NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• William Houston of the Globe & Mail wonders if it is time to stop playing the NHL All-Star Game in its current form.
• Mark Spector of the National Post says the hardest part of rebuilding a hockey team are the first few steps.
• Even with yesterday's signing of Teemu Selanne, Kevin Allen of USA Today tells readers that Brian Burke is still looking to make another big move to improve his forward corps.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tries to figure out whether the Atlanta Thrashers are any worse than the Atlanta Hawks.
• With every team so close in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Bruins cannot afford to get off to a slow start post All-Star break. Apparently neither P.J. Axelsson nor Glen Murray are close to returning to action for the Bruins.
• Maxim Afinogenov is close to returning to the Sabres lineup, writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.
• The Hurricanes have given the second most goals in the entire NHL and if they want to make the playoffs, they will have to shore up their defensive game, writes Rachel Carter of the News Observer.
• Jozef Stumpel will return to the Panthers lineup for Wednesday's game against Buffalo. With a number of injuries on the roster, the Panthers made a few call-ups yesterday from Rochester of the AHL.
• Chris Higgins of the Canadiens says the team's ultimate goal this season is to win the Stanley Cup.
• Depending on their place in the Eastern Conference standings, the Devils may opt to give Martin Brodeur more time off over the remainder of the season with so many back-to-back games on the schedule.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post tells readers that the Rangers' asking price for defenseman Marek Malik is quite high. Meanwhile, Rangers coach Tom Renney is hoping that his team can play the same way they did to close out last season.
• "I think teams always play well against the elite because there's some fear if you don't, you're going to get blown out," said Islanders captain Bill Guerin about his team's game tonight versus the powerful Senators.
• To say John Paddock is sick and tired of Ray Emery's antics would be an understatement. Emery was back practicing on Tuesday morning, but there has been no word on his future with the club, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen.
• Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul is hoping to return to the team's lineup in two weeks.
• Colby Armstrong will miss the Penguins' next two road games with the flu. Here are some news and notes about the Penguins.
• Dan Boyle has returned to the Lightning's lineup and wants to be a leading hand in turning his team's fortunes around.
• The Leafs could learn a thing or two about the Blues' rebuilding plans writes Damien Cox of the Toronto Star. In other Leafs news, Cliff Fletcher had a discussion yesterday with Mats Sundin but "nothing tangible" was discussed.
• The Capitals are only one point out of first place in the Southeast Division and have their sights on winning the division.

The Western Conference morning papers are soon to follow...

• As Jeff Miller of the Orange Country Register tells us, Teemu Selanne's return to the Ducks has brought much joy to Anaheim fans, players and management.
• Mike Keenan is not going to change the approach he has with the Flames for the entire season just because the playoff push is about to get underway, writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• After his tirade last Thursday, Blackhawks coach Denis Savard was happy to see his team rebound with a good, up-tempo practice on Monday.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post provides a number of hypothetical situations in which the Avalanche would not make the playoffs
• Rick Nash gets to reunite with the two defensemen he made look foolish two weeks ago, when the Coyotes visit Columbus tonight. Tonight's game is a match up between two possible Jack Adams candidates as Wayne Gretzky and Ken Hitchcock face-off against one another. Here are the Blue Jackets' lines for tonight's game.
• The Stars are poised to make a run over the remaining portion of the season because the tough part of their schedule is behind them, writes Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News.
• Darren McCarty is trying to work his way back to the NHL and his next stop is Grand Rapids of the AHL.
• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, tells Oilers fans that the team probably needs to win 22 of its remaining 30 games to crack the NHL playoffs.
• The struggling Kings are set to embark on an eight-game road trip, which may see some of their players traded along the way.
• The Wild had a spirited practice yesterday and, more importantly, are getting closer to full health just prior to the stretch run.
• "Our missing piece is a top-six forward,'' Predators GM David Poile said on Monday.
• The last thing the Coyotes want for the stretch-run is a rental player, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• With cold temperatures in Northern Alberta, the Sharks only have hockey to worry about as they start the second-half of their season.
• Blues coach Andy Murray wants his defensemen to move the puck more efficiently, writes Jeremy Rutherford of St. Louis Disptach.
• Curtis Sanford of the Canucks will be starting tonight with Roberto Luongo in Florida with his pregnant wife.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers (Monday Edition)

