’ projected lines for today’s game versus Detroit.
- The Stars got to experience the goaltending of Johan Holmqvist last night versus Vancouver, and the experience did not last long, writes Mike Heika.
- Dominik Hasek is expected to suit up today against the Blue Jackets. The Red Wings didn’t get off to a good start yesterday versus the Predators and it cost them, writes Helene St. James.
- Wild forward Marian Gaborik scored his 200th career goal, and the Wild ended their losing streak at five games yesterday by defeating the Kings 2-0 at the Xcel Energy Center.
- The Predators lost to the worst team in the league on Thursday, then beat the best team in the league on Saturday, writes Jessica Hopp. The Predators killed off a couple big penalties in the third period to secure the victory.
- There is no secret reason for the Sharks’ success, writes Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News.
The Eastern Conference morning papers won’t be posted today. The regular format will return bright and early tomorrow morning. Have a good Sunday.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.
Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com
