NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Brian Burke unfiltered, Joe Sakic may not return this season and MacTavish’s days as Oilers coach may be coming to a close

Here are the morning papers for Thursday the 2nd of April:

• Todd Marchant is committed to being a leader for the Ducks, and proved it on Tuesday night against Edmonton.
• “He’s shown everybody he’s the guy who’s going to take us to the playoffs next year,” said Thrashers captian Ilya Kovalchuk about first year coach John Anderson.
• “Everyone has bought into the concept that team toughness is important at this time of the year,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien about his squad.  Milan Lucic admits being moved to the fourth line was little bit of a wake-up call for him.
• Mike Harrington tells Sabres fans that after yesterday’s overtime loss to Atlanta, the Sabres can basically kiss the playoffs goodbye.  Two Sabres prospects, Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe, have been named to the All-Rookie Team in the AHL.
• Randy Sportak wonders if the Flames will start playing better now that the spotlight of first place is no longer present?  Steve Macfarlane says the Flames need to put the past couple weeks behind them.  Some of the Flames are looking forward to getting on the road and facing Dallas.  Here are predictions for tonight’s game.
• “I’d like to think I’m a better goaltender than I was in ’06. I think I have improved,” said Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward.
• The Blackhawks played their best game in a while yesterday, as they handled the Blues 3-1 at the United Center, writes Chris Kuc.
• Joe Sakic is unsure of whether he will comeback to play this season, writes Adrian Dater.  Wayne Gretzky knows how difficult the process has been for Sakic.
• Columbus GM Scott Howson is not a favorite in the city of Syracuse after he decided to recall Nikita Filatov up the Blue Jackets.  Raffi Torres is the Blue Jackets’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy.
• When the Stars are relaxed, they play a lot better, writes Mike Heika.  This year has been a struggle, but Stars fans have had it good for a long time, writes Tim Cowlishaw.
• Chris Chelios is the Red Wings’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy.  Detroit knows the Blues are coming into town tonight as a desperate hockey team.
• Terry Jones was thoroughly impressed at how Craig MacTavish handled himself with the media on Wednesday.  Backtracking to Tuesday, MacTavish was totally convinced Selanne’s stick was illegal.  Edmonton doesn’t control their own fate, but they aren’t throwing in the towel.  One win would sure help right now.  Why are the Oilers so bad in the second period?  The team is pleading for some positive fan support.
• Michael Frolik has quietly scored twenty goals for the Panthers this season as a rookie.  All Stephen Weiss can think about is making the playoffs.
• If the Kings don’t want to be eliminated from the playoffs, they have to beat Phoenix tonight.
• The Wild made sure to keep it light around the locker room on April Fool’s Day.
• Chris Higgins has started to get his game together as of late.
• Not surprisingly, Predators center Steve Sullivan has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy.
• The Devils are looking for answers after losing their sixth straight game last night.  One thing is for certain, the Devils were not happy with yesterday’s officiating.
• The Islanders missed Mark Streit (groin), but did have the lead in the third period until Mike Green took over, writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• The Rangers certainly do not have an easy schedule to finish out the season.  Tough schedule or not, Henrik Lundqvist is the key.
• Senators GM Bryan Murray says his best players need to play better next season.  As for this season, coach Cory Clouston is emphasizing a good finish.  Clouston can start getting comfortable, as it seems almost automatic that he will be coaching the Senators next season.
• The Flyers were embarassed by the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night, writes Sam Carchidi.  Ed Moran says the Flyers got what they deserved.
• Al Montoya made history by starting in net for Phoenix last night and then went out and pitched a shutout.
• The Penguins finished their homestand by earning 13 of a possible 16 points, writes Shelly Anderson.  Marc-Andre Fleury likes to go up against Martin Brodeur.  Crosby and Malkin were pretty good yesterday too.
• The Sharks are beginning to get healthier.  Ray Ratto doesn’t know whether the Sharks are a Cup winning team or not.
• “We got outplayed tonight,” said Blues veteran Keith Tkachuk after his team only mustered seven shots in the first two periods.
• The Lightning coaches are making sure the players realize they still have to work hard in practice to close the season out.  These last five games for Tampa Bay are an audition for many Lightning players.
• If you are a Leafs fan, this article tells you exactly what Brian Burke has in mind for the summer.  The Leafs did exhibit some heart with a win last night over playoff-bound Philadelphia.  Off the ice, the Leafs have been fined $500,000 and a fourth round draft pick for their summer dealings with Jonas Frogren.  Christian Hanson will make his NHL debut tomorrow night.
• Alain Vigneault for the Jack Adams?  British Columbia native Scott Niedermayer says it would be an honour to represent Canada in his home province at the 2010 Olympics.
• Mike Green became the first NHL defenseman to score 30 goals since 1992/93, as he led the Capitals to a 5-3 victory over the Islanders.

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