Here are the morning papers for Tuesday the 27th of January:
- Are the Ducks going to trade Chris Pronger or Scott Niedermayer in an effort to rebuild on the fly?
- Mike Knobler tells us that Tobias Enstrom and Niclas Havelid have been plus players for Atlanta.
- Milan Lucic wants to return to the Bruins lineup tonight. Stephen Harris grades the Bruins at midseason.
- The Sabres have been better as of late, so they hope to carry that momentum into the second half of the season, starting tonight in Edmonton.
- Steve Macfarlane wonders if the Flames should just trust Curtis McElhinney a little more and not trade for a backup netminder. None of the Flames players have been suspended yet, as was originally expected.
- Health and goaltending will be the keys to the Eastern Conference playoff race, says Hurricances coach Paul Maurice.
- Patrick Kane was slumping before the All-Star game, so he was happy to get on the board with a goal in the third period.
- Claude Lemieux’s comeback is inspirational, writes Adrian Dater. Ian Lapperiere and David Jones will play tonight for Colorada, however, Adam Foote will not. The Swedes want Peter Forsberg to play in a tournament from February 5th to the 8th.
- Mike Commodore does not like his former AHL coach Mike Babcock. The Blue Jackets will likely catch a break today when they probably won’t have to face Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk. Here are the Jackets lines for tonight’s game.
- The Stars are hoping that the second half brings some power play success.
- Not surprisingly, Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk don’t agree with the NHL’s decision. This is the fun time of year to play hockey, says Henrik Zetterberg.
- Craig MacTavish says Ales Hemsky is as confident as he’s ever been. The Oilers play 19 of their remaining 38 games against teams that aren’t in the playoffs if it were to start today.
- Ville Peltonen will suit up Tuesday for the Panthers.
- Tonight will be Andrew Brunette’s 500th consecutive game played. The ultra aggressive Cal Clutterbuck has become a fan favorite in Minnesota.
- Chris Higgins will return to the Habs lineup tonight. Red Fisher believes Peter Mahovlich was the most underrated Canadiens player of all-time.
- The Predators have put their best three offensive players on one line in an attempt to create more offense.
- Brent Sutter believes his team is the real deal.
- It is possible that Doug Weight could return to the Islanders lineup on Thursday night.
- Steve Valiquette starts tonight for the Rangers. The Blueshirts are trying to become a more consistent team.
- Brian Murray says he isn’t just going to blow up the Senators.
- Ed Moran is confident in the Flyers’ abilities, so long as they maintain focus. The Flyers sure don’t want to hit the tank like they did last season at this time.
- Wayne Gretzky has warned his team that there is still a lot of work to do if they want to secure a playoff spot.
- The Penguins are where they are in large part due to injuries. Sidney Crosby was back on the ice on Monday.
- Rob Blake hopes to return to the lineup tonight for San Jose when they venture into Colorado.
- The Lightning still believe they can make the playoffs.
- It looks like Justin Pogge time in Toronto. Mike Van Ryn has been cleared to play for the Leafs, but this time he’s wearing extra concussion prevention protection.
- Alain Vigneault is confident in his team’s ability heading into the second half of the season. Kyle Wellwood has gone an insane amount of time without taking one penaly.
- Bruce Boudreau is honored to be a member of the AHL Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, John Feinstein tells Washington sports fans to concern themselves with things that actually matter about their teams.