Here are the morning papers for Wednesday the 22nd of October:
- The Flames killed off a nine minute penalty at home last night versus the Capitals and came away with a 2-1 victory. Tuesday night’s game was Calgary native Tyler Sloan’s first NHL game and he sure did a lot to endear himself to his Capitals teammates. The Flames are hoping this win can be the beginning of a season turnaround, writes Randy Sportak.
- The Blackhawks have recalled Troy Brouwer from the AHL and he has slid into the team’s second line alongside Patrick Sharp and Martin Havlat.
- Paul Stastny has two big fans of his game in Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk but when it comes to contract extension talks, those have yet to get serious between the Avalanche and his agent.
- Oilers forward Kyle Brodziak knows he could be playing with anyone at any given time during a game. Dwayne Roloson gets the start tonight for the Oilers. The Oilers are hoping for Sheldon Souray to return to the line-up tonight.
- Marian Gaborik says he doesn’t know anything about the trade rumors surfacing around his name. There is a lot of pressure on Doug Risebrough to make a good deal. Wild prospect Petr Kalus has left the team’s AHL affiliate to return home to Europe.
- You wouldn’t know it by his play, but apparently Saku Koivu is still trying to find his skating legs.
- Here are some news and notes about the Panthers/Senators game tonight. Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun says that the Senators have been lacking fight this season. The Ottawa Sun hockey writers discuss whether the move of Jason Spezza to the second line is a good or bad thing.
- Pascal Leclaire absolutely robbed Steve Bernier last night to preserve the Jackets’ lead over the Canucks. Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault called out his team’s leadership after last night’s game.
- The Ducks may have been lucky to leave Toronto with a win on Tuesday but they’ll take it, writes Dan Wood. Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register says that whichever path Brian Burke chooses to go down, he doesn’t owe the Anaheim fans anything.
- The Thrashers didn’t compete for the first two periods last night, and that is why they lost 3-2 to Tampa Bay according to coach John Anderson.
- The Bruins lost in a shootout on Tuesday to the Sabres but coach Claude Julien said he was happy with the team’s worth ethic and effort. There is a reason that the NHL is the toughest league in the world and Blake Wheeler is certainly in the process of learning just that.
- It looks like Tim Connolly is still a ways away from returning to the Sabres line-up.
- The Hurricanes have been very happy with the play of veteran defenseman Niclas Wallin so far this season.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News writes about the career progression of Stephane Robidas. Forget Robidas, it is Sean Avery versus Martin Brodeur tonight in Newark.
- The Blue Jackets played well last night but they wouldn’t have recorded the win if not for the terrific play of netminder Pascal Leclaire. Meanwhile, rookie Derek Dorsett is playing like a seasoned veteran.
- Darren McCarty cleared waivers for the Red Wings and actually may be in the team’s line-up for tonight’s game. In injury news, Andres Lilja had his appendix removed yesterday and it is apparently possible that he may return to the line-up by Friday.
- Florida rookie Michael Frolik has been moved to the Panthers’ top line with Nathan Horton and Cory Stillman. The Cats need more scoring.
- The Kings are perfect on the penalty kill this season, writes Helene Elliot.
- Jason Arnott loves being captain of the Nashville Predators.
- Sean Avery questions have been front and center for the Devils heading into tonight’s game against the Stars.
- Islanders coach Scott Gordon spent Tuesday making sure that his team really knows the new team system well.
- The Rangers have waived Patrick Rismiller. Is Brendan Shanahan back on the radar?
- Antero Niittymaki gets the start in between the pipes for the Flyers tonight.
- Since being acquired from Phoenix, Mike Zigomanis has really helped out the Penguins in the face-off circle. He may not get much publicity, but Miroslav Satan has been very productive in his brief time with the Penguins.
- The Eastern Conference teams aren’t much different than the Western Conference teams, says Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle.
- The Lightning finally recorded its first win of the season on Tuesday over Atlanta. Off the ice, the Bolts made some more roster moves yesterday.
- Ron Wilson surprised just about everyone last night by pulling Vesa Toskala right before the team’s shootout with the Ducks and the move backfired. Ron Wilson is breaking this team down and building it back up, writes Damien Cox.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.
