John Mitchell

Today's NHL news from the team beat writers: Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register takes a look at the numbers following the Ducks 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Calgary Flames. Looks like Thrashers coach John Anderson is mixing the lines up at practice this morning and has Ilya Kovalchuk lining up with Peverley and Armstrong. The Bruins won their third straight game which saw the return of Marc Savard who returned from missing 15 games with a broken foot and he offered a critique of his performance. The Flames tied up the Ducks late at the Honda Centre but for some curious reason coach Brent Sutter chose not to use Jarome Iginla, who tied the game and has been dominant lately, in the shootout. The climate surrounding the Blackhawks both in and outside of Chicago is that the team is amongst the elite in the NHL and that has some in the city quite worried. In case you were missing his tweets, Denver Post writer Adrian Dater has returned to Twitter and will continue to bring Avs fans updates from the game via this medium. For all the latest NHL news via Twitter follow Illegalcurve. The Blue Jackets could not have scripted a better start or a more a spectacular collapse last night at Madison Square Garden writes Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch. After last night's 2-0 victory over the Canes, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News has some observations from the Stars win and whether they can keep the momentum alive. Former Red Wings tough guy Darren McCarty cleaned up nicely as he debuted his new role, as a studio analyst on Versus. The Edmonton Oilers came out flying last night in the first period against Phoenix and perennial whipping boys Ethan Moreau and Jeff Deslauriers came up big in the victory. Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette writes that you can add Jaroslav Spacek to the list of walking wounded with the Canadiens as he joins Scott Gomez on the list of Habs injured with a "lower-body injury". Who are these Nashville Predators wonder the Tennessean's John Glennon as the team that started the year 3-6-1 is now riding a six game winning streak (as well as 7 straight at home). Despite the Senators recent on-ice success they lost no. 1 goalie Pascal Leclaire who has a broken cheek bone, after being hit by an puck while on the bench during the team's overtime win over the Capitals. The New Jersey Devils are trying to get more from Niclas Bergfors and they are hoping that skating with Travis Zajac and Zach Parise will help him. The New York Rangers got some good news as team captain Chris Drury practiced fully today, centering Enver Lisin and Ryan Callahan, and pronounced himself ready to go barring a huge setback. The Philadelphia Flyers weren't a happy bunch after last night's loss to the Avalanche, and while the loss didn't lead to any stick breaking from goalie Ray Emery who was pulled after giving up 4 goals on 17 shots, the bigger concern is possible injuries as a team doctor was seen examining x-ray's in the room following the game. Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette takes a closer look at the Penguins power play which at one point went an anemic 0-30 but not surprisingly, has improved with the return of Sergei Gonchar. The Leafs lost centre John Mitchell for six weeks with a knee injury and have called up Christian Hanson from the Marlies to join the team writes the Toronto Star's Paul Hunter although he wasn't in today's practice roster. A year after the Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows breakout 28-goal season, the speedy winger has only one goal in his last 18 games. Despite not arriving home from Ottawa till 1:30 am this morning, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau put his players through a tough practice although a number of players were absent including Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Knuble, Tom Poti and Boyd Gordon.

On the Beat: Iginla rides pine during shootout, Adrian Dater returns to Twitter, Oilers whipping boys come up big, Chris Drury to return Wednesday.

Afternoon Analysis: Wild on Smart Plays