Wednesday Morning NHL Papers (Eastern Conference): Devils players went behind Jacques Lemaire’s back to see HHOF inductions, Jaroslav Halak continues making case for number one spot and Leafs embarass themselves versus Wild

Atlantic Division

• Playing Jacques Lemaire’s suffocating defensive style, the Devils remained perfect on the road last night with a shootout victory at Ottawa.  The Devils players who went to Toronto for Lou Lamoriello’s Hall of Fame induction did it behind Lemaire’s back.
• Bad news on the Island, as Kyle Okposo has swine flu and the team has also lost Doug Weight for 4-6 weeks.
• Marian Gaborik has the same influence on the Rangers as Jaromir Jagr did a few years ago, writes Jay Greenberg.
• The Flyers may be getting Daniel Briere and James Van Riemsdyk back in the lineup for tomorrow night’s game.
• The Penguins’ four-game road trip was a big bust and to make matters worse, Brooks Orpik left last night’s game early with an undisclosed injury.  At least the injured Evgeni Malkin has switched his injury status to day-to-day.  As well, the Penguins caught a break with Kris Letang’s injury not being as serious as originally expected.

Northeast Division

• Claude Julien was very satisfied with his team’s performance against Pittsburgh.  The Bruins finally gave Tim Thomas a cushion to work with–something very rare so far this season.  Last night, Mark Recchi recorded his 900th NHL assist.
• Jochen Hecht is looking to get his goal-scoring game going tonight against Edmonton, as the German forward has only recorded one goal all season.  Adam Mair cleared waivers and will remain with the Sabres.
• Jaroslav Halak didn’t make an issue of his agent Alan Walsh’s comments but he did make his agent look good with his strong performance last night.  Even with Halak’s strong performance, you can’t win a game without scoring a goal.
• “I put a lot of pressure on myself to do certain things and scoring is one of them. This will help me relax a bit,” said Senators winger Jonathan Cheechoo after scoring his first goal as a Senator.  Pascal Lecalire also made some big saves in yesterday’s win over Edmonton.
• Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star was certainly unimpressed with the Leafs squad his saw last night at the ACC.  “Tonight was unacceptable. We know that in this dressing room,” said Matt Stajan after the loss to Minnesota.  Off the ice, the Leafs organization is pushing for an outdoor game at BMO Field.  Meanwhile, Niklas Backstrom of the Wild thinks Leafs fans shouldn’t give up on Vesa Toskala.

Southeast Division

• Ilya Kovalchuk is expected to return to the Atlanta lineup tomorrow night.
• The Hurricanes owner isn’t panicked by the team’s early season struggles, writes Chip Alexander.
• The Panthers got a little bit tougher yesterday by claiming Steve MacIntyre off waivers from the Oilers.  In other Panthers news, the team has moved Ville Koistinen back to defense.
• It has been one year since Rick Tocchet took over the Lightning and the organization has certainly started moving in the right direction under his guidance.  “To me, the way he plays square to the puck, his movement in the crease … I would just think he’s a solid goalie,” said Tocchet about his current starter Antero Niittymaki.
• Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison have both been great off-season signings by the Capitals, writes Corey Masisak.