Morning Musings

Here are the morning papers:

• The Ducks had 37 shots on Minnesota's Josh Harding but couldn't get a puck over the goal line as they were defeated by the Wild 2-0 on Sunday night.
• According to Minnesota center Brian Rolston, the Wild demonstrated some team toughness last night in their victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions. Brad May answered the bell for his cheap shot on Kim Johnsson last season and squared off with Wild enforcer Derek Boogard early in the contest.
• The Red Wings are looking to discuss a contract extension with their long-time checking center Kris Draper. The Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Datsyuk line dominated the Kings on Sunday night for a 4-1 Red Wings victory.
• Kings' forward Michael Cammalleri was very angry after his team's loss to Detroit last night.
• The Bruins surprised many fans by accomplishing their goal of getting six points out of a possible ten points on their five game road-trip to open the season. Bruins' defenseman Aaron Ward says that most people probably thought the Bruins would only get two points on their road trip so "coming up with six is real good."
• The Sabres' powerplay has been terrific as of late, accounting for five goals in the team's past two games writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• Known for being an offensive defenseman, John-Michael Liles is turning his attention to the defensive side of the game in order to become a complete all-around defender. Meanwhile in Denver, Terry Frei explains that the Avalanche are some of the Rockies' biggest fans.
• The Blue Jackets are struggling to find someone to center their number one line writes Aaron Portzline in this morning's Columbus Dispatch.
• The Stars have to work on protecting third period leads writes Bill Nichols of the Dallas Morning News.
• As Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal tells us, an MRI revealed a fractured bone in Ethan Moreau's foot which means it will still be a while before the Oilers' captain gets back into the lineup.
• Stephen Weiss is starting to mature as a player and the Panthers are looking to him to elevate his game as the season moves on. The biggest step for a backup goaltender is accepting your role on the team and new Panthers' goaltender Craig Anderson has done that.
• The Canadiens need to do a better job of finding the shooting lanes writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette.
• Prior to the season, the Predators had Sunday the 14th of October as a scheduled off-day but after their last three performances coach Barry Trotz changed his mind and instead the team was put through a grueling 90 minute practice. The Preds also struggled out of the gate last season, so they are hoping to replicate last season's turnaround writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• Coach Brent Sutter has been impressed with the play of Patrik Elias over the team's past two games.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post believes the Rangers need improved play from just about everyone on their roster, especially their forwards. Meanwhile, Rangers' winger Brendan Shanahan knows that he always seems to end up around the same shooting percentage year after year, so the veteran is not concerned that he has yet to score a goal on any of his 32 shots on net.
• Over on Long Island, the Islanders need to increase their offensive output, especially at even strength, if they expect to contend for a playoff spot come April.
• Ray Emery has declared himself ready to play after a two game conditioning stint in Binghamton. With a few days off, the Senators are going to get in a little "team bonding" writes Bruce Garrioch in this morning's Ottawa Sun.
• If one tries to compare this season's version of the Flyers to last season's, coach John Stevens has one something to say to that, "This is not last year's team."
• While they aren't yet winning over 50% over their faceoffs, the Penguins have improved in that department over last season; Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the story. Perhaps Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury will build on his relief performance at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.
• Blues' management has done a great job of mixing talented young players with established veterans and the fans have bought into the team with back-to-back home sellout crowds.
• The Leafs have never played well in Buffalo and with the Sabres coming off of back-to-back wins, the Leafs will have their hands full tonight. The Leafs have to make a point of staying out of the box if they hope to have a chance versus Buffalo tonight.
• The Canucks are looking to exact revenge on the Sharks after San Jose defeated them handily early on this season. After he found himself a healthy scratch on Saturday night, rumors have been flying around Canucks' winger Matt Cooke.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.