NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• William Houston of the Globe & Mail tells readers that the Leafs have been replaced on this week’s Hockey Night in Canada national broadcast by the Canadiens/Penguins game.
• Bruce Arthur of the National Post explains to readers that the Leafs’ current situation is all about money.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today has a feature on Wild star Marian Gaborik.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Marian Hossa was the star of the night on Tuesday as he tallied a hat trick and led the Thrashers to a 5-1 victory over the powerful Red Wings.
• Milan Lucic of the Bruns is ecstatic to have a chance to participate in All-Star weekend after he was named to the roster for the Young Stars Game. In other Bruins news, it appears that the flu bug has hit the team.
• Sabres GM Darcy Regier has not ruled out trading Brian Campbell after the defenseman cut-off contract talks with the team. Meanwhile, former Sabres forward Chris Drury says he has too much concern about the way his new team is playing to worry about tonight being his first game against his former teammates.
• After last night’s 5-4 loss at Toronto, the Hurricanes find themselves in second place in the Southeast Division. Hurricanes netminder Michael Leighton was surprised that he was pulled after two periods of play last night.
• Injured defenseman Cory Murphy joined his Panthers teammates at practice yesterday for the first time in two months.
• The Canadiens came into Tuesday night’s game with the Islanders very prepared and it showed as they made up for their lackluster effort at MSG on Saturday with a 3-1 victory at Long Island. In other Habs news, defenseman Patrice Brisebois is worried that his foot injury is more serious than originally thought.
• The risk of infection is too much for Devils forward John Madden to suit up tonight when the Devils face the Islanders, writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post believes Rangers coach Tom Renney is being too soft on his players. Meanwhile, John Dellapina of the NY Daily News tells readers that Jaromir Jagr has been playing the last few weeks with a foot injury.
• The Islanders only mustered 18 shots on net in their 3-1 loss to the Habs last night, writes Mark Herrmann of Newsday.
• Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun says that the Senators better hope they don’t play the Capitals in the playoffs as Washington defeated Ottawa 4-2 last night and swept the season series.
• For all the antics that come along with Steve Downie’s play, the rugged winger has more talent than most people think.
• With Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy being named to the Young Stars roster, that means four Penguins will be off to Atlanta for All-Star weekend.
• “I have never been more embarrassed,” said Lightning coach John Tortorella after his team’s 3-0 loss at home to the Avalanche.
• Even with all the external pressure and commotion, the Leafs were victorious last night over the struggling Hurricanes by a score of 5-4.
• It looks like Olaf Kolzig has entertained the idea of retirement, writes Matt Wise of the Washington Post.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Scott Niedermayer proved how valuable his mid-season addition has been to the Ducks last night with one goal and two assists in his team’s 4-2 victory over the Stars.
• “We’re getting embarassed,” said Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr after his team’s 3-0 loss at Nashville on Tuesday. Two of Curtis Joseph’s former teammates, Jason Arnott and Greg deVries only had glowing things to say about the newest Flames netminder.
• Patrick Lalime will continue to get the starts in net for the Blackhawks if he keeps winning says coach Denis Savard.
• The Blue Jackets won 3-2 last night over Vancouver and are having fun along the way, writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Not only was Nikolai Zherdev the best player on the ice last night, but his two points were overshadowed by his important blocked shot with less than a minute remaining.
• “We got beat in the special teams game, we got beat in the physical game, we got beat on the scoreboard, all the way around,” said Stars coach Dave Tippett after his team’s 4-2 loss at Anaheim last night.
• It looks like the rich may get richer as Kevin Allen of USA Today touches on the possibility of Marian Hossa getting traded to the Red Wings.
• “There shouldn’t be a letdown because we’re not in a position to afford one,” said Oilers winger Ethan Moreau after his team’s 3-1 loss at home to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
• “Tonight was a very strong game for us,” said Kings coach Marc Crawford after his team’s impressive road victory against the streaking Oilers.
• Mikko Koivu is unlike most young players, in that he does not have a problem with playing a defensive game, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• Speed beat size last night in Nashville as the Predators defeated the Flames 3-0.
• Coyotes leader Shane Doan led the way last night in his team’s impressive 5-3 victory over the Sharks.
• The Sharks are a strong road team but they struggled last night versus the young and exuberant Coyotes, falling 5-3 in Glendale.
• Blues coach Andy Murray doesn’t care about his team’s place in the division, he just wants to be among the eight playoff teams in the Western Conference.
• The Canucks just weren’t ready for the Blue Jackets’ intensity to start last night’s game and, in the end, they couldn’t come all the way back and lost 3-2. 

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.