News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. The Senators have something to prove tonight. Like why the hell they are stopping the economic stimulus package.
2. The staff at TSN try to choose the best pest in the NHL.
3. JP Dumont has inked a 4 year extension with the Predators.
4. Guy Lafleur wants his case to be held by a jury of his peers. Because if there is one place you can find 12 chain smoking guys with nicknames like "The Flower", its Montreal.
5. John Kreiser looks at 5 good and 5 not-so good trades.
6. A look back at the Bruins-Rangers blockbuster trade from 1975.
7. A look at Greg Puhalski, coach of the Wheeling Nailers.
8. Mark Recchi still making a contribution in Atlanta.
9. The Oilers have traded Dick Tarnstrom to Columbus for left winger Curtis Glencross. This is a good move for the Oilers, whose depth on the 3rd and 4th lines was limited to about 23 or 24 role players.
10. Pierre Lebrun suggests 10 trades that would help out both teams invovled.
11. Jim Kelley of Sportsnet airs his grievances with the NHL. A Festivus for the rest of us!
12. A profile on Michigan Tech of the WCHA.
13. Eric Duhatschek examines the all-important race for the basement in the NHL.
14. Former Wisconsin Badger Robbie Earl will make his debut against the Senators tonight.
15. Simon Gamache has officially left the Maple Leafs.
16. Scott Cullen of TSN with a complete list of NHL rumors.
17. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette breaks down the number of former first rounders by team.
18. The unofficial USHL power rankings.
19. Team Rbk takes down Team CCM in the USHL All-Star Game.
20. Fanhouse tells us that NCAA hockey is considering adopting overtime.
21. Check out this video of Marty Turco pimping Matt Niskanen's ride, a Pontiac Sunfire, of all things.
22. A note on the prospects that are coming out of US High School hockey.
23. A sure sign of the coming apocalypse, Edmonton and Calgary join forces to bid for the World Junior Championships.
24. Georges Laraque eyes a career in fitness training after his NHL career is over.
25. Another installment in the Hockey News feature on Roseau.

Morning Musings

Here are the morning papers:

• Veteran Chris Chelios, playing in his 1550th career game, scored a rare goal leading the Wings to 4-2 victory over the Oilers. As Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press points out, it sure didn't take long for the Red Wings to reunite Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the same even strength line.
• Dwayne Roloson was the reason the Oilers were in the game writes Joanne Ireland in this morning's Edmonton Journal. While Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun, believes much of the Oilers' nervousness early in last night's contest can be attributed to youth.
• After the Senators defeated the Devils 4-2 on home ice Monday afternoon, there are no fears of a Stanley Cup finals hangover writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Monday was just another big day for the team's top line of Spezza-Alfredsson-Heatley. Meanwhile, Chris Stevenson of the Sun wonders if a goaltending controversy has arisen in the nation's capital.
• The Devils have only played 40 minutes of hockey in each of their first three games writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger. With only one assist each through three regular season games, both Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus know they have to play better.
• The Islanders were beaten by a coupe of ex-teammates yesterday afternoon in their 2-1 loss to the Capitals. After impressing in his first two games as an Islander, forward Mike Comrie's third period giveaway led to the Capitals' game winning goal.
• After Monday's victory, the Capitals remain undefeated on this young season. One of the keys to the Capitals' hot start, Nickals Backstrom, has a Q & A in this morning's USA Today.
• Apparently the Flyers' team building exercises include playing with Lego; Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the story. Daniel Briere may look young but he plays like a man writes Mark Kram in this morning's Inquirer.
• According to Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic, goaltender David Aebischer will make his season debut on Wednesday when the Coyotes take on Columbus.
• As Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains, Rob Scuderi is trying to open up his game a bit this season. In other Pens' news, Sidney Crosby skipped the team's Monday workout to rest his bruised foot but the superstar expects to be in the lineup versus the Canadiens on Wednesday night.
• The Tampa Tribune provides readers with a Q & A this morning with the Lightning's Brad Lukowich.
• Blues' goaltender Manny Legace has already lessened his games played expectations for 2007/08. On the injury front, the Blues are going to be without Eric Brewer for the next 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury.
• Mark Zwolinksi and Joanna Smith of the Toronto Star detail the announcement by Jason Blake that he has a rare form of cancer. At times like these hockey doesn't matter writes Damien Cox of the Star. Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun explains what type of cancer Blake has and the treatment process that goes along with it. In an odd way, Jason Blake is lucky that he was diagnosed with this type of cancer this year and not five years ago writes Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail. (Writer's note: Needless to say, the writers of Illegal Curve wish Jason Blake a speedy recovery)
• As Ben Kuzma writes in this morning's Vancouver Province, Kevin Bieksa knows he still has a lot to improve on. Don't worry about Roberto Luogno's knee Canucks fans, Luongo took part in the Canucks' 80 minute practice on Monday and is fully ready to go for the team's next game.
• It may take a little while for Thrashers' newcomer Todd White to get comfortable writes Carrol Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• As Dan Wood of the Orange County Register points out, the Ducks really need to get their offense going if they expect to succeed in the Western Conference this season.
• So far this season, Bruins' coach Claude Julien has followed through on his promise to cut Zdeno Chara's minutes down.
• Cory Stillman and Bret Hedican both made it through practice on Monday and are expected to be in the Hurricanes' lineup tonight versus the Maple Leafs.
• As Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald points out, the Flames have to start dictating the pace of the game to their opponent, not the other way around. Jarome Iginla thinks teammate Daymond Langkow is capable of scoring 40 goals.
• Jonathan Toews will make his NHL debut tomorrow night lining up between Patrick Kane and Tuomo Ruutu.
• According to coach Ken Hitchock there is a difference between being a talent and being a player, and Ron Hainsey is starting to become a player. Coach Hitchcock was busy on Monday trying out new lines in practice, however, he warns that the new line combinations should only be written in pencil.
• Panthers' center Olli Jokinen thinks he can play a lot better than he has the first two games. Meanwhile, Roberto Luongo has some advice for Panthers' fans, give Tomas Vokoun some time to adjust to his new surroundings and don't pass judgment too early on.
• Youngster Matt Niskanen has impressed the Stars' brass enough that the organization has decided to keep him up with the big club and send down Nolan Baumgartner to the minors.
• Seeing the dentist is becoming an all too common occurrence for Kings' youngster Patrick O'Sullivan.
• Barry Trotz likes the balance of his team's top three lines writes Jessica Hopp of the Tennessean.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette opines that Cristobal Huet has left the door open for Carey Price.
• According to Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune, Wild rookie James Sheppard could get into his first NHL game on Wednesday night.

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.