NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Wednesday)

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

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

• In Detroit, it all starts with defense, writes John Niyo of the Detroit News. Did you know Pavel Datsyuk leads the Red Wings with 46 hits during the post-season. In contract news, Brad Stuart would like to stay in Detroit after this season and it sounds like the Red Wings would like to have him. Here are the five favorites for the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Red Wings continue their winning ways. Finally, the Wings' Cup run has been good for Detroit's struggling economy.
• Dave Molinari from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lists his three keys to the game tonight. Penguins coach Michel Therien thinks the Wings get away with a little too much obstruction. When playing against the Red Wings, you always feel like you are chasing the puck, says Pens winger Gary Roberts. Here is a Q & A with Kris Letang. For Game 3 tonight, Mike Babcock says he won't be matching forward lines as closely as he did in Games 1 and 2.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• William Houston of the Globe & Mail tells readers that the Leafs have been replaced on this week's Hockey Night in Canada national broadcast by the Canadiens/Penguins game.
• Bruce Arthur of the National Post explains to readers that the Leafs' current situation is all about money.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today has a feature on Wild star Marian Gaborik.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Marian Hossa was the star of the night on Tuesday as he tallied a hat trick and led the Thrashers to a 5-1 victory over the powerful Red Wings.
• Milan Lucic of the Bruns is ecstatic to have a chance to participate in All-Star weekend after he was named to the roster for the Young Stars Game. In other Bruins news, it appears that the flu bug has hit the team.
• Sabres GM Darcy Regier has not ruled out trading Brian Campbell after the defenseman cut-off contract talks with the team. Meanwhile, former Sabres forward Chris Drury says he has too much concern about the way his new team is playing to worry about tonight being his first game against his former teammates.
• After last night's 5-4 loss at Toronto, the Hurricanes find themselves in second place in the Southeast Division. Hurricanes netminder Michael Leighton was surprised that he was pulled after two periods of play last night.
• Injured defenseman Cory Murphy joined his Panthers teammates at practice yesterday for the first time in two months.
• The Canadiens came into Tuesday night's game with the Islanders very prepared and it showed as they made up for their lackluster effort at MSG on Saturday with a 3-1 victory at Long Island. In other Habs news, defenseman Patrice Brisebois is worried that his foot injury is more serious than originally thought.
• The risk of infection is too much for Devils forward John Madden to suit up tonight when the Devils face the Islanders, writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post believes Rangers coach Tom Renney is being too soft on his players. Meanwhile, John Dellapina of the NY Daily News tells readers that Jaromir Jagr has been playing the last few weeks with a foot injury.
• The Islanders only mustered 18 shots on net in their 3-1 loss to the Habs last night, writes Mark Herrmann of Newsday.
• Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun says that the Senators better hope they don't play the Capitals in the playoffs as Washington defeated Ottawa 4-2 last night and swept the season series.
• For all the antics that come along with Steve Downie's play, the rugged winger has more talent than most people think.
• With Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy being named to the Young Stars roster, that means four Penguins will be off to Atlanta for All-Star weekend.
• "I have never been more embarrassed," said Lightning coach John Tortorella after his team's 3-0 loss at home to the Avalanche.
• Even with all the external pressure and commotion, the Leafs were victorious last night over the struggling Hurricanes by a score of 5-4.
• It looks like Olaf Kolzig has entertained the idea of retirement, writes Matt Wise of the Washington Post.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Scott Niedermayer proved how valuable his mid-season addition has been to the Ducks last night with one goal and two assists in his team's 4-2 victory over the Stars.
• "We're getting embarassed," said Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr after his team's 3-0 loss at Nashville on Tuesday. Two of Curtis Joseph's former teammates, Jason Arnott and Greg deVries only had glowing things to say about the newest Flames netminder.
• Patrick Lalime will continue to get the starts in net for the Blackhawks if he keeps winning says coach Denis Savard.
• The Blue Jackets won 3-2 last night over Vancouver and are having fun along the way, writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Not only was Nikolai Zherdev the best player on the ice last night, but his two points were overshadowed by his important blocked shot with less than a minute remaining.
• "We got beat in the special teams game, we got beat in the physical game, we got beat on the scoreboard, all the way around," said Stars coach Dave Tippett after his team's 4-2 loss at Anaheim last night.
• It looks like the rich may get richer as Kevin Allen of USA Today touches on the possibility of Marian Hossa getting traded to the Red Wings.
• "There shouldn't be a letdown because we're not in a position to afford one," said Oilers winger Ethan Moreau after his team's 3-1 loss at home to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
• "Tonight was a very strong game for us," said Kings coach Marc Crawford after his team's impressive road victory against the streaking Oilers.
• Mikko Koivu is unlike most young players, in that he does not have a problem with playing a defensive game, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• Speed beat size last night in Nashville as the Predators defeated the Flames 3-0.
• Coyotes leader Shane Doan led the way last night in his team's impressive 5-3 victory over the Sharks.
• The Sharks are a strong road team but they struggled last night versus the young and exuberant Coyotes, falling 5-3 in Glendale.
• Blues coach Andy Murray doesn't care about his team's place in the division, he just wants to be among the eight playoff teams in the Western Conference.
• The Canucks just weren't ready for the Blue Jackets' intensity to start last night's game and, in the end, they couldn't come all the way back and lost 3-2.
  
