NHL Hockey

Here are the morning papers for Sunday the 12th of October: Randy Carlyle has told his players to stop complaining about the referees and just play the game. The Thrashers would have liked a victory last night but they were happy to gain three points over the weekend. The Bruins played well against the Wild on Saturday but Manny Fernandez wasn't sharp between the pipes and it cost the Bruins, writes Stephen Harris. Fernandez struggled against the Wild but he realizes that the road back will take a little while. Here is Kevin Paul Dupont with his usual Sunday gem. The Hurricanes weren't satisfied with Friday's comeback victory, so they decided to pull off another comeback victory on Saturday. The team would prefer to keep their victories a little less dramatic, but they will take any wins they can get. The Blackhawks fell to 0-2 on the season last night but it was no fault of netminder Nikolai Khabibulin. The Jackets' poor start cost them last night. Meanwhile, Mike Peca is in hot water after making contact with an official during the Jackets' game against the Stars two days ago. Adam Foote understands how special it is to put on an NHL jersey, which is why he's so honored to play in his 1000th NHL game tonight versus Edmonton. The Stars were defeated 3-1 at Nashville last night and have come to the realization that teams will be gunning for them in 2008/09. Stars rookie James Neal understands that there isn't much time to enjoy your personal successes during an NHL season. The Red Wings had a miniscule four giveaways versus the Senators on Saturday night and came away with a 3-2 victory in the Canadian Capital. Johan Franzen continued where he left off last season with a two-goal effort. More on Franzen, as the Swedish forward feels like his old self. David Booth scored twice last night, including the winner, as the Panthers won an exciting overtime game in their home opener. Luckily for the Panthers, Bryan McCabe isn't seriously injured. In other Panthers news, last night was Michael Frolik's NHL debut. Helene Elliot of the L.A. Times sure wasn't impressed with the Kings' performance in San Jose on Saturday. The Kings may have lost their opening game last night but at least they signed Anze Kopitar to a long-term extension earlier in the day. Doug Risebrough looked like a very smart man last night, writes Patrick Reusse. Jacques Lemaire, for one, likes his team's potential. Brian Stensaas has a feature on former Wild netminder Manny Fernandez. The Wild raised their division championship banner to the rafters before last night's game and are hoping there are many more banners to come. Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont realize their leadership role with the Predators and stepped up to ensure the team didn't start the year with two losses in a row last night. Nashville played a classic Predators-type game on Saturday and it resulted in a nice victory. The Rangers almost gave away their 4-0 lead last night in Philadelphia, but they came away victorious and that is all that matters. Apparently that trip overseas wasn't such a bad idea, writes Larry Brooks. Speaking of Brooks, he think some of the members of the players union take issue with Paul Kelly. The fans were on Martin Gerber for his performance last night, but his teammates are standing behind him, writes Don Brennan. Fans have to realize that if not for Gerber's early game performance, the Senators wouldn't have had a chance to win in the first place. The Flyers lost 4-3 to the Rangers but their coach was happy the team didn't throw in the towel after a horrible first period. Martin Biron was not sharp last night. In injury news, the Flyers may be without Randy Jones for up to four months. With his performance last night, Olli Jokinen proved why the Coyotes went out and traded for him this summer. Things seem different around the Coyotes this season, writes Dan Bickley. The ice at the Jobing.com Arena should be a lot better than last season. Marc-Andre Fleury deserved two points for his performance on Saturday but his team didn't and they came out on the wrong end of a 2-1 overtime game versus the Devils. Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review opines that the Penguins' home opener was anything but impressive. In injury news, Petr Sykora remains out of the team's line-up. Another game and another dominating performance from the Sharks, writes David Pollak. While Rob Blake's transition to the Sharks has been smooth, his return to L.A. tonight will be a little tough. The Lightning blew a 3-0 lead to the Hurricanes and lost a heartbreaker 4-3 in overtime. The Bolts have yet to allow less than 39 shots in any of their three games this season. The Leafs came back to earth against the Habs on Hockey Night in Canada. There is still a long way to go in Toronto, writes Dave Shoalts. The Canucks were victorious on Saturday night, but Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province is more concerned with whether Kevin Bieksa will miss a significant period of time. Injury aside, the Canucks' victory was a sweet one for the team. After a shaky start by Jose Theodore, the Capitals came back and defeated the Blackhawks 4-2 on Saturday. For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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NHL Morning Papers (Sunday Edition)