NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition): Mike Richards and Alexander Ovechkin don’t like each other, Patrik Elias back on the ice and Ron Wilson is unhappy with his club

• “We didn’t play well enough to win,” said Randy Carlyle even after his team held a 3-0 lead heading into the third period last night Minnesota.
• In injury news, Joffrey Lupul left the game to get 14 stitches last night, but he did return for the third period.
• In Atlanta, big Boris Valabik is slated to have an MRI on his right leg.
• “Begin plays with his heart out,” said Derek Morris about team favorite Steve Begin.
• Off the ice, Boston made sure it signed Milan Lucic to a three-year contract extension on Tuesday.

Milan Lucic has signed a three-year extension in Boston. (Picture courtesy of yahoo.com)

• The Sabres have five days off between their first and second game, so coach Lindy Ruff is treating it like an extended training camp.
• Eric Nystrom played with boundless energy last night for Calgary, and was one of the main reasons the Flames beat the Habs.
• Meanwhile, Flames coach Brent Sutter has yet to indicate whether Curtis McElhinny will see any action this week or next.
• The Hurricanes finally got some good news, as the team defeated Tampa Bay in a shootout last night.
• Steve Rosenbloom touches on Joel Quenneville’s decision to use Patrick Kane on the penalty killing unit.
• Craig Anderson wasn’t at Avalanche practice on Monday because of a groin injury, but he may return today.
• Jared Boll who was injured (head) on Monday after taking a hit from Darcy Hordichuk, is hoping to be back in the lineup by Thurday.
• With maturation, the Blue Jackets have learned how to win on the road.
• The Stars lost again in extra time, but Marc Crawford isn’t blaming Marty Turco.
• In injury news, Mike Modano (ribs) will likely miss the next week of action.

Mike Modano has a rib injury. (Picture courtesy of hockeydraft.ca)

• Charlie Huddy returned to Edmonton for the first time last night, since being let go by the club this off-season.
• Coach Mike Babcock is hoping the Cleary-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi lines begins to click.
• The Wings may lack some flow and chemistry up front right now, but at least they have Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski on the back-end.
• The Oilers brass wants Robert Nilsson to keep his game simple.
• Nikolai Khabibulin knows a couple of the bad bounces his team has been on the receiving end of will eventually bounce the Oilers’ way.
• Scott Clemmensen is away from the Panthers right now because of a family situation.
• “These are games that a year ago, I don’t think we would have won, being up 4-0 and blowing it in the third,” said Kings forward Dustin Brown about his team’s new found resilience.
• “The most important thing out of this game that we needed to take away . . . was the composure to stick to the game plan,” said Kings coach Terry Murray.
• The Wild was certainly accomodating to Twins fans yesterday.
• Coming back from down 3-0 in the third period was one heck of a way for coach Todd Richards to pickup his first victory with the Wild.
• In injury news, Pierre-Marc Bouchard may have a concussion and was pulled from the lineup last night.
• The Habs outshot the Flames last night, which was a first on the season, but they could not come away with the victory, writes Pat Hickey.
• Meanwhile, with the injury situation as it is, the Habs have signed Marc-Andre Bergeron to a one-year deal.
• Here we go again, as Predators coach Barry Trotz will not announce his game two starter.
• “Patric has been one of the most consistent forwards right through training camp,” said Trotz about youngster Patric Hornqvist.
• There is still pressure on Carey Price this season, but his calm demeanor is working wonders so far this season.
• The Devils are a veteran team, so do not expect the team to suddenly panic after two losses.
• Patrik Elias (groin) skated on his own yesterday.

Patrik Elias was back on the ice on Tuesday. (Picture courtesy of cbc.ca)

• It wasn’t the usual crazy Battle of Ontario, but the Senators are happy to have a victory under their belts.
• Daniel Alfredsson surprised Jonas Gustavsson with his penalty shot move and that goal turned out to be the game winner.
• Mike Richards and Alexander Ovechkin don’t like each other, so Richards was especially happy to defeat the Capitals in overtime last night and score a hat trick in the process.
• Mike Knuble seems happy to be in Washington, but also seems to really miss Philadelphia.
• In injury news, Blair Betts has a dislocated right shoulder.
• Shane Doan admits that the Coyotes have the “us against the world” mentality.
• The Penguins were once a team with ownership turmoil, but the players know that Phoenix players won’t be lacking focus tonight.
• “We won’t win games looking for players for the first half of the night,” said Sharks coach Todd McLellan.
• With Joe Pavelski out of action for a couple weeks, his linemates have been moved to different lines.
• Jay McClement has become a leader in the Blues’ dresssing room this season.
• If the Bolts want to start winning, they’ll have to be better on the power play.
• There is no timetable for Kurtis Foster’s return but his lower-body injury isn’t believed to be serious.
• The Leafs have lost three games in three different ways, writes Damien Cox.
• Let’s just say that Ron Wilson didn’t mince words after last night’s contest.
• Consider Jeff Blair among those who are impressed with the calmness of Leafs rookie Jonas Gustavsson.
• Talk about media obsession, everyone is after Roberto Luongo to find out the reason for his slow start.
• It was sure an exciting game in Philadelphia, but the Capitals need to stay out of the box if they want to win.
• The NHL’s return to Winnipeg may be inevitable, explains Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press.

**Remember that tonight is the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show live at 7pm Central time.  Tonight’s guests are Chris Zelkovich of the Toronto Star and Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press.**