NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Downsizing goaltending equipment is once again a topic of concern at the GM meetings in Florida, writes Mark Spector of the National Post.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says the NHL has declared war on goalie equipment.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today provides readers with trade facts with less than a week to go before the trading deadline.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Bobby Holik is not bothered by the trade rumors in Atlanta, writes Craig Custance.
• The Bruins blew a two-goal lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third period to Carolina, but came back to win 3-2 in a shootout, writes Fluto Shinwaza. Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward is hoping he doesn’t get traded before Tuesday.
• Derek Roy will suit up tonight for the Sabres versus the Lightning. Apparently defenseman Brian Campbell is not close to signing a contract extension.
• The Hurricanes came back to earn one point, and extended their Southeast Division lead to three points in their 3-2 shootout loss to the Bruins.
• The Panthers blew a two-goal lead for the second straight game and lost 3-2 at Pittsburgh last night, writes Steve Gorten.
• There are comebacks, then there are COMEBACKS, and last night the Habs pulled off their greatest regular season comeback in team history by defeating the Rangers 6-5. Last night marked the twelfth straight game that Jaromir Jagr hasn’t scored.
• “I think they took on some responsibility themselves,” said coach Brent Sutter about the Devils recent winning surge. As a reward, coach Sutter gave the Devils a mini-break.
• Larry Brooks shows no mercy in his critique of the Rangers’ blowing a five-goal lead. Last night’s loss was the Rangers worst blown lead in team history.
• Andy Sutton will be out of the Islanders line-up for 4-6 weeks with a hamstring problem.
• John Paddock’s hunch to play Ray Emery last night paid off as the Senators defeated the Flyers 3-2. Meanwhile, Senators winger Antoine Vermette says the trade rumors have bothered him a bit.
• Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details behind the Jaroslav Modry trade. On the ice, the Flyers continued their struggles by losing their eighth game in a row.
• The Penguins pulled off a 3-2 victory last night, after being down 2-0 to the Panthers entering the third period. Both the Penguins and Panthers have been faced with a fair amount of injuries this season.
• Lightning defenseman Brad Lukowich has undergone surgery for a sports hernia.
• The Leafs defeated the Blue Jackets 3-1 last night but it didn’t come without a cost, writes Paul Hunter.

I’m running late today, so I won’t be able to post the Western Conference papers. The usual format will return tomorrow.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.

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