NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition)

Reader's note: To our regular readers, I have exams coming up which will not allow me to post the NHL Morning Papers for the next few weeks. As of now, the Morning Papers will return on December 13th. However, if someone at Illegal Curve decides to undertake the Morning Papers duties during this time, I will be sure to let you know.

Here are the national morning papers:

• As Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail tells us, after firing Glen Hanlon on Thursday morning, the Capitals are hoping for a Thrashers-esque turnaround.
• Wayne Scanlan of the National Post wonders if the referees are hurting the game by calling too many chincy penalties.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Former Anaheim and current Phoenix netminder Ilya Brygalov takes to the ice against his old team this afternoon for the first time.
• Not only has the Flames' power play been struggling, but last night the unit gave up two short-handed goals in the team's 2-1 loss to Chicago. While their special teams play has been lacking, the Flames did dominate play at even strength last night but could not put more than one puck past Nikolai Khabibulin.
• With injuries and the flu bug limiting the Blackhawks' line combinations, the team showed a lot of heart edging out the Flames in the Saddledome.
• The Avalanche are taking solace in the fact that they ended their disappointing four game road trip on a positive note, with a 3-2 win in Edmonton last night.
• Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch has an interesting article about the role Ken Hitchcock has played in the franchise's turnaround.
• While the perception is out there that the Stars are struggling, if you take a closer look, Dallas is only one point out of first place in the Pacific Division writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Red Wings are coming to the realization that the Central Division is a lot stronger this season than in years past writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. The Wings lost 3-2 to the Predators last night, but Brett Lebda thinks the team shouldn't even have been playing on Thanksgiving.
• The Oilers took too many penalties last night in their 3-2 loss to Colorado writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. Meanwhile, John MacKinnon of the Journal has it right when he tells us he's sick of the same division match-ups over and over again.
• The Wild made a number of roster moves yesterday, and there may be even more in the offing writes Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
• The Predators got the winning goal last night from Radek Bonk on what had been their struggling power play writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• Coyotes' winger Daniel Winnik is back from injury and fitting in great on a line with Peter Mueller and Radim Vrbata.
• As Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch explains, the Blues have an abundance of depth on defense but inevitably that ends up leading to some bruised egos.

Note: If you are wondering why the Canucks don't seem to be in the morning papers much, it is because both the Vancouver Province and Sun websites are extremely slow updating their morning content and I have usually posted my article prior to them posting any Canucks coverage from the night before.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Kevin Paul Dupont has a terrific article about the life of Hall-of-Famer Tom Johnson who passed away on Thursday.
• Red Fisher has a touching article about the same Tom Johnson in this morning's Montreal Gazette.
• Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post has the details behind the dismissal of Glen Hanlon by the Washington Capitals.
• According to Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe, Manny Fernandez will be out of action this weekend because of back spasms. Bruins' coach Claude Julien expects a playoff-like atmosphere this afternoon as the Bruins take on the Isles in the first of a home-and-home series.
• The Hurricanes host the Lightning tonight and apparently they are only concerned with very few Lightning players. "If we shut down those two or three guys, they got nothing," said Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason in reference to the Lightning's attack.
• Kamil Kreps has impressed the Panthers' brass with his most recent stint in the NHL and maybe this stint will turn out to be permanent writes Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The last thing Noah Welch has been doing since he injured shoulder, is taking time off.
• As Pat Hickey tells us in this morning's Montreal Gazette, Carey Price is about as even-keel as they come, and there may be no better quality that a goalie can possess.
• The Devils are slowly making progress after a rough start to the season writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger. The Devils are going for their third straight victory tonight versus the streaking Thrashers.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post thinks that opening the 2008/09 season in Prague is a bad idea for the Rangers.
• Islanders' coach Ted Nolan benched his first line for most of the second period in the team's last game in order to give them a much-needed wake up call.
• Martin Gerber had maybe his weakest game of the season last night in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Penguins. Daniel Alfredsson hurt his groin during overtime last night and that is why he was unable to partake in the shootout.
• The Flyers have many things to be pleased about so far this season, but at the same time, they also have much to work on writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• The Penguins finally validated their effort last night with a win over arguably the NHL's best team. Coach John Paddock of the Senators knows the Penguins will be in the mix come playoff time.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune has an article about super-fan Steve Williamson who is seeing 30 NHL games in 30 days.
• The Leafs are on the road in Dallas and are enjoying being out of the fishbowl for a short time. (Writer's note: Who can blame them?) So much for the all the John Tavares plus Leafs hype earlier this season as his agent says it is now a dead issue.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings

