NHL Morning Papers--Western Conference (Saturday Edition)

Here are the Northwest Division morning papers:

• After last night's embarrassing 4-0 loss at Minnesota, the Canucks find themselves in ninth place in the Western Conference. Even after taking a huge hit from Derek Boogard on Friday, Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa still expects to be in the line up on Sunday.


• Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune thinks that the Wild is peaking at just the right time. The Wild are going to remove one stressor from Kurtis Foster's life, as GM Doug Risebrough has said that he will qualify the defenseman in the off-season. (Writer's note: Classy move by Risebrough.)


• Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun calls out the Flames brass on their mismanagement of the Kristian Huselius situation. Moving closer to the playoffs, the Flames are hoping to make the Saddledome an extremely hard place to play.


• The Oilers lost a heartbreaker last night in Colorado, however, the team thinks it may actually help to get right back to business tonight in Calgary, writes Joanne Ireland. "We could have used the second one but it's over with," said Jarret Stoll after the contest. Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal wonders how good Ales Hemsky can become.


• Joe Sakic has not lost any of his magic, writes Rick Sadowski. "So-so, I think. I don't think we played as good as we wanted. Their skilled forwards had a little too much time, I think, and got to do a little too many moves. But we battled and we came back. We came back a couple times; we tied it up 3-3 and 4-4, so just overall it's a great win for us," said Peter Forsberg after last night's huge victory.

Here are the Pacific Division morning papers:

• The Ducks lost the game, the division and a ten game home winning streak last night versus the Sharks, writes Dan Wood.


• "It's obviously a good feeling, but I think it's the first step in the process that we have in our minds right now," said Jeremy Roenick after his Sharks clinched the Pacific Division title on Friday night.


• Kings coach Marc Crawford has more than just today's game versus Dallas to worry about, writes Eric Stephens and Lisa Dillman.


• The Stars understand the importance of today's afternoon tilt with the Kings, writes Mike Heika.

**There were no Phoenix Coyotes articles this morning**

Here are the Central Division morning papers:

• Mike Babcock made the sentimental decision of putting the Grind Line out to start yesterday's game versus St. Louis, writes Helene St. James. Chris Osgood proves that he is the ultimate team guy by telling reporters that Dominik Hasek is the number one in Motown.


• The Predators defeated the Blue Jackets 2-0 last night and now control their own destiny, writes John Glennon. And to think Dan Ellis' job was in jeopardy only days ago.


• Jared Boll more than proved his worth as a teammate last night, writes Tom Reed. In light of last night's adventures, Predators enforcer Darcy Hordichuk said the Blue Jackets need a tough guy.


• The Blues won their first game in overtime on Friday night when Brad Boyes popped his 40th marker of the season past Chris Osgood. Off the ice, the Blues have had an extremely successful season at the box office.


• After Denis Savard's comments earlier this week about the Blues, you can expect a heated rematch today, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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Pre-Game Report

Here are some news and notes heading into tonight's games:

• Here are the Hurricanes' projected lines for tonight's game versus Atlanta.
• Jared Boll (hip) is going to dress for tonight's game against Nashville.
• Jay McKee will be in the line up tonight for the Blues.
• Mikael Samuelsson (groin) will miss tonight's game for Detroit.
• Valtteri Filppula (groin) is going to play tonight.
• James Sheppard, Mark Parrish, Matt Foy and Petteri Nummelin are all scratches for tonight's game versus Vancouver.
• J.S. Gigure will start against the Sharks at home.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings

UPDATE: TSN is reporting that Carey Price has made the Habs and will start the season as the team's backup goaltender.

INSTANT ANALYSIS: Price is arguably the best goaltending prospect in hockey and will definitely make the Habs a better hockey team. As I wrote in my preview of the Canadiens, Price will be the starting netminder before season's end.

• Kevin Allen of USA Today provides readers with ten reasons why the Penguins will win the Stanley Cup in 2007/08.
• Six players are battling for the final two roster spots in Capitals' camp writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.
• Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province evaluates players who remain on the roster bubble in Canucks' camp and their chances of making the team.
• As Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun writes, there really aren't as many new faces on the Leafs' roster as you may think.
• Andy Wozniewski has impressed the Leafs' brass by adding a physical dimension to his game writes Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star.
• The Tampa Tribune provides us with final observations from Lightning training camp.
• Dimitri Patzold has been named the backup goalie in San Jose. Patzold beat out Thomas Greiss for the position.
• Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Penguins may start 2008/09 in Prague. Never mind 2008/09, the Penguins won't be as successful this season if Marc-Andre Fleury can't become a consistent netminder.
• The Flyers will do their best to forget 2006/07 heading into their first game of the season at Calgary on Thursday.
• With the Dean McAmmond injury, the Sens now have an open roster spot to fill prior to the season. One player who won't be among the cuts is Nick Foligno, who has secured a roster sport with a strong training camp.
• Jeff Tambellini and Bryan Berard could be among the cuts at Islanders' camp writes Greg Logan of New York Newsday.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post speculates that the Rangers will most likely keep Marcel Hossa rather than put him through waivers.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette informs readers that Mathieu Dandenault may play forward this season in Montreal.
• Brent Burns of the Minnesota Wild has confidence in his shot this year and that could lead to a breakout offensive season for the 22 year old.
• The Ducks bounced right back from their opening night loss to defeat the Kings 4-1 on Sunday. The Ducks looked more like the 2007 Stanley Cup champions on Sunday writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• Steve Montador will be out of the Panthers lineup with a knee injury, but it is not known for how long writes Steve Gorton of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
• Dustin Penner is rounding into form at Oilers' camp after a rough start to the preseason; Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun has the story. In other news out of Oilers' camp, defenseman Mathieu Roy is okay after being slammed into the boards on Sunday by Rick Rypien of the Canucks.
• Pavel Datsyuk has been named an alternate captain in Detroit, which is a testament to his growing leadership skills writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
• Youngster Chris Conner is making roster cuts more difficult for the Stars' brass writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Both Kris Russell and Jared Boll have made the Blue Jackets' opening day lineup.
• The Hurricanes, like many other teams, are sweating more because of these new RBK jerseys. Here are some notes from Canes' camp heading into the season.
• Chris Kuc details all the roster moves from Blackhawks' camp in this morning's Chicago Tribune.
• After reading this piece in the Denver Post, you can't say Ian Lapperierre isn't a hockey warrior.
• Jochen Hecht may be the new captain of the Buffalo Sabres writes Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.
• Bruins' coach Claude Julien expects big things from Brandon Bochenski heading into the 2007/08 season. Although after reading this Boston Globe article, maybe he doesn't...
• Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun says the Flames may be the most intriguing team in the league.
• Cory Sarich is a horse, which is why the Flames signed him this off-season.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.