Here are the national morning papers:
Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:
- Ilya Kovalchuk has been suspended one game by the NHL for his hit-from-behind on
Michael Roszival and, as a result, the superstar forward will sit out tonight’s rematch versus the Rangers at MSG.
- Coming off of an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of the Habs, the Bruins are looking to rebound tonight versus the Islanders. In other Bruins news, Glen Murray has hit a speed-bump in his road to recovery and his return date is still unknown.
- The Sabres still don’t have a timetable for the returns of both Maxim Afinogenov and Tim Connolly, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News. With the Sabres visiting the Stars tonight, coach Lindy Ruff wants his team to be cognizant of Marty Turco’s ability to handle the puck.
- Both Sergei Samsonov and the Hurricanes are happy to have each other, writes Rachel Carter of the News Observer.
- Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says that South Florida is desperate for a winning team; so, now is the time for the Panthers to create a buzz. Nathan Horton hasn’t scored a goal in the three weeks, but he has a contributed to the team in a variety of different ways.
- In Montreal, Mathieu Dandenault is not very happy sitting on the sidelines as a healthy scratch. Meanwhile, before the Habs go on vacation over the All-Star break, the team will attempt to solve Martin Brodeur and company at the Prudential Center tonight.
- Michael Fensom of the Newark Star-Ledger details the progress made this season by Devils youngster David Clarkson. The Devils are looking forward to getting a break over the weekend before the playoff-run ramps up.
- Jaromir Jagr hopes to remain a Ranger through this season and beyond, writes Larry Brooks of the NY Post. Jay Greenberg salutes Brian Leetch whose number being raised to the MSG rafters tonight.
- Mike Sillinger says that the Islanders just need to maintain their focus on the teams ahead of them in the standings.
- Eugene Melnyk had breakfast with John Paddock and Bryan Murray yesterday to discuss the current state of the Senators, writes Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun. John Paddock was also busy doing other things on Wednesday as he threw out a challenge to both of his netminders, with the promise that whomever wins will continue starting.
- Flyers coach John Stevens wants his team’s penalty-killing to improve.
- Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the unexpected success of Penguins netminder Ty Conklin. The Penguins head into tonight’s game versus Philadelphia with the early-season blowout loss to the Flyers on their minds.
- The Lightning have three star players who are not afraid to lay it on the line and lead by example.
- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star discusses the circus that is the new Leafs GM situation. With all the distractions in Toronto, the Leafs relied, as they usually do, on Mats Sundin and the big captain didn’t disappoint by scoring with less than one minute remaining in regulation to give the Leafs a 3-2 victory over Washington.
- “We definitely didn’t play our best game,” Capitals forward Matt Pettinger said after his team’s 3-2 loss at Toronto.
Here are the Western Conference morning papers:
For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.