Illegal Curve Hockey

Categories: NHL Morning Papers

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): It is getting ugly in Nashville, Johan Franzen wants to return for Olympics and a call for the Coyotes to abandon the White Out

The Ducks began a six-game homestand last night with a one-goal victory over the visiting Wild.
Corey Perry got it going early last night and just missed out on a hat trick.
Meanwhile, James Wisniewski is optimistic that he can return to the Ducks lineup by Wednesday.
Bruins coach Claude Julien has switched up his top two lines an effort to turn his team’s fortunes around.
Marc Savard wants his team to focus on getting more shots on net.
Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News has an interesting profile of a rejuvenated Henrik Tallinder.
So much for Thomas Vanek being out of the lineup for weeks, he may be back by this weekend.
Theoren Fleury is considering filing a criminal complaint regarding Graham James.
The Flames have to stop playing a counter-attack game and, instead, attack all game long, writes Randy Sportak.
Flames coach Brent Sutter says his responsibilities in Calgary are almost the opposite of what they were in New Jersey.
The Flames are at the bottom of the NHL in a lot of statistical categories.
“It’s a game to build on,” said Hurricanes winger Ray Whitney after his team’s 3-2 shootout loss to Pittsburgh.
In Nikolai Khabibulin’s return to the Windy City, Joel Quenneville was very happy with his team’s all-around performance.
The Avalanche got lucky on Wednesday with the news that John-Michael Liles is only out of the lineup for two weeks.

The Avalanche lucked out when J-M Liles found out his injury wasn't that serious. (Picture courtesy of espn.com)

“It’s a big blow, because Jan is a player we obviously rely on in a lot of different situations,” said Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock about the Jan Hedja loss.
“We have no plans to send him to Syracuse,” said Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson about Nikita Filatov.
Wins don’t get much easier than the Stars’ victory over the Predators last night, writes Mike Heika.
Meanwhile, Heika profiles Stars off-season acquisition Karlis Skrastins.
Pavel Datysuk is day-to-day in Detroit with an upper-body injury.
Speaking of injuries, Johan Franzen is hoping to be back by the Winter Olympics.
The Oilers allowed 38 shots against last night in Chicago, the second time on their current road trip that the team has allowed 35+ shots against.
Former Blackhawk Ethan Moreau was happy to play in a rejuvenated United Center last night.
Dominic Moore’s paperwork took forever to arrive, but he is finally cleared to practice with his new Panthers teammates.
Moore’s arrival may allow coach Pete DeBoer to change up his struggling lines.
“There’s a lot of things you take out of this,” said Kings coach Terry Murray after his team’s well-played 4-2 loss at Madison Square Garden last night.
The Wild lost the game and Martin Havlat to a groin injury last night in Anaheim, reports Michael Russo.
Guy Carbonneau still wants to coach in the NHL and feels like broadcasting for CBC keeps him closer to the game.

Guy Carbonneau wants back behind a National Hockey League bench. (Picture courtesy of bleacher report)

Becoming captain of the Montreal Canadiens still carries significance and if you don’t believe me, read some stories from the legendary Red Fisher.
What can the Predators build on after a horrible loss to the Stars on Wednesday?
The line combinations were different last night and it still didn’t matter for Nashville. (Writer’s note: This team has needed scoring for a while now. They couldn’t score last season, so there was no reason to think they could suddenly score this season with a very similar roster.)
Martin Brodeur may get a night off from one of the team’s next two games, writes Dan Martin.
Here are the new line combinations from Devils practice yesterday.
The Rangers were the second best team on the ice last night, but they’ll take two points anyway they can get ’em.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post loves Marian Gaborik’s game.
As Chris Stevenson so aptly puts it, the Senators are last in the NHL in power play percentage but probably first in the league in time spent practicing the man advantage.
Quietly, Simon Gagne has yet to score a goal for the Flyers this season, writes Sam Carchidi.
The Coyotes haven’t scored much so far this season, but the team’s record is 3-2 and coach Dave Tippett is confident the team will turn their scoring fortunes around.
In roster news, the Coyotes have demoted Mikkel Boedker to the AHL.
Dan Bickely of the Arizona Republic wants the Coyotes to abandon the White Out.

Dan Bickely doesn't want to see the White Out anymore. (Picture courtesy of yahoo.com)

Even though Chris Kunitz hasn’t scored a goal this season, he did score the shootout winner last night and his teammates sure aren’t worried about him.
Oddly, the Penguins and Hurricanes have been the two most penalized teams in the NHL so far this season.
What’s the latest on the Sergei Gonchar contract negotiations?
Impressive youngster Marc-Edouard Vlasic is wise above his years, writes Mark Emmons.
The Blues’ lines may look like this tonight in Phoenix.
If the Lightning is to improve, the team’s needs scoring from the currenty goallessVincent Lecavalier.
Martin St. Louis is the heart and soul of the Lightning team and his primary motivation is proving people wrong.
Here are some problems and solutions for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Brian Burke has patience, but he won’t be too patient if things continue to turn the wrong way for Toronto.
Michael Grabner is not only up with the big club in Vancouver, but he’s on the team’s top line too.
Brendan Morrison is getting a chance to center a line with Alexander Ovechkin in Washington.
Howard Bloom of sportsbusinessnews.com is bullish on the NHL returning to Winnipeg, writes Paul Friesen.