Don Brennan

Here are the morning papers for Saturday the 13th of December: Here is Eric Duhatschek's news and notes column from the Globe and Mail. After their game against San Jose on Thursday, the Ducks know they still have lots of work to do. The Thrashers were terrible last night in the team's 7-3 blowout loss to Boston, writes Carroll Rogers. In injury news, Todd White played last night, even though he has a stiff neck and the team is expecting Mathieu Schneider to return to the line-up next week. The Bruins dominated Atlanta on Friday, but they still have some things to work on, writes Fluto Shinzawa. It may not have been much of a game, but there were lots of fights to keep the fans entertained. Back to Shinzawa, he also touches on the likely decline of the salary cap in 2010/11 and the implication on the Bruins. The Sabres were the recipients of an unlucky bounce yesterday and it ended up costing them the game at home versus the Maple Leafs. Another reason for last night's loss may have been the fact that Tony Lydman was the only goal-scorer for Buffalo. Calgary just didn't capitalize on many of their scoring chances on Friday, and that's why Florida came into the Saddledome and left with two points. Florida brought their lunchpails last night, writes George Johnson. If you are continually trying to keep track of the Flames' forward lines, then Mike Keenan is out to get you. The Hurricanes are in New York tonight as they try to forget their 5-1 third period collapse in Philadelphia on Thursday. In good news for Canes fans, the club activated Cam Ward off of the IR. Chicago defeafted Colorado 4-3 yesterday, putting the squad well ahead of their pace from last season, but coach Joel Quennevile says they haven't accomplished anything yet. If you didn't know, Andrew Ladd has 8 points in his last 5 games. Speaking of Quenneville, the former Avalanche coach must have been pretty happy to get record a victory in his return to the Rocky Mountains. Here's more reaction from Quenneville. In roster news, Daniel Tjarnqvist was a healthy scratch last night. Blue Jackets rookie Jakub Voracek continues to stay motivated to prove himself after being a healthy scratch last weekend. Coach Ken Hitchcock wants his team to make sure they are ready for the high-intensity, high-speed system of the Islanders tonight. Here are the Jackets' projected lines for tonight's game. Dallas played arguably its best game of the season versus Detroit on Friday, writes Mike Heika. In injury news, Stephane Robidas will be out of the line-up at least a week with a broken jaw. The Wings had some good chances last night but just couldn't capitalize on them, writes George Sipple. In other Wings news, Chris Chelios hopes to make his season debut tonight. Erik Cole knows he was expected to score more than 3 goals through 27 games, but the Oilers think it is only a matter of time before the veteran winger gets his scoring game going. The Edmonton players know that they need to be ready for the physical Canucks tonight. In roster news, the team demoted Gilbert Brule. Meantime, usually mild-mannered goalie coach Pete Peeters went off on the Oilers forwards on Friday. Don't look now but the Panthers are currently sitting in the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, after last night's 3-2 shootout win over Calgary. There haven't been any announcements in regards to the Panthers' starting netminder job. Marian Gaborik's return is close, but he won't be in the line-up this weekend, writes Michael Russo. Josh Harding is going to start one of the Wild's games this weekend on the West Coast. Here is Red Fisher's must-read notebook from Saturday's Montreal Gazette. The Habs have a bunch of injuries right now, so there will be some line-up changes tonight and Pat Hickey has the details. The Predators want to find a mix that works on the power play in hopes of improving on their poor numbers. Not that this will really help the power play, but Jordin Tootoo is expected to return tonight versus Dallas. You wouldn't believe the Devils and Rangers played at the Prudential Center last night by looking at the score, but that's exactly what happened, as the Devils scored 8 times in their victory over their Hudson rivals. The Islanders were bag skated yesterday after a horrible performance on Thursday. After watching the Rangers lose to New Jersey yesterday, Arthur Staple of Newsday admits he is unimpressed by the Rangers' defense group. Meanwhile, Larry Brooks says Brandon Dubinsky is suffering from a sophomore slump. The Sens were handled quite easily in the U.S. capital on Friday. Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun with a preview of the Senators' tilt tonight versus the Lightning. Former 67's captain Zenon Konopka will be playing back in Ottawa tonight. The Flyers will try and carry their momentum from Thursday's comeback into today's game versus the high-flying Penguins. The Coyotes are in for a challenge tonight with the Wings coming into town. In roster news, the Coyotes have sent Kevin Porter to the AHL. Shelly Anderson tells readers that chemistry (in hockey terms) is hard to explain. In good news, the Penguins will welcome Marc-Andre Fleury back into the line-up today. Jeremy Roenick will be out of the Sharks line-up for a few weeks with a shoulder injury. Martin St. Louis is rolling right now for the Lightning, writes Damian Cristodero. His teammates Andrej Meszaros is also coming on. Another day has gone by, so the Lightning have made another roster move. The Maple Leafs weren't anything special on Friday, but they won anyways. If you don't know Jaime Sifers, you should get to know him, as the defenseman was second in defensemen ice-time for the Leafs last night. Matt Stajan is trying to make this a career season. Roberto Luongo has suffered a setback in his rehab, to a point where the team has stopped putting him through on-ice workouts. Mike Gillis doesn't have an easy job. Brent Johnson registered the win on Friday versus Ottawa, but everyone was talking about his back-up. Meet Brett Leonhardt, web-producer by day, backup netminder by night.

NHL Morning Papers (Saturday Edition): Luongo suffers setback, the Capitals have an interesting backup netminder and Pete Peeters goes off on Oilers forwards

Vermette to Canucks rumors continue