NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition): Sakic out tonight, Hartnell benched and Jordan Staal breaks out

Here are the morning papers for Wednesday the 12th of November:

• The Thrashers have won four games in a row, so they are relaxed and talking about their favorite music in this morning’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• The Bruins have the Blackhawks and Habs on the horizon, so they know they will need to be on top of their game, writes Barbara Matson.  The Bruins are hoping that the Patrice Bergeron can get Michael Ryder to return to old form.
• In Buffalo, the Sabres will be debuting some new lines tonight, writes John Vogl.
• Mike Keenan inserted Jarome Iginla as his “third” line center and it worked out just perfectly, writes Scott Cruickshank.  Dustin Boyd continued his breakout season last night.
• Eric Staal knows he has to improve his play.  Maybe just maybe the fans of Carolina will vote in Niclas Wallin on the All-Star ballot ala Rory Fitzpatrick a couple years ago.
• Joe Sakic (back) will not be in the line-up tonight when the Avalanche visits Vancouver.
• Did you know Rick Nash hasn’t scored a goal in nine games?  Even though he is slumping, the big winger is just happy the Blue Jackets are winning.  With Pascal Leclaire out of the line-up the Blue Jackets fans are getting a closer look at impressive youngster Steve Mason.
• The Stars lost to the Kings in a shootout last night and may have lost Brenden Morrow to suspension for their game on Thursday, writes Mike Heika.  Jere Lehtinen returned to the line-up on Tuesday and boy did the Stars miss him.
• Mitch Albom thinks the Red Wings’ loss yesterday was one of the worst collapses in recent memory.  Last night the Red Wings couldn’t re-create the team’s 5-on-3 penalty killing magic.  Dan Cleary didn’t suit up for the Wings on Tuesday due to an eye injury.
• In need of a tough guy, the Oilers claimed Jesse Boulerice off waivers on Tuesday.  Moves aside, the Oilers are somehow above .500 while only playing three games at home so far this season.
• The Panthers are expecting Cory Stillman back in the line-up tonight when they face the Lightning.
• Los Angeles made it three victories in a row last night with a 3-2 shootout win over the Stars.  Dustin Brown sure had an effective game.
• It looks like Brent Burns will return to the Wild line-up in time for the team’s game on Thursday.
• The Habs were dominant on Tuesday and Chris Higgins sure played a big part in that by recording his first career hat trick.  The Habs looked 100 times better than they did on Saturday, writes Red Fisher.
• Martin Brodeur has a full-time job to assume during his rehab and that’s being a full-time dad.
• The Islanders didn’t blow a lead last night, but they still lost anyways, writes Greg Logan.  Tuesday night was the debut of Islanders’ highly touted rookie Josh Bailey.
• Things are going to be odd for the Rangers tonight, as they face someone other than Martin Brodeur in net for the Devils for only the second time in fifteeen years.  Although just because Brodeur isn’t playing, it doesn’t mean the Devils are an easy team to beat.
• Craig Hartsburg thought the Senators were moving in the right direction–although that was before his team got dominated at Montreal last night.  The Senators could use some increased effort from their group as a whole.
• John Stevens has implemented a hard line approach in Philadelphia and his players responded well last night with a victory over the Islanders.  Scott Hartnell knows Stevens isn’t joking about his new approach because he was benched for the entire third period on Tuesday.
• The Coyotes owners aren’t concerned with the Forbes report stating their franchise is the least valuable in the NHL.  On the ice, the Coyotes have been happy with the contributions of Garth Murray since his recall from the minors.
• Jordan Staal broke out on Tuesday and served as the catalyst for the Penguins’ crazy 7-6 comeback victory at Detroit.  The Penguins didn’t let the Stanley Cup reminders get them down prior to last night’s game at Detroit.  Here is an update on the injury statuses of Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar.
• The Sharks recorded a whopping 57 shots on net last night against Nashville and somehow lost the game.  On the injury front, the Sharks are hoping to have Jonathan Cheechoo back in the line-up tomorrow but Evegeni Nabokov isn’t as close to a return.
• Barry Melrose tore into his team on Tuesday and then let Rick Tocchet run practice, writes Damian Cristodero.  The Bolts lack an identity.
• The Leafs lost at Calgary last night but coach Ron Wilson was happy with the team’s effort.  The Leafs weren’t using their trip out West as an excuse.
• Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province tells readers what really motivates Roberto Luongo.
• The Capitals are expected to be without Sergei Fedorov and Shaone Morrisonn tonight when they face-off versus the Hurricanes.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.