NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Mike Keenan knows Robyn Regehr wanted him out of town, Columbus changes top two lines and Leafs have no puck practice

• In Anaheim, Randy Carlyle wants Ryan Whitney to shoot the puck more and is not shy about telling him just that.
• Atlanta defenseman Boris Valabik’s ankle injury is more serious than expected, and he could be out of the lineup for more than a few weeks.
• Milan Lucic is the biggest and toughest force to play in Boston since Cam Neely, writes Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe.
• Netminde Tuukka Rask could make his Bruins debut this season over the weekend.
• The Bruins take on the visiting Ducks tonight, and here is the scouting report.
• The Sabres host the Coyotes tonight and these two teams have the bond of bankruptcy, writes John Vogl.
• Miikka Kiprusoff has better numbers to start this season as compared to last season, but he doesn’t see much of a difference in his play.
• The Flames’ acquisition of Aaron Johnson from Chicago yesterday likely means that Cory Sarich is injured worse than some may think.
• “I haven’t felt that great and haven’t played that great,” said Robyn Regehr about his team worst minus five.
• Regehr is trying his best off the ice to improve his place on the ice.

• Former Flames coach Mike Keenan has sure been making the media rounds, writes Bruce Dowbiggen.
• Considering the Hurricanes’ training camp and exhibition schedule, their slow start was no real surprise, writes Luke DeCock.
• The Blackhawks are geared up to face the Red Wings tonight at the Joe Louis Arena.
• After a great start to the season, the Avalanche has a seriously difficult seven game road trip that could make or break their season.
• In Columbus, Ken Hitchcock has changed the line combinations by switching Derick Brassard and Antoine Vermette heading into tonight’s game with San Jose.
• Meanwhile, Anton Stralman may make his Columbus debut tonight.
• Considering the Stars have the best shootout record in the NHL since its inception, they know how important their two shootout losses so far this season can end up being at season’s end.
• There are no ill feelings between Nicklas Lidstrom and Patrick Sharp after Sharp’s accidental spear on Lidstrom last season.
• The Wings players are motivated by the Blackhawks coming to town, as this matchup is now a real rivalry.
• Mike Babcock could be making some lineup changes for tonight’s game.
• Andrew Cogliano knows that if he wants to score more goals, he has to follow Mike Comrie’s lead.
• Nikolai Khabibulin will get the start tonight against Calgary.
• Will Dustin Penner lineup beside Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky again?
• Tomas Vokoun is expected to play back-to-back games tonight, and he doesn’t have a problem with that.

• Jordan Leopold and Keith Ballard are happy to be playing together for the first since starring at the University of Minnesota.
• In Los Angeles, the Kings are looking forward to having Sean O’Donnell back in the lineup, as the veteran defenseman returns from suspension tonight.
• “We let him down tonight,” said Canadiens defenseman Paul Mara about his team’s performance last night in Vancouver in front of Carey Price.
• After a strong performance in Calgary the night before, the Habs reverted to old form last night in Vancouver and that is not a good thing, writes Pat Hickey.
• The Wild has left for a five-game road trip to the West Coast and coach Todd Richards thinks the trip will be a good bonding experience.
• Some experts believe making the playoffs in non-traditional hockey markets is more important than making the playoffs where hockey is everything, explains John Glennon.
• If the Predators want to make the playoffs, they will need J.P. Dumont and Jordin Tootoo in the lineup on a regular basis, however, tonight both players will be sitting out with injuries.
• Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger says the Devils need to win two of three games on their upcoming road trip.
• Donald Brashear is jacked up for his return to Washington tonight.

• Sean Avery is slated to return to the Rangers’ lineup on the weekend.
• Jason Spezza will play for the Senators tonight but Filip Kuba will sit out tonight’s contest, writes Bruce Garrioch.
• Is scoring goals really that much of a challenge for Jonathan Cheechoo compared to some of the other things he’s done?
• With the Penguins next up, the Flyers admit they still have the terrible Game 6 performance from last year’s playoffs in their heads.
• Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it won’t be hard for the Penguins to play better than they did last night against Phoenix.
• Brent Johnson played in net last night for Pittsburgh, as Marc-Andre Fleury is geared up to play the Flyers.
• Meantime, the Penguins have signed first round pick Simon Depres.
• There really is no area of the game where the Sharks cannot improve on, writes David Pollak.
• Sure the Blues defeated the Red Wings twice overseas, but coach Andy Murray has warned the team about arrogance.
• “I have to get a lot better handling the puck,” said Tampa Bay netminder Mike Smith.
• No surprise here, but Victor Hedman is the real deal.
• Ron Wilson wants his players to cut down on their long shifts.
• In injury news, Jonas Gustavsson is nursing a groin issue, while Viktor Stalberg may have a concussion.
• Let’s just say there were no pucks at Leafs practice on Wednesday.
• The Canucks actually showed up to play last night for the first time this season and look at the result, writes Jason Botchford.
• “We spoke about relaxing before the game and just going out there and just having fun, playing our game and not worrying about our record,” said Roberto Luongo about last night’s contest.
• Both Tom Poti and John Erskine are trying to pretend Tuesday’s game didn’t happen.
• The NHLPA continues to ask Donald Fehr for advice.
• “We have had an ongoing ‘Winnipeg dialogue’ essentially since we returned from the work stoppage,” said Bill Daly to Joe O’Connor of the National Post.

**The IllegalCurve.com Radio Show should be archived sometime early this afternoon. Last night’s guests were Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press and Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star**