NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Saturday)

Here are the morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which begin tonight at 8pm EST:

Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):

• This series is the classic case of age versus experience. The Detroit Free Press profiles both team's head coaches Mike Babcock and Michel Therien. In injury news, Johan Franzen will not play in Game 1 tonight but is likely to return during the Finals. Here is a video roundtable of Ken Holland and a couple Detroit sportswriters. This series could be one for the ages, writes John Niyo.
• Dave Molinari wonders whether the Penguins can win one of the first two games on the road. Colby Armstrong is still a little bit upset that he was traded from the Penguins just minutes before the trade deadline. The city is going crazy over the Pens, writes Anya Sostek. Meanwhile, Gary Roberts may not crack the team's line-up for Game 1.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Fantasy Watch: Scouring the Waiver Wire

F Jeff Halpern, Tampa Bay Lightining
Since being dealt to Tampa, Halpern has been on fire scoring seven points in his last four games. This recent scoring outburst is new territory for Halpern, who has never been much of a scorer, failing to exceed the 50 point plateau in his entire NHL career. Receiving time on the power-play, Halpern has notched five pp points in his short stay with Tampa, giving him a surprising 10 points in 11 games with his new club. Unfortunately, Halpern recently went down with a sore back and is currently day-to-day. Hopefully this is just a minor setback for the forward, who is looking to rejuvenate his career in Tampa.
Fantasy Take: Although these words may sound strange, Halpern makes out to be a decent fantasy option upon return. The forward has meshed very well with his new team and his current stats make him a good lower end option. Monitor his status before inserting him into your lineup.

F Colby Armstrong, Atlanta Thrashers
Unable to find success in Pittsburgh, Armstrong seems to have found a new home in Atlanta registering three goals and seven points in his first nine games with the club. Once considered a fantasy bust, Armstrong has proven he can produce without Crosby and has given Atlanta another scoring threat. Enjoying a fantastic rookie season, Armstrong had trouble regaining his early success and found himself dealt on deadline day in part of the Marian Hossa deal. Hopefully for Atlanta all Armstrong needed was a change of scenery to get his career back on track.
Fantasy Take: Armstrong has been a reliable forward with the Thrashers, scoring six points in eight games this month. Teams looking for help down the stretch should consider Armstrong, who is enjoying success in Atlanta.

F Andrew Ladd, Chicago Blackhawks
After failing to live up to expectations in Carolina, Ladd finds himself in Chicago after being dealt for Tuomo Ruutu. Drafted fourth overall by Carolina, Ladd never found his rhythm with the Canes, exceeding the 20 point mark only once in his three year stay with the club. Looking to prove that he belongs in the NHL, Ladd has come out on fire with Chicago, scoring eight points in his first ten games. Ladd has been given time on the power-play, as well as more minutes in Chicago which has translated into success for the young forward. Although Ladd may not help your fantasy team this year, he has certainly improved his stock come next year's draft.
Fantasy Take: Ladd has tremendous talent but never seemed to get it going in Carolina. Fortunately for Ladd, it seems as if he has found a home in Chicago, but has been too inconsistent to warrant a starting spot on your roster.

F Samuel Pahlsson, Anaheim Ducks
Pahlsson has been relatively quiet all season long, but finds himself on four game point streak, scoring five points over that span. Receiving plenty of minutes over his past few games, Pahlsson has rewarded the club with his strong play and excellent passing skills. Currently the forward has six goals and 15 points on the year.
Fantasy Take: Although a four game point streak is impressive, Pahlsson has failed to produce all year and shouldn't be starting on any fantasy rosters.


For Illegal Curve I'm Jonny Remis

Fanatsy Watch: Scouring the Waiver Wire

F Radim Vrbata, Phoenix Coyotes
After posting a career best 41 points last season with Chicago, Vrbata finds himself on pace to eclipse that total in his first year with Phoenix. Scoring 14 points in 21 games, Vrbata has been a a great surprise and a key contributer on Phoenix's squad. Receiving over 20 minutes of ice time in the last two contests, Vrbata has notched three goals and two assists in those games. With nine points in total this month, Vrbata has been extremely productive should continue to give Phoenix an offensive boost.
Fantasy Take: Vrbata has always been a streaky player so it's advised to wait and see if he can produce on a consistent basis before inserting him in your lineup.

