Here are the morning papers for Tuesday the 2nd of December:
- J.S. Giguere put forth a valiant effort in net for the Ducks last night but he couldn’t play in the third peirod because of dehydration and the Ducks ended up losing 2-1 at Detroit.
- Ilya Kovalchuk had some new linemates at practice yesterday.
- Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward is out indefinitely with a left leg injury. So far this season, the Bruins have succeeded in making the TD Banknorth Garden a tough place to play.
- Mike Harrington says the Sabres were “unwatchable” last night in their 2-0 home loss to Nashville.
- Dion Phaneuf is not overly concerned that Sean Avery is coming to town tonight to face the Flames. Robyn Regehr may not receive a lot of media attention, but he is a rock on the Flames blue line.
- Cam Ward is going to be out of the Hurricanes line-up for this week with a groin problem but the team is hoping to get back Justin Williams in the next few days.
- The Blackhawks have a big month ahead of them, writes Chris Kuc.
- The Avalanche somehow scored six goals at Minnesota on Monday in the highest scoring game ever between the two teams. Ryan Smyth took a couple stupid penalties last night but did make up for it in the third period.
- Steve Mason was the main reason the Blue Jackets recorded a 3-2 home win over Vancouver yesterday. Mason really was that good. Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch is actually feeling pretty optimistic about the Blue Jackets so far this season.
- Andrew Hutchinson will debut for the Stars tonight in Calgary, writes Mike Heika.
- The Red Wings got back to their working ways on Monday versus Anaheim and defeated the Ducks 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena. The score was a little bit deceiving but the shot differential was not, as the Wings outshot Anaheim 47-16.
- The Oilers have called up Rob Schremp from the AHL. (Writer’s note: Check out the interview section of Illegal Curve for a number of interviews with Schremp.) Both Kyle Brodziak and Dustin Penner have played well since they were both recently benched.
- Florida forward David Booth is going to be out of the line-up for at least one week with a shoulder injury.
- Two costly penalties ended up doing in the Kings last night, as they were defeated 3-1 by the visiting Maple Leafs. The Kings just “found a way to lose.” said netminder Jason LaBarbara.
- Habs coach Guy Carbonneau is sick of Sergei Kostitsyn’s sense of entitlement. Meanwhile, Alexei Kovalev is confident his luck will change and the goals will come soon.
- The Wild was just horrible in the defensive zone on Monday and as a result they were lucky the Avs only scored six goals, writes Michael Russo. Coach Jacques Lemaire sat Cal Clutterback again last night.
- It was a boring game in Buffalo last night, but the Predators will take a road victory any day of the week, writes John Glennon.
- The Islanders have recalled veteran center Mike Sillinger from the AHL.
- Petr Prucha has turned down the Rangers’ request for a conditioning stint in the AHL.
- Did you know the Senators are on pace to score the team’s lowest goal total since the organization’s expansion year? Antoine Vermette snapped at practice yesterday and shattered his stick to pieces.
- Sam Carchidi tells readers that Jeff Carter has become a star in Philadelphia. It looks like Daniel Briere will return to the Flyers line-up tonight.
- Shane Doan has consistently been a great leader for the Coyotes.
- The Penguins know that when they play back-to-back games with travel, they have to be smart about staying fresh. What makes Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby so good is that they consistently produce.
- Former San Jose coach Ron Wilson returns to the Shark Tank tonight. The Sharks want to continue to build on their perfect record at home tonight versus the visiting Leafs.
- Manny Legace is still the starter in St. Louis but Chris Mason could continue to steal his starts, writes Jeremy Rutherford.
- The Bolts want Steve Downie to play within himself and not take undisciplined penalties. Remember Jeff Halpern? He continues his rehab to get back in the Tampa line-up.
- Even though Ron Wilson is playing down his return to the Bay Area, you have to think it means more to him than he’s leading on. After the first minute of last night’s game in L.A., Vesa Toskala was perfect in leading the Leafs to a 3-1 road victory.
- The Canucks lost their third game in a row last night to the Blue Jackets. More importantly, Roberto Luongo was back on the ice yesterday in what can only be seen as great news for Canucks fans.
- The Capitals really can’t believe how many injuries they’ve incurred the past few weeks.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.