  

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• There is a toxic stew surrounding the Maple Leafs right now writes Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail.
• Here are some news and notes from around the NHL courtesy of the National Post.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• It looks like Todd Bertuzzi may be nearing a return to the Anaheim lineup, however, he still has days where he really doesn't feel well writes Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register.
• The Blackhawks didn't bring the same energy level last night against the Blue Jackets as they did Sunday against the Red Wings writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post provides readers with five reasons why the Avalanche have been one of the best teams in the NHL since last season's trade deadline.
• As Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock pointed out yesterday after his team's 4-2 victory Chicago, "expectations are changing." Rick Nash really impressed his teammates last night with a Gordie Howe hat trick. One of general manger Scott Howson's best moves this off-season was picking up defenseman Jan Hejda writes Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch.
• The Stars' management situation may have changed, but the results on the ice did not, as Dallas was defeated 4-3 by the Sharks in a shootout on Wednesday night.
• The Red Wings' plane got stuck in the mud before leaving St. Louis, so the team stayed over the Gateway city and practiced yesterday.
• The Oilers got a terrific performance from Mathieu Garon as he gave the team a chance to win last night's game in a shootout, which it did 1-0. Meanwhile, Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal calls out Ales Hemsky for being consistently inconsistent. Long-time Edmonton Sun writer Terry Jones tells readers that Kelly Buchberger has his sites on one day becoming an NHL coach.
• Kings' forward Alexander Frolov only had to participate for a short-time in practice after playing an astonishing 30 minutes on Tuesday night.
• According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, Marian Gaborik is set to return to the Wild lineup tonight at Edmonton.
• Predators' defenseman Shea Weber practiced for the first time since injuring his knee in the team's first game and is tentatively scheduled to return to the Predators' lineup on Saturday night. Here are some news and notes about the Predators and Blackhawks prior to tonight's game.
• Nick Boynton thinks the NHL rule that got him suspended for tonight's game versus the Sharks is "a little stupid."
• Since Ryan Clowe was lost to the Sharks for an extended period of time, winger Steve Bernier has felt the need to play a more physical style of play.
• The Blues have to make sure they learn from their win over Detroit and keep that type of intensity for games against teams that are inferior to the Red Wings.
• Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun has the details from a boring 1-0 shootout victory for the Oilers over the Canucks.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Leafs take their gong show on the road tonight in Boston. "This isn't anything that we really care about. It's something that happened and we move on," said third-year forward Alexander Steen in reference to the Jiri Tlusty photos.
• The Capitals spent a lot of money last off-season, but those moves have yet to pay off writes Tarik-El Bashir of the Washington Post. In positive Capitals news, Chris Clark is slated to return to the lineup on Friday versus Florida.
• Last night's performance by Vincent Lecavalier was a prime example of why you pay the superstars the big bucks. After last night's 6-1 win over division-leading Carolina, the Bolts are gaining ground on the leaders of the Southeast Division.
• Penguins' prospect Kris Letang has been called up from Wilkes-Barre and is the only one of the Pens' six starting defensemen who shoots right. Marc-Andre Fleury is slated to get the start tonight versus the Islanders.
• The Flyers' have finally conceded that Simon Gagne has a concussion.
• This year's version of the Sabres, has a lot in common with last year's version of the Senators writes James Gordon of the Ottawa Citizen. While Nick Foligno is disappointed about being demoted to AHL, he is looking forward to playing more minutes. You'll be hard pressed to find a better leader in the game than Daniel Alfredsson.
• Bill Guerin has been cleared to return from his eye injury and will be able to play Thursday versus the Penguins.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post says the true sign of Rangers progress is their new found success over the ever-dominant Devils. Jaromir Jagr was terrific last night for the Blueshirts, as the Rangers prevailed 4-2.
• "They're the better hockey club," John Madden said after last night's loss to the Rangers. Lost in the Devils' disappointing performance was the fact that Martin Brodeur was unable to register his 500th win against their Hudson rivals. In worrisome news for Devils fans, Paul Martin was unable to finish last night's game due to a back injury.
• The Canadiens brass believes that their current goaltending situation is creating healthy competition writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. Jack Todd of the Gazette opines that Mike Komisarek has been the Habs' MVP so far this season. In other news about the Habs, winger Michael Ryder has been moved to the team's third line.
• Panthers' leader and captain Olli Jokinen has called on his entire team to be better and raise their expectations as the Panthers move forward. One of the reasons for the Panthers' recent struggles have to do with taking too many penalties. "The first 15 games of the season we were much more even penalties for and against. We have to be more disciplined to stay out of the box," said coach Jacques Martin after practice yesterday.
• The Hurricanes have now been dominated twice by the Lightning this season writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer. The Canes held both Erik Cole and Andrew Ladd off the ice last night.
• The Sabres will attempt to begin to turnaround their season tonight versus the top team in the Eastern Conference.
• The Thrashers' new first-line is working wonders for Don Waddell writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Steve Weeks has been put in charge of getting Kari Lehtonen back into game shape.
• The Bruins need to improve both aspects of their special teams play if they hope to gain ground on their Northeast counterparts.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.