Morning Musings

Here are the national morning papers:

• Brian Milner of the Globe & Mail has the details behind Reebok's attempt to modify the new NHL jerseys due to player complaints.
• The Leafs are looking forward to playing on the road and being able to get away from the unfriendly confines of the Air Canada Centre writes Dave Shoalts of the Globe.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks are finally looking a little healthier as Mathieu Schneider, Ryan Getzlaf and Rob Niedermayer are all expected to dress for tonight's game versus Columbus.
• Both Willie Mitchell and Jeff Cowan were hurt during practice yesterday for the Canucks and their statuses for the team's next game are up in the air.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch has an interesting piece about fighting in the NHL.
• The Stars have to be sick of seeing Jason Williams of the Blackhawks, as the forward scored his second game-winning goal against them this season last night. After the game, veteran American Mike Modano and Amercian youngster Patrick Kane exchanged compliments.
• David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News has a great article about coaches and their penchant for always changing their line combinations.
• Avalanche fans are excited to see "Sid the Kid" tonight playing for the first time in Denver. Also in the Denver Post, Adrian Dater answers readers' questions about the Avs.
• The Blue Jackets proved that practice pays off last night in their 4-1 victory over the Kings. Here are the Jackets' expected lines for tonight's game at Anaheim.
• The Coyotes defense is starting to come together and develop chemistry writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• Predators' forward JP Dumont will suit up tonight in Vancouver even though he broke the tip of his left ring finger in Calgary on Tuesday. Somehow, the Predators have only scored three goals combined in their five road games so far this season.
• The Stars blew their late period 4-3 lead and Mike Modano had his assist taken away post-game, as it seems Dallas just can't seem to catch a break these days.
• One of the reasons for the Wings success this season is their record in one-goal games writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
• It looks like both Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra will return from injury tonight to face the Blues.
• The Kings' loss last night was their first in two weeks and the way the team lost left coach Marc Crawford steaming after the game. "You're not going to score on every shift. You have to recognize some shifts you've got to play well in your own end," said Crawford after the contest.
• Matt Greene's ankle snapped versus Detroit and the rugged defenseman will be out of the lineup for at least a couple of months. Coach Craig MacTavish still has confidence that his team can withstand the endless barrage of injuries they have faced so early in the season.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• For those wondering why Marian Hossa wasn't shooting second for the Thrashers' in their shootout victory over Montreal in the week it is because he turned down the offer from coach Don Waddell.
• With the injury to Manny Fernandez, goaltender Tim Thomas is looking forward to seeing more action starting tonight versus the Sabres. Here is the Boston Herald's scouting report for tonight's Bruins/Sabres contest.
• The Hurricanes were furious at the two diving calls that went against them last night in Florida writes Luke Decock of the News Observer.
• When the Sabres take the ice tonight versus Boston, they will be looking to score the first goal because they have fallen behind early in too many games this season. Toni Lydman has been named captain of the Sabres for the month of November.
• Florida took advantage of some late Carolina penalties to comeback from a 2-1 deficit and defeat the Canes 4-2. The Panthers were an extremely motivated group after special assistant to the GM Joe Nieuwendyk gave the team a serious pep-talk during the second intermission.
• Habs' coach Guy Carbonneau expects more from first-line winger Michael Ryder and that is why Ryder found himself riding the pine during the third period against the Thrashers.
• Brent Sutter backed off of his promise not to match lines and matched John Madden, Jay Pandolfo and Dainius Zubrus against the Lecavalier line last night. The switch worked worked well as Pandolfo had a hat trick and his checking line dominated the entire game leading the Devils to a 6-1 victory.
• Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez are still trying to find the chemistry that Jagr had with former teammate with Michael Nylander. Meanwhile, Rangers' agitator Sean Avery is almost ready to return from his shoulder injury.
• Mark Herrmann of Newsday talks about the excitement that surrounds Mike Sillinger's 1000th career game tonight.
• Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun is reporting that Jason Spezza will be out of the lineup for the Senators' game tonight.
• Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details of Derian Hatcher's injury and subsequent surgery today.
• It looks like putting Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the same line was quite a smart move by coach Michel Therien writes Shelly Anderson in this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Post-Gazette is also reporting that Dany Sabourin will get the start between the pipes tonight in Denver.
• Coach John Tortorella says his team is not generating enough offense right now to allow the Lightning to win games.
• Capitals' winger Chris Clark was back on the ice at practice yesterday but didn't feel 100% and may still need more time to recover from his left ear injury.
• The Leafs paid the price for their lackluster effort against Washington in practice yesterday. In some very positive news, winger Jason Blake has not felt any different since being diagnosed with luekemia.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.