Here are the morning papers:

• The Sabres dominated the special teams battle versus Atlanta on Thursday and defeated the struggling Thrashers 6-0. Sabres' winger Ales Kotalik made his season debut last night after returning from a sprained MCL and ended up scoring on his first shift.
• Sometimes you can take positives from a loss, but as Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal Constitution explains, there were no positives to be taken from their loss to Buffalo for the Thrashers.
• The Bruins need to improve their even strength goal output writes Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe. In addition to their even strength scoring, the Bruins also need to improve on their faceoff percentage which is 27th overall in the NHL. In a bizarre turn of events on Wednesday, Brandon Bochenski dressed for the Bruins' game versus the Ducks yet never saw the ice. In other Bruins' news, Marc Savard is listed as questionable for tonight's game versus the Kings but is expected to suit up.
• Mike Keenan says there needs to be "a level of desperation" to the Flames' game after their disappointing start to the season.
• As Luke Decock of the News Observer explains, the Hurricanes made a statement last night in their 5-3 victory over the defending Eastern Conference champions in Ottawa. Chad Larose has been a pleasant surprise for the Canes playing alongside Rod Brind'Amour and Justin Williams.
• The Senators didn't look like their usual selves last night writes Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun. As Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun tells us, after going on a long second half run of success last season, the Senators realize that it is easier to win games earlier in the season rather than later. Many Senators players came to camp in the best shape of their lives and coach John Paddock believes that has a lot to do with the team's successful start to the season.
• According to Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune, there are positives that can be taken from Rocky Wirtz's first move as chairman of the Blackhawks.
• With Stars backup goaltender Mike Smith out with a bruised arm, Marty Turco does not mind taking on the extra work writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch attempts to clarify the comments made by Adam Foote to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post about leaving Colorado a few years ago. In other Jackets' news, Ken Hitchcock worked on the team's breakout extensively at training camp and that hard work has paid off to start the season. Speaking of coach Hitchcock, he has been very impressed with the play of defenseman Jan Hejda so far this season.
• According to Terry Frei of the Denver Post, Jose Theodore will get the start between the pipes tonight for the Avalanche in St. Louis.
• Dominik Hasek's knee is fine and the veteran goaltender will start tonight versus the Blackhawks. Wings' legend Steve Yzerman says that sustained success of the Notre Dame NCAA hockey program, "could bring a lot of exposure to the sport."
• Two angry teams will be facing off Edmonton tonight as both the Oilers and Canucks are coming off frustrating losses. Sheldon Souray doesn't want anyone to jump to conclusions regarding the Oilers' early season struggles on the powerplay writes Joanne Ireland in this morning's Edmonton Journal.
• It is taking newcomer Michal Handzus some time to get comfortable in his new surroundings writes Lisa Dillman of the L.A. Times.
• The Panthers finally recorded their first win of the season last night over the struggling Devils. Tomas Vokoun served as a calming influence during the Panthers' 0-3 start and proved his worth last night closing the door completely on the Devils' attack.
• Devils' coach Brent Sutter realizes the season is only four games old and, as such, doesn't want his team to get down on themselves. Sutter actually took a bench minor penalty for arguing a penalty call last night which led to Olli Jokinen's powerplay goal. Meanwhile, soon to be traded Richard Matvichuk believes his exclusion from the Devils' defensive starting roster was pre-determined by coach Sutter prior to training camp.
• Wendy Sheppard is awfully proud of her son James and is looking forward to travelling with the Wild for the team's mother-son road trip through Phoenix, Los Angeles and Anaheim.
• As Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette explains, even with a goaltending controversy on the horizon, Cristobal Huet and Carey Price still have a great relationship.
• Jessica Hopp of the Tennesean believes Predators' goaltender Chris Mason may have lost his mojo after he posted his second poor performance in as many days losing 6-3 to Phoenix on Thursday. Meanwhile, Jordin Tootoo is angry that Craig Weller gave him a clothesline when Tootoo was unaware he was there. (Writer's note: Tootoo took a blatant run at Coyotes' forward Daniel Winnik prior to Weller going after him. If Tootoo had connected on his hit on Winnik, the league may have had another Dean McAmmond situation on its hands.)
• It looks like Dave Scatchard will slide into the 3rd line center role for the Rangers. However, don't expect to see the veteran in the lineup over the weekend.
• Mats Sundin became the leading scorer in Maple Leafs' history last night in his team's 8-1 victory over the Islanders. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says the Leafs were almost perfect last night.
• Islanders' coach Ted Nolan says the team's performance in its 8-1 loss to the Maple Leafs last night was "almost laughable."
• Canucks' veteran Trevor Linden was impressed with the young pieces that the Flyers have in place writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Jesse Boulerice's hearing with the NHL will be held today. (Writer's note: Lets just hope the NHL gives him at least 25 games.)
• After Fredik Sjostrom's two goal game, it is evident that coach Wayney Gretzky sure motivated the young forward by making him a healthy scratch for the Coyotes' first three games.
• Even though he only has 2 points in 3 games so far this season, no one associated with the Penguins is concerned about Sidney Crosby writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Dispatch provides readers with the St. Louis perspective of the Rob Ramage conviction.
• Mathieu Darce is grateful for another chance in the NHL and has impressed the Lightning brass while playing on the team's third line alongside Jason Ward and Chris Gratton.
• Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post says that the Jaromir Jagr shadow still lingers around the Capitals even after his departure four years ago.
• Roberto Luongo is currently wearing a knee brace to support his strained MCL writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province. In other Canucks' news, Ryan Shannon was demoted to Manitoba of the AHL yesterday.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Feature: Who Are These Guys?