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• If the Thrashers don't get Marian Hossa signed to a contract extension prior to the trade deadline, the big winger may be put on the trade market, writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Bruins star center Marc Savard misses his two regular linemates, as they been out of the lineup with injuries, writes Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe.
• John Vogl of the Buffalo News provides readers with a feature on Jhonas Enroth, the young Swedish netminder who impressed at the World Junior Championship earlier this month.
• Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford tells Luke Decock of the News Observer that he is not opposed to making a trade to shake-up his current roster.
• "We worked extremely hard. It was just one of those games that was decided in the shootout," said Panthers coach Jacques Martin after his team's 4-3 shootout loss at home to the Avalanche. Florida was not afraid to drop the gloves last night, writes Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
• As Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette tells us, Les Habitants will be looking to rebound at Long Island tomorrow night after a terrible performance at Madison Square Garden versus the Rangers on Saturday.
• Devils center John Madden received good news yesterday when doctors determined the tendons in his right ankle were not damaged after he was cut by a skate in his team's game versus Buffalo on Saturday.
• The Rangers are looking to put together their first winning streak of 2008 tonight as they face the Penguins, writes Tim Bontemps of the NY Post. Meanwhile, Rangers defenseman Marek Malik has successfully returned to the team's lineup after being a healthy scratch last week.
• The Islanders took advantage of a wounded Ottawa team and defeated the top team in the conference by a score of 3-1 on Sunday.
• Playing their third game in four days, the Senators looked to be out of gas yesterday in their loss to the Islanders, writes Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun. With the injury to his shoulder, it looks like Dany Heatley's streak of 50 goal seasons in a row will stop at two.
• Flyers winger Mike Knuble had two goals yesterday afternoon leading his team to a 6-4 victory over Washington. Meanwhile, Flyers coach John Stevens says there is no goalie controversy in Philadelphia, writes Ray Parrillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Even though the Penguins have been winning games as of late, so have the rest of their rivals, writes Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Injured goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury skated hard yesterday for the first time since sustaining a high-ankle sprain on December 6th.
• Whatever they decide to do, the Leafs directors need to act now, writes Damien Cox of the Toronto Star. If any decisions are made by the board, they apparently won't be made with Larry Tannenbaum of the MLSE Board who will be out-of-town this week.
• The Capitals came up just a little bit short yesterday afternoon against the Flyers, writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks had luck on their side last night, as Doug Weight scored with 27 seconds left in regulation and then Francois Beauchemin scored less then a minute into overtime to give Anaheim a 4-3 victory over the division-rival Sharks.
• The Flames lost 2-1 at Edmonton last night, squaring the season series between the two teams at two wins apiece. Since reaching first place in the Northwest Division the Flames have lost three straight games, writes Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun. Even with their current losing streak, don't attribute the Flames' recent struggles to the all the talk of possibly signing Curtis Joseph.
• The Blackhawks finally ended their eight-game losing skid last night with an important 3-2 shootout victory at Nashville.
• The Avalanche pulled out a 4-3 shootout victory in Florida on Sunday and will look to make it a winning road trip when they play at Tampa on Tuesday.
• With David Vyborny starting to look like his old-self, and the possible return of Fredrik Modin on Tuesday, the Blue Jackets are starting to gain more confidence about their ability to score.
• The Stars' rookies are a little lighter in the pocket today, after last night's team dinner, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press tells readers that Scotty Bowman has no plans to leave the Red Wings for Toronto.
• The streaky Oilers made it four wins in a row last night with a 2-1 victory over the division-rival Flames. The Oilers' best players were better than the Flames' best players last night, writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
• There has been no sophomore slump for the Kings' Anze Kopitar this season, writes Dan Arritt of the L.A. Times.
• The Wild defeated Phoenix last night by a score of 4-1 and did so by getting back to their roots, and that is defense-first hockey; Michael Russo of the Star Tribune has the story.
• The Predators dropped to 2-4 in the shootout this season after last night's loss to Chicago, writes Jessica Hopp of the Tennessean. In positive news, it appears Predators defenseman Shea Weber is close to returning to the lineup.
• After last night's 4-1 loss at Minnesota, it very apparent that the Wild has the Coyotes' number.
• "We had them tonight," said Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick after his team blew a late third period lead and eventually lost 4-3 in overtime at Anaheim
• Blues forward Keith Tkachuk seemed to call out his younger teammates after the Blues' 4-3 shootout loss to Vancouver on Sunday.
• Alain Vigneault let the Sedin twins play a ton last night at St. Louis and it paid off with a 4-3 shootut victory, writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.