Avalance

Here are the morning papers for Saturday the 10th of January: Here is Eric Duhatschek's NHL notebook. The Ducks lost last night because they aren't playing good enough defense, says coach Randy Carlyle. Brian Little is going to Montreal this weekend for the rookie-sophomore game. (Writer's note: Why isn't he going to the actual All-Star game instead of Kovalchuk?) Goaltender Kari Lehtonen wants his team to cut down on bad penalties. Patrice Bergeron is feeling a lot better after his recent concussion and vows to return to the lineup. More Bruins injury news, as winger Marco Sturm is out for the season with a knee injury. Ryan Miller earned his salary last night with his tremendous performance against the Rangers, writes Bucky Gleason. Everybody in Calgary is wondering what's wrong with Dion Phaneuf? The same can't be said for his teammate Daymond Langkow. Anton Babchuk is really coming into his own in Carolina, writes Chip Alexander. James Wisniewski is feeling as good as he ever has in his NHL career, writes Chris Kuc. Here is the Avalanche's report card at the halfway point of the season. Suffice to say, the team's expectations may not be what they once were. Steve Mason played an integral role in the Blue Jackets' upset of the Capitals on Friday night. Good thing Mason was healthy enough to play last night. Here are the Blue Jackets' projected lines for tonight's game against Minnesota. Meanwhile, Michael Arace takes issue with the NHL's discipline commitee. Mike Ribiero and Brad Richards need to better, says Stars coach Dave Tippett. The Red Wings have depth that other teams can't match, but the cap will probably cut down on that depth this summer. Ty Conklin starts today for Detroit. Dwayne Roloson was as bad last night as he was good earlier this season in San Jose, writes Terry Jones. In concerning news for Oilers fans, Sheldon Souray left last night's game with an upper-body injury. Mike Grier always loves coming back to play in Edmonton. The Panthers have yet to begin negotiations on a new contract with speedster David Booth. The Wild's goal-scorers have been terrible lately, so it's been the support players who have been picking up the slack. The Wild players need to shoot more. Here is Red Fisher's notebook. Here is a great story from Red Fisher about a promise made to him by Glen Sather. Saku Koivu is making progress with his injury, but he won't play tonight. It has been almost two years since Steve Sullivan played a NHL game for the Nashville Predators, which is why tonight's game means so much to him. Steve Sullivan is going to play alongside Vern Fiddler and Jordin Tootoo. Scott Clemmensen has a great outlook on life. During the Devils' struggles, Brent Sutter has kept his lines together. The youngsters on Long Island should expect more responsibility to fall on their laps as the season goes on. Henrik Lunqvist is doing some great work off the ice in the community for the Rangers. Speaking of the Swedish netminder, his team played great defense and didn't take a penalty last night, even though they lost 2-1 in a shootout. Jaromir Jagr hasn't ruled out a return to the NHL. Brian Elliot is expected to start between the pipes for the Senators tonight. Meantime, coach Craig Hartsburg can't really explain why his team isn't bringing a better effort to the table. The Flyers are finally starting to get all their injured players back. Considering the circumstances, the Flyers are happy with their season so far. The Coyotes have been very impressed with the play of 18 year old Mikkel Boedker this season. The Penguins square off with the equally desperate Avalance today. The Pens will be without Ruslan Fedotenko for 4-6 weeks. Apparently Jaromir Jagr would be willing to return to Pittsburgh to play for the minimum when his contract in the KHL is up. The Sharks rebounded from their poor performance at Calgary with an impressive win over Edmonton at Rexall Place on Friday. Steve Stamkos was a healthy scratch for the Bolts on Friday. The Lightning have put to bed any Vincent Lecavalier trade talk. (Writer's Note: Okay. But didn't they do the same thing with Dan Boyle?) By the way, the Lightning picked up a victory at Anaheim last night. Leafs forward Mikhail Grabovski is sorry for the way he acted. Lots has changed in the NHL since last season, writes Mike Zeisberger. The Canucks didn't exactly impress the fans at GM Place on Friday, with a poor performance against St. Louis. Last night was Mats Sundin's debut and boy did he stink, writes Cam Cole. The Capitals ran into the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy yesterday and the entire Washington team would probably give him their vote if they had one.

NHL Morning Papers (Saturday Edition): Dave Tippett says his star players need to be better, a great story from Red Fisher and Jaromir Jagr hasn’t ruled out a return to the NHL

NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition): Craig Hartsburg calls out his stars, Rick Tocchet is furious with his team and Tomas Kaberle will accept a trade if he’s not wanted

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