On the Beat

What team beat writers are saying this afternoon: Boston Bruins power forward Milan Lucic was not on the ice for a practice session today after leaving with an injury during a 7-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. Now that Sabre regulars Adam Mair and Toni Lydman (is it really prounounced LOOD-man?) have recovered from their injuries, coach Lindy Ruff has some intense decisions to make. With Canes big man Erik Cole out for 4-6 weeks with a leg injury, the team has no choice but to play harder in his absence. "Former Blue Jackets center Dan Fritsche has signed an AHL contract with the Syracuse Crunch," writes Aaron Portzline on Puck-rakers. Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault isn't going to drastically change his forward lines or defense pairings even though his team has dropped its first two games. Writer Damian Cristodero thanks Bolts defenseman Paul Ranger for agreeing to provide quotes for his story about player mishaps in the wake of Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers.

On the Beat: 2009 A.C. (After Cole)