F Colby Armstrong, Pittsburgh Penguins
After being predicted to be a great sleeper pick last year, Armstrong turned out to be one of the biggest busts of the season, totaling only 34 points. Off every fantasy radar this season, Armstrong continued to struggle, scoring only one point in the first month of the season. After being regulated to the third line, and eventually becoming a healthy scratch, it appears that Armstrong has finally gotten the message. Receiving playing time with Crosby over the past few games, Armstrong has scored one goal and three assists. Although those numbers aren't eye-popping, Armstrong may soon make his way back onto the fantasy radar if he continues to play with Crosby.
Fantasy Take: Armstrong's fantasy value rests in the hands of Crosby. If Armstrong is playing with Crosby then he could be a decent injury fill in, if not, then stay away from him.

F R.J. Umberger, Philadelphia Flyers
In his third year with Philadelphia, Umberger is having his best start as a pro, scoring 13 points in 20 games. Although he gets overlooked in Philadelphia because of bigger names, Umberger has been the most productive point scorer on the Flyers this past month not named Briere or Richards. Although he won't receive as much playing time as the other superstars, Umberger has given Philadelphia another offensive weapon who has demonstrated a great passing ability.
Fantasy Take: Umberger has had a very successful month thus far, scoring eight points in 12 games. Look to see if he can continue his success before making a claim for the third year forward.

D Ed Jovanovski, Phoenix Coyotes
After battling injuries throughout last season, Jovanovski has been 100% healthy so far, and has also been quite productive. Scoring 15 points in 21 games, Jovo has reclaimed his status as one of the top offensive defenseman. Although he struggled to find his form in the first month of the season, Jovo has since gotten hot, scoring 12 points this month while currently riding a four game point streak.
Fantasy Take: Point scoring defeseman are hard to find, so if Jovo is on your waiver wire pick him up immediately. Although his point per game pace this month will fall, still expect a 40 point output from the former Canuck.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis

NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Tony Gallagher of the National Post opines that the hockey being played in the NHL's Northwest Division is boring.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today believes that the Penguins have a variety of problems not just goaltending problems.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• If Don Waddell hires a coach this season, it will be from inside the organization writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• The struggling Bruins' offense got the medicine it needed (aka the Leafs defense) and tallied five goals on the way to a 5-2 victory. Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli told a Toronto radio station that injured center Patrice Bergeron could very well be gone for the entire season. Chiarelli also noted in the interview how close Tuukka Rask is to playing a substantial role for the Bruins this season.
• The song remains the same for the Sabres as they were defeated 3-2 by the Senators on Thursday night. Sabres' GM Darcy Regier is sick of watching boring hockey, not as a general manager with sour grapes, but as a fan. (Writer's note: His take is interesting, and I have to say I agree with most, if not all, of what he says.)
• The Hurricanes are frustrated over the amount of blowout losses they have suffered this season writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer. Canes' winger Erik Cole will be out 7-10 days to allow the swelling in his neck to subside.
• This time the Panthers didn't blow a late third period lead as they successfully closed out the struggling Capitals 2-1 on Thursday night. Don't expect Jacques Martin to make any rash trades writes George Richards of the Miami Herald.
• The Habs are hoping usual fourth-liner Tom Kostopoulos will add some life to the team's top line. (Writer's note: I guess cousin Jesse was unavailable for first line duty...)
• The Devils are hoping Paul Martin won't have to miss another game, after he left the Devils/Rangers game with back problems earlier this week.
• The Rangers were dishing out all the cliche answers about why they are suddenly winning games after last night's 4-3 shootout victory over the Flyers. Last night's victory moved the Rangers into a tie for first place with the Flyers.
• "I don't think that was our best effort," said Islanders' goalie Rick DiPietro after his team's 3-2 loss to the Penguins.
• The spotlight was on Daniel Alfredsson last night in Ottawa as the Senators' captain was playing in hi 800th career game and topped out that milestone game with two goals of his own. (Writer's note: I have a suggestion, more stories about Daniel Alfredsson and less stories about Sean Avery. Heatley and Spezza may get all the press clipping in Ottawa, but Alfredsson is team's best player.)
• Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News has been very impressed with the play of Mike Richards this season.
• Michel Therrien scratched Darryl Sydor, Colby Armstrong and Mark Recchi for last night's game, which the Penguins won 3-2 over the Islanders.
• The Lightning defensemen have done a great job of collectively picking up the slack for their injured defensive leader Dan Boyle writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• "We weren't ready. We weren't prepared to do the job tonight and that's why we lost," said Leafs' defenceman Tomas Kaberle after last night's 5-2 loss to the Bruins. One of the many problems for the Leafs, is their inability to get the puck quickly out of their own zone.
• The Capitals inability to get goals from anyone other than Alexander Ovechkin is killing the team's chances of turning around their prolonged slump.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• All indications are that Blues' rookie David Perron will remain with the NHL club after he plays his ninth game tonight.
• The Sharks completely demolished the Coyotes last night, defeating them 6-0 on the road. Both defenseman Craig Rivet and forward Marcel Goc missed last night's game due to injury. (Writer's note: The Sharks have played six games in nine days, three of those games were against the lowly Coyotes, yet Evgeni Nabokov played each and every game. When does Ron Wilson plan to give him some rest?)
• "The last three games have been unacceptable," Coyotes' captain Shane Doan said after last night's embarrassing performance.
• The Predators played the role of comeback kids last night with a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime victory over division-rival Chicago. The Predators are proving to have two strong scoring lines writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• The Oilers continue to struggle putting goals on the board as they were defeated last night 4-2 by the Wild. John MacKinnon of the Edmonton Journal thinks there is a goaltending controversy on the verge of taking place in the Albertan capital. Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun has an interesting piece on the Oilers' youngsters playing down in Springfield of the AHL.
• Niklas Backstrom was pulled from the Wild net last night, yet he wasn't injured and his team actually had the lead. If Backstrom is in Lemaire's doghouse, then he won't have any trouble finding Keith Carney who has been a healthy scratch eight times this season.
• The Ducks' top line was better than the Kings' top line and that's why the Ducks edged Los Angeles 6-3 at the Staples Center on Thursday night. "Hopefully we're turning a corner and understanding how difficult it is to win in the NHL," said Ducks' coach Randy Carlyle after last night's contest. (Writer's note: Randy, what does that even mean? Your team won the Stanley Cup last season.)
• Flames' netminder Miikka Kiprusoff is hoping to build off of his own performance in Tuesday's win over the Wild.
• The Avalanche will have Andrew Brunette in their lineup even after he took a scary spill in practice two days ago, and also Jose Theodore will be the starting netminder for the Avs tonight when they take on the Stars.
• Fans of offense in hockey may cringe when they read Dave Tippett's comments in this Dallas Morning News article.
• Dominik Hasek seems to be having trouble with the lack of shots against that his team gives up but he knows he has to play better for the Wings.
• Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch has an interesting article on the openness of practices in the NHL. Here are the Blue Jackets' probable lines for tonight's game.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: Let the games begin

It seems like only yesterday that that Ducks defeated the Sens in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals to become the 2006/07 champions. Somehow, the off-season is already complete and this afternoon (at 11:00 CST) the L.A. Kings take on the Anaheim Ducks overseas in London. With much excitement around the league it looks like 2007/08 will be a fascinating season.

