Wednesday Morning NHL Papers (Eastern Conference): Habs would love Giroux from Philadelphia, Flyers lacking enough heart to win and what will Senators do without Jason Spezza?

Tonight is the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show from 7pm to 9pm Central time.  Tonight’s guests are agent Jay Grossman and Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register.  Click here to read more about IC Radio.

Atlantic Division

• Did you know the Devils have never won the President’s Trophy?  Johnny Oduya has been back in the lineup for five games now, but he’s yet to feel like he’s back in form.
• With a home and home coming up with the Rangers, the Islanders will be looking to put their blowout loss to Florida behind them.
• New Rangers backup netminder Chad Johnson may get the start for the second half of the Rangers’ back to back against the Islanders.  John Tortorella played his top-six forwards 75% of the time in the Rangers’ last game, writes Larry Brooks.
• Scott Hartnell got a harsh reception in Pittsburgh last night–as fans still hold a grudge against him for allegedly biting Kris Letang.  “Right now, we’re not playing with enough heart to have success,” said captain Mike Richards.  The Flyers have claimed backup netminder Michael Leighton off of waivers.  Lots of scouts were at last night’s contest.
• The Flyers’ physical play did not intimidate the Penguins, as Pittsburgh easily handled Philadelphia last night.  With players getting healthy and a lot of depth on the roster, Dan Bylsma has a lot of difficult decisions to make.  Meantime, Kris Letang is trying his best to forget about the alleged bite he received from Scott Hartnell.

Northeast Division

• Tuukka Rask has been solid from the outset this season, so comparisons to Hannu Toivinen do not fit at all.  The Bruins finally placed Milan Lucic on injured reserve yesterday.  Stephen Harris talks about Patrice Bergeron being under consideration for Team Canada.
• The Sabres just never seem to play well against Buffalo, although this time around they are facing the Senators at the right time.
• The Habs are looking to trade Jaroslav Halak and would love to get their hands on Claude Giroux, but don’t expect Philadelphia to give him up, writes Pat Hickey.  Apparently Andrei Markov will be ready to play before Christmas.
• Jason Spezza’s knee injury may keep him out for up to two months, writes Bruce Garrioch.  How are the Senators going to make up for this loss?  Mike Fisher is certainly on Team Canada’s radar for 2010.  The Senators have recalled Josh Hennessey to “replace” Spezza in the lineup.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star has the story from the Board of Governors meeting which centered around the Coyotes.  Paul Hunter lists the reasons for the Leafs’ turnaround this season.  Matt Stajan has started to earn more ice-time from coach Ron Wilson.

Southeast Division

• With the style John Anderson promotes, it is no surprise that the Thrashers lead the NHL in defensemen goals.
• Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason could have easily played in the 70s, writes Chip Alexander.  The Hurricanes may not be having the best season on ice, but that didn’t stop them from brightening up some the lives of some children yesterday.
• The Lightning didn’t play well last night but at least they played hard, according to Rick Tocchet.  As listed yesterday in On the Beat, coach Tocchet scratched Jeff Halpern and Alex Tanguay last night.
• Mike Green was injured in the Capitals’ easy win at Colorado last night but expects to play on Friday in Vancouver.

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