mike downey

Here are the morning papers for Friday the 17th of October: The Flames want Jarome Iginla fighting less and on the ice more, writes Steve Macfarlane. With the firing of Denis Savard on Thursday, the pressure is now on Dale Tallon if the Hawks don't start producing. Mike Downey of the Chicago Tribune says that Savard got stabbed in the back. Meanwhile, Melissa Isaacson tells readers what Joel Quenneville brings to the table. The Avalanche didn't want to end up 0-4, so they turned in an extremely solid performance in their 5-2 home victory over Philadelphia last night. Andrew Raycroft was the netminder for the Avs last night and he sure didn't face much action, explains Woody Paige. In contract news, Paul Stastny's agent would like to get a deal done with the club. Playing or not, Oilers enforcer Steve MacIntyre has an effect on the way the game is played, writes Robert Tychkowski. For the first time in a while the Battle of Alberta is between two very good teams. Down four of their best players, the Wild executed the trap extremely well and defeated the Panthers 6-2 in Sunrise. The Wild got a serious performance from the AMA line last night. What line-up decisions does Guy Carbonneau have to decide for Saturday? Jason Spezza is a gentleman who really doesn't mind signing autographs for fans. Daniel Alfredsson is one of the league's experts at protecting the puck, just ask Jesse Winchester. Meantime the Ottawa Sun writers tell fans whether the Senators' defense is a problem or not. The Canucks were a totally different team than the one that lost earlier in the week in Washington and came out of Hockeytown with a 4-3 overtime victory over the defending champions. The fans may be emotional but Mike Gillis is staying even keel. The Pyatt-Demitra-Raymond line finally got out of their collective slump last night at just the right time. Chris Kunitz is moving back to the top line in Anaheim. The Thrashers were shutout by Martin Brodeur and the Devils on Thursday and have obviously still not scored a power play goal. Marc Savard has gone from a passer to scorer so far this season, writes Barbara Matson of the Boston Globe. The Bruins were happy to have gotten out of Montreal with at least a point on Wednesday. The addition of Craig Rivet and the return of Teppo Numminen have dramatically helped stabilize the Sabres' blue line. If the Hurricanes are going to have to go on a six-game road trip they don't mind that it is early in the season. In injury news, it looks like the Canes will be without Tuomo Ruutu (groin) for the opening game of the team's road trip in L.A. The Blue Jackets have their home opener tonight and the organization is going to take the time to honor former Columbus owner John McConnell. Here are the Jackets' probable lines for tonight's contest. The Blues maintained their 50% power play success rate last night when they demolished the Stars 6-1. Mike Babcock was not happy with the Wings' play at home last night versus Vancouver. The Wings played last night's game without Henrik Zetterberg. For a team that is supposed to be built on goaltending and defense the Panthers looked horrible last night, writes George Richards. Put through waivers just a little while ago, Cory Murphy is now on the Panthers' top power play unit. Murphy is a capable defenseman, but the Cats will miss Bryan McCabe's production from the point. Having had a terrible penalty killing unit the past two years, the Kings have made some changes and are perfect when a man down so far this season. Kings rookie Matt Moulson has impressed observers. Barry Trotz knows it isn't easy to manage rookie players, so he is doing his best to make sure Ryan Jones and Patric Hornqvist stay confident. Martin Brodeur just makes it look easy, as he recorded his 97th career shutout last night versus the Thrashers. Sure they blew the lead, but the Islanders came back and defeated the Lightning in overtime on Thursday thanks to Trent Hunter. While they recorded the victory last night, coach Scott Gordon wants the team to limit its bad penalties. The Rangers' top line has struggled over the last four games. Even so, Tom Renney has no plans to break up the trio. The Flyers changed up their lines last night but to no avail, as they were defeated handily by the Avalanche 5-2. Ryan Parent will be out of the Flyers' line-up for 10 weeks but the team got good news on the Randy Jones injury front. Derek Morris was actually injured by an official stepping on his hand but he is expected to be in the Coyotes' line-up on Friday versus Ottawa. The Penguins blew a 3-1 lead to Ovechkin and the Capitals on Thursday and ended up on the losing end of a 4-3 score. Penguins coach Michel Therrien was none too happy with last night's play. The Sharks don't fight, they just win. The Blues set the physical tone last night in their dominating performance over Dallas. Paul Kariya put on extra weight over the summer and it sure looks like it has worked out as he has 8 points through 4 games this season. The Leafs have Jeff Finger coming back soon and will have too many defensemen on the roster. Is a road trip just what the Leafs need? The Lightning lost in overtime last night but they did pull off a nice comeback to get there. Talk about a road comeback; the Capitals stormed back to steal two points from the Penguins last night, writes Tarik El-Bashir. For Illegal Curve, Richard Pollock. *I will leave you with a joke from reader Bob: Patient: Doctor, I kissed the Stanley Cup when it was on tour through my town this summer -- should I worry about listeria infection? Doctor: No chance -- no Maple Leaf product has touched it in over 40 years...*

NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition)

NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)