Sunday Morning NHL Papers (Western Conference): Great feature on Barry Trotz, breaking down the Flames’ big three and Blue Jackets lose ninth game in a row

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Central Division

• The Blackhawks and Predators went at it as the top two teams in the Central Division last night and Chris Kuc has the recap.  “We played a perfect road game, did a lot of things right,” said coach Joel Quenneville.
• If you haven’t been paying attention, the Blue Jackets have lost nine consecutive games.  At the beginning of the season, the Blue Jackets kept blowing third period leads, now the team cannot even get a lead.
• Todd Bertuzzi is becoming the goal-winning goal stalwart in Detroit after another game-winner last night.  Valtteri Filppula and Brian Rafalski both returned to the lineup last night.  This is a brave group of players, writes Jerry Green.
• It was a big game in Nashville last night, and while the Predators didn’t necessarily respond, their fans did with a sell out.  The Predators really miss Jerred Smithson on the penalty kill.
• The Blues only posted 18 shots on net last night and that was one of the reasons they recorded a rare loss on the road.

Northwest Division

• Brent Sutter thinks the Flames may be too robotic on offense, writes Randy Sportak.  Craig Conroy has been promoted to the top line in Calgary.  Here is what some NHL analysts think of the three Flames blueliners’ chances of being named to Team Canada.
• Have fans in Colorado finally realized the Avalanche is for real?  As there was a sellout crowd last night to watch the Avs defeat the Stars.  Peter Budaj was terrific last night in place of Craig Anderson.
• Give Ryan Potulny credit for just making it to Vancouver last night, never mind scoring his team’s only goal.  The Oilers didn’t play a bad game, but they took a couple unnecessary penalties and it cost them.  In his weekly Hockey World, Jim Matheson has a great feature on Barry Trotz.   Here are more notes from around the league in More Hockey World.
• Here is the Wild’s all-decade team according to Michael Russo.  Last night’s win gave the Wild its ninth win in December–a franchise record.  Time away from the game is hard to come by, so the Wild players and coaches cherish it.
• The Canucks played the lowly Oilers and took care of business last night.  Again, last night’s win puts the team back into playoff position.

Pacific Division

• The Sharks continue to take it to the Ducks, as it appears revenge is always on San Jose’s mind.  The Pacific Division is really that tough this season.
• Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco missed last night’s game with the flu and the Stars lost at Colorado 4-1.  The Stars’ role players have not stepped up this season, writes Mike Heika.
• The Kings lost at Phoenix last night, but more importantly the team lost Justin Williams to a broken leg.  The Ryan Smyth-Anze-Kopitar-Justin Williams reunion only last two shifts.
• The Coyotes are at 50 points in the standings through 39 games, writes Jim Gintonio.  Adrian Aucoin claims he isn’t surprised by the Coyotes’ play this season.
• Patrick Marleau scored his 300th and 301st career goals last night.  Last night, Jed Ortmeyer was promoted to the Sharks’ second line.

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