home debut

Here are the morning papers for Tuesday the 21st of October: The Wild has begun offering Marian Gaborik around the league, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. In injury news, it appears Marek Zidlicky (ankle) is close to a return to the line-up. The Ducks are hoping a trip out East can fix their struggles, writes Dan Arritt. Brian Burke has agreed to do interviews when he's in Toronto today but under particular conditions. The Thrashers' third line has played pretty well, now they just need a new group nickname. Francis Bouillon returned to the Habs last night and decided to score the game-winning goal. The Habs are looking sharp, according to the legendary Red Fisher. Everything went fairly well for the Bruins in their home opener, except for the fact that they didn't win, writes Fluto Shinzawa. They may have lost but the Bruins look a look better than they have the past few seasons. On a happy note, Patrice Bergeron made a successful home debut on Monday after spending all of last season on the sidelines. Sabres forward Daniel Paille has impressed his coach and the fans of Buffalo with his all-around play. The Hurricanes have decided to send Zach Boychuk back to junior hockey. Dion Phaneuf is looking forward to battling against Alexander Ovechkin tonight. Here are three storylines to watch out for tonight. It wasn't the prettiest win over the Kings in L.A. last night but the Avalanche will take it. The trio of Smyth-Stastny-Hejduk has played extremely well this season. Jonathan Toews hasn't scored yet this season but he doesn't care so long as his team records points. Blue Jackets defenseman Kris Russell may make the move to forward. Also, with Clint Malarchuk having suffered that scary injury, Columbus is looking for a new goalie coach for the time being. Here are the Jackets' projected lines for tonight's game versus Vancouver. The Stars are hoping Sean Avery's visit to NY will get him playing his game on a consistent basis. Oh yeah, Avery wasn't the only story on Monday, as the Stars did leave MSG with a 2-1 victory. The Wings have placed Darren McCarty on waivers. Fighting may be up around the NHL but it isn't for the Red Wings, writes Dave Dye. The Panthers didn't play poorly; they just couldn't capitalize on scoring opportunities in Montreal last night. Meantime, Peter DeBoer and Jacques Martin have a good relationship. Sam Gagner has a sore leg but is hoping to be back in the Oilers line-up tomorrow versus the Blackhawks. Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza have been split up onto different lines. The Senators listen but that doesn't mean they execute, writes Allen Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen. The Kings proved once again last night why they are a young team with many positives and many negatives, as they lost 4-3 to the visting Avs. Neither Kevin Klein and Ville Koistinen have played well enough to warrant regular big minutes in the Predators' line-up. It looks like Jason Arnott (finger) will return to the Predators line-up on Thursday. The Devils have called up enforcer Pierre-Luc Leblond. Has Sean Bergenheim been promoted to the top line on the Island? Kyle Wellwood and Matt Pettinger have been recalled by the Canucks and if they get through waivers they will be playing tonight versus Columbus. The NY fans booed the Rangers at the end of the game more than they did Avery because their team just couldn't muster enough offense on Monday night. The Rangers aren't playing a disciplined enough game, writes Larry Brooks. Aaron Voros isn't the new Sean Avery in terms of personality, but he has more than replaced his offensive production so far this season. The Flyers have demoted Steve Downie. Coach John Stevens wants his forwards to take on more responsibility with all the Flyers having trouble on the back-end. Phoenix center Olli Jokinen is not discouraged even though his team has lost three in a row. Penguins back up netminder Dany Sabourin gave Marc-Andre Fleury a rest last night and picked up a nice victory in the process. Jordan Staal is back to playing center for the Penguins on the team's second line. The Sharks have waived former first round pick Lukas Kaspar. With three players coming back from minor injuries, do the Blues have too many defensemen? Lightning healthy scratch Radim Vrbata returns to the line-up tonight. The Bolts are looking for more production from all of the team's off-season acquisitions. Is Alexei Ponikarovsky playing his way out of the Leafs line-up? If the Leafs want to score, they just need to shoot more. Capitals defenseman Tyler Sloan is playing his first NHL game in his hometown of Calgary tonight. For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition): Gaborik on the block, Heatley and Spezza split up and Phaneuf versus Ovechkin