On to the morning papers:

• With regards to the Steve Downie suspension, the NHL got it exactly right this time writes Erik Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail.
• Here is a list, from the aforementioned Duhatschek, of the top 200 players to draft for you poolies out there.
• If Nikolai Zherdev is not in the Blue Jackets' top-six forward lines, it appears he will request a trade out of Columbus. Meanwhile, the Jackets were defeated by the Hurricanes 2-1 in exhibition action on Friday night. The game didn't lack physicality writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer.
• With the preseason coming to a close, Stars' coach Dave Tippett has some concerns about the Stars game but he is not going to put some of his injured players in the lineup to make the team more consistent heading into the season.
• Kyle Quincey has a broken hand and will be out of the lineup at least two weeks writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. Perhaps the Wings already miss Quincy's defensive presence as they were defeated 6-4 by the Leafs last night.
• The Oilers have yet to name a captain and coach Craig MacTavish says he would prefer to avoid having alternating captains throughout the season; Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun has the story.
• The Oilers only have one preseason game remaining but don't expect their veterans in the lineup for tonight's contest says Craig MacTavish.
• The Panthers completed their exhibition schedule last night with a 1-0 loss to the Thrashers.
• The fact that both Kings/Ducks games in London have sold out is a pleasant surprise for all involved.
• Michael Russo of the Star Tribune examines the possibility of the Wild signing youngster James Sheppard to an NHL contract prior to the start of the season.
• Patrice Brisebois has hardly even practiced but that hasn't stopped coach Guy Carbonneau from pairing up his former teammate with Roman Hamrlik to form the team's number two defense pairing.
• Greg Zanon has proven himself to the Predators' brass and will be a vital part of the team's top six defense. In other Predators' news, Dan Ellis has won the team's backup goaltending job to start the season.
• As Bridget Wentworth of the Newark Star-Ledger tells us, Brent Sutter is not afraid to shake things up at Devils' camp; the new coach has split up the checking combination of John Madden and Jay Pandolfo. "I don't like the like the idea of having a checking line that's just your checking line," Sutter told the New York Post on Friday.
• With Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery sitting out last night's exhibition game versus the Islanders, the Rangers will probably not be able to experiment with their new line combinations before the regular season begins next week.
• It wouldn't be MSG without drama and yesterday was no exception as MSG filed suit against the NHL on Friday afternoon.
• Brendan Shanahan and Scott Gomez are starting to develop some good chemistry writes Steve Zipay of New York Newsday.
• Bruce Garrioch explains where both sides are at in the Dany Heatley contract negotiations in this morning's Ottawa Sun.
• Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren thinks the Steve Downie 20-game suspension was a little bit long, but respects the decision of Colin Campbell. (Writer's note: I think Holmgren and Nick Kypreos are the only people who believe this suspension is excessive.)
• Coyotes' forward Steven Reinprecht says there is more enthusiasm and energy around the team this season with so many youngsters on the roster.
• Colby Armstrong will try not to beat himself up so much if he struggles to score goals early on in the season writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Meanwhile, the Pens were defeated by the Sabres 6-5 in exhibition action on Friday night.
• Steve Bernier is fitter than he was last season at training camp writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• Brad Boyes had two goals and an assist in the Blues' 4-2 victory over the Wild in exhibition action on Friday night.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune details what the Lightning management and coaching staff bases their roster decisions on.
• Paul Maurice says the Leafs need better performances from their goaltenders writes Mark Zwolinksi of the Toronto Star.
• Bill Lankhoff of the Toronto Sun has the story of Chad Kilger's long road to success.
• Curtis Sanford was sensational in his team's 3-2 victory over the Flames on Friday night.
• Tarik El-Bashir documents the nervous times of Capitals' youngster David Steckel in his quest to make the NHL roster.
• The Ducks have an opening day salary cap hit of $45.8 million writes Dan Wood of the Orange Country Register.
• Kari Lehtonen is looking sharp heading into the season writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune tells us that coach Denis Savard doesn't think all of his players have turned the switch on yet.
• Zdeno Chara doesn't want to answer questions about his shoulder writes Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald.
• Flames' players approve of the length of Steve Downie's suspension writes Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.