The first few nights of the NHL regular season are now in the books and we have already seen the emergence of some lesser known rookies not named Backstrom, Toews or Johnson. Here are 4 guys who have made an immediate impact:

1. Daniel Winnik, Center, Phoenix Coyotes- Winnik scored the game-winning goal on Thursday night as the Phoenix Coyotes upset the St.Louis Blues by a score of 3-2. Winnik, a 2004 9th round draft pick (265th overall), wasn't on anyones radar during training camp but has impressed Coach Gretzky enough to earn a spot on a youthful Coyotes team, for now. The Coyotes already boast 1st round draft picks Martin Hanzal (2005) and Peter Mueller ( 2006), so it will be interesting to see if Winnik sticks with the team.

2. Torrey Mitchell, Center, San Jose Sharks- Mitchell had an assist on Jeremy Roenick's first goal of the game, the game winner, as the Sharks defeated the Canucks by a score of 3-1 on Friday night. Mitchell, drafted by San Jose in 2004 (4/126), was a surprise addition to the team out of training camp and is likely playing because of an injury to fellow rookie Devon Setoguchi. Mitchell split last season between Vermont of the NCAA Hockey East League and Worcester of the American Hockey League. The speedy 22-year-old had 12 goals and 23 assists in 39 games with Vermont last year, while chipping in 7 points in 11 games with Worcester. It seems the Sharks have an endless supply of American college prospects and it is safe to say Mitchell is the 07'08 Joe Pavelski.

3. Matt Niskanen, Defenseman, Dallas Stars- Stars rookie defenseman Matt Niskanen had 2 assists tonight as the Stars defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1. Niskanen, who is only 20 years old, does not look out of place on a veteran d-corps that features the likes of Sergei Zubov, Stephane Robidas and Phillipe Boucher. The 2005 1st Rounder (28th overall) split last season between Minnesota-Duluth of the WCHA and Iowa, the Dallas Stars American Hockey League affiliate. Niskanen is a silky smooth skater with above-average offensive instincts and will likely fill the void of Darryl Sydor on an already ultra-talented Stars blueline.

4. Mason Raymond- Quick. Name the lucky left winger who is flanking the Sedin twins on Vancouver's top line. Taylor Pyatt?Wrong. Nope. Ryan Shannon is also incorrect. Mason Raymond is now the starting left winger for the Vancouver Canucks. The 22-year-old Calgary native had an assist on Friday night as the Canucks fell to the San Jose Sharks 3-1. Raymond impressed Canucks Coach Alain Vigneault and made the team out of training camp over older, more established players. Raymond had a monster season last season with Minnesota-Duluth, scoring 14 goals and 32 assists in 39 games. He was so impressive that the Canucks signed him to a minor league deal, and he ended up scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in 11 games with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. Raymond is a dynamic offensive wizard and is someone to look out for on a competitive Canucks team.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.