On the Beat: Devils are loving Niedermayer, Lundqvist wary of desperate Leafs, Caps Coach Boudreau impressed with Jose Theodore’s focus, will the Pens 3rd jersey cost them 12 games this season?

Word from the team beat writers:

• John Vogl of the Buffalo News is reporting that the Sabres’ first injury swap of the regular season is here as Andrej Sekera is out and Toni Lydman is in.
• The Flames are getting Cory Sarich back for tonight’s contest against the Hawks which means Staffan Kronwall will be heading up to the press box.
  
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post offers up some pre-game thoughts before the Avalanche take on the Bruins, including some video as he enters the TD Centre.
• R.J. Umberger and the rest of the Jackets are looking forward to Tuesday’s contest against the Flames but in the meantime they are celebrating Canadian thanksgiving russian style.
• Kirk Maltby took a bit of a tumble as he collided with Justin Abdelkader during Wings practice and developed a little charly horse on his right thigh writes Detroit Free Press reporter Helene St. James.
• Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette writes of the Western trip being a bust for the Canadiens.
• The New Jersey Devils are loving Rob Niedermayer as the versatile forward has given them scoring and filled the role of defensive forward.
• Henrik Lundqvist knows he will need to be at the top of his game when the New York Rangers takes on the desperate, winless Leafs.
  
• The theory that the Pens third jersey is a curse has led the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Seth Rorabaugh to suggest that the twelve games they will be playing wearing them, are twelve games the Pens are going to lose.
• Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post reports that Bruce Boudreau likes what he has seen from his number one goaltender, Jose Theodore through the first two weeks of the season.