Thieves steal Lucic's Memorial Cup ring

From David Carrigg of the Vancouver Province:

Young NHL star Milan Lucic's prized Memorial Cup ring and several valuable tournament watches were stolen from his Vancouver home Thursday.

Milan's mom, Shezana, told The Province that thieves entered the family's East Vancouver home at noon by smashing in the back door.

Read the entire article here.

I'm sure Lucic is just glad that his family is alright.

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston:

• The Canadiens were as close to perfect as a team can be for a Game 7 last night, writes Pat Hickey. Habs coach Guy Carbonneau made a good line up move by switching Alexei Kovalev onto Saku Koivu's line for last night's contest. The Habs should enjoy this victory because in Red Fisher's opinion they were outplayed in four of the seven games.
• "It's a good feeling to have, proving a lot of people wrong. I think we can build a lot on what we did this year and carry it on to next year," said Bruins rookie Milan Lucic after his team's 5-0 loss in Game 7. It was tough to beat the impressive Carey Price last night, writes Bob Ryan. Last night's game may have been Glen Murray's last as a Bruin.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• The Penguins have been very pleased with their acquisition of big defenseman Hal Gill at the trade deadline, writes Dave Molinari. Meanwhile, Jarko Ruutu has found his comfort zone in Pittsburgh.
• Apparently the Senators are looking to add Fabian Brunnstrom to their forward mix for next season.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• The Capitals' roster, which is heavy on Europeans, is responding just fine to the playoff grind, writes Jason LaCanfora. Alexander Ovechkin is the main reason that the Capitals were victorious in Game 6, so can he be the reason they advance to the second round too? "Well, we had no doubts in this room," said Caps netminder Cristobal Huet about his team being down 2-0 early in Game 6.
• The Flyers still have one more chance to close out the Capitals tonight, writes Phil Sheridan. One mistake can change the complexion of a game and it did last night, writes Tim Panaccio. Riley Cote is hoping to replace Mike Knuble's scoring with some energy and physical play.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• It is evident by this article that Martin Brodeur had become mentally exhausted from the Devils season. Devils fans can say bye-bye to Karel Rachunek.
• Things are looking up for the Lundqvist brothers after some hard times this season, writes Jay Greenberg. Henrik Lundqvist is very deserving of his Vezina Trophy nomination. The Rangers will be starting on the road in Round 2 regardless of if they play the Habs or the Pens.

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Check out the promos for the new Mike Myers hockey film, the Love Guru. Illegal Curve eagerly anticipates the release...
2. Despite the loss to the US, Canada's women retain the #1 ranking.
3. Less cowbell?
4. An interesting SI article on Boston College's Nathan Gerbe.
5. Ken Campbell comments on the Wild-Avs series.
6. Elliotte Friedman looks at the peculiarities of the Nonis firing.
7. Jennifer Floyd Engel ponders the disappearance of Chris Pronger. Likely still looking for that missing baby furniture...
8. Is Milan Lucic the new Cam Neely?
9. Memorial Cup History, the 1924 edition.
10. Helene St. James wonders what