Illegal Curve Hockey

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Marian Hossa back on the ice, the effect of the rising Canadian dollar and Bruce Boudreau’s road to the NHL

“We talked about preparing ourselves better and being ready to play a full 60 minutes, which we might have not even have done once this year,” said Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.
Will goaltending be the key for the Thrashers’ ability to withstand the Ilya Kovalchuk injury?
“That trap really somehow stuck to him. I haven’t seen a team yet that doesn’t try and trap you in the neutral zone, but they just do it in different ways. They wait for you and try to bring you to one side of the ice and make you run out of space,” said Claude Julien about Jacques Lemaire’s trapping system.
The Sabres beat the Devils and rookie Tim Kennedy got his first career NHL goal in the process, writes John Vogl.
Meanwhile, former Sabre forward Andrew Peters is thrilled to be a Devil.
“You come out with two quick goals like that, you’ve got to shut the other team down, not give them anything. We just let them creep back in. We need those two points,” said Cory Sarich after the Flames’ home loss to Colorado on Wednesday.
The Flames players are keeping close tabs on the H1N1 virus.
Since coming to Calgary, Olli Jokinen has had trouble finding his old form, explains Eric Duhatschek.
Carolina lost again last night, this time to St. Louis and Chip Alexander says the team really isn’t doing anything right.
Brent Seabrook was at Hawks practice yesterday but so was Marian Hossa (Hossa is targetting a November 25 return date), reports Chris Kuc.
The Avalanche could have thrown in the towel last night, but it said something about them that they didn’t, explains Adrian Dater.
Avalanche coach Joe Sacco says the injury to T.J. Galiardi isn’t that serious.
Aaron Portzline was certainly not complimentary of the Blue Jackets’ performance last night against Phoenix.
Staying in Columbus, Ken Hitchcock wants more production from his top two lines.
Michael Arace has some kind words to say about former Blue Jackets, and current Coyotes coach, Dave King.
The Stars didn’t look good early, but they rallied late and defeated the Maple Leafs in overtime.
Pavel Datsyuk missed practice on Wednesday but is still expected to play tonight in Edmonton.
Compared to last season, Dennis Grebeshkov and Tom Gilbert have been anything but steady, writes Jim Matheson.
Jim Matheson talks to the Oilers players about H1NI in a very interesting article.
Have the Oilers found a new third line?
The Panthers continue to lose but at least the group is maintaining a positive attitude.
Ville Koistinen is one player who has found himself in coach Pete DeBoer’s doghouse.
The Kings’ five-game winning streak ended yesterday night with a shootout loss in San Jose.
Petr Sykora was a healthy scratch for the Wild on Wednesday versus the Predators.
Without Sykora, the Wild still lost in what Todd Richards admits was a hard defeat to stomach.
The Habs didn’t show up in Pittsburgh last night and Sidney Crosby sure did, as Montreal lost 6-1.
The grinders got going last night, as the Predators went into Minnesota and recorded a much-needed victory.
Michael Santorelli finally got on the board with his first NHL goal.
“We’re playing with more confidence on the road. We’re afraid to make a play [at home] for whatever reason, chopping the puck,” said Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner after another home loss for New Jersey.
In good news, the Devils hope to have Patrik Elias back practicing next week.
The Islanders didn’t give up the lead yesterday to the Rangers, and recorded an important 3-1 victory over their crosstown rivals.
The Rangers played their least inspired 60 minute game to date, writes Michael Obernauer.
No longer is Chris Drury a top-six forward, explains Larry Brooks.
Filip Kuba had a big impact in Florida last night, as the Senators defenseman returned to the lineup after missing eight games and helped his team to a 4-3 victory.
Simon Gagne is looking for a second opinion on his two hernias, but if he has surgery the usual recovery time is about eight weeks.
The Flyers were put through a very difficult practice on Wednesday after a poor performance against San Jose.
The Coyotes handled the Blue Jackets in Columbus last night.
Sidney Crosby’s line single-handedly defeated the visiting Canadiens on Wednesday.
Hal Gill has some nice things to say about his former home of Pittsburgh and his current home of Montreal.
The Sharks brass is hoping that Ryane Clowe’s shootout winning goal will jump start his offensive game.
The Blues were happy to record a big victory at Carolina last night and want to carry that momentum home for tonight’s tilt against Phoenix.
Miami investor Jeff Greene is no longer interested in buying the Lightning.
Here is an interesting article on the effect of the rising Canadian dollar on NHL economics.
Jonas Gustavsson is good but he still has a learning curve as evidenced by last night’s game, writes Damien Cox.
Current Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk learned a lot from Brian Burke in his year in Toronto.
The Canucks have lost Roberto Luongo for at least a week with cracked ribs.
No Luongo means more playing time for Andrew Raycroft.
Bruce Boudreau has had quite the ride to the NHL, one worth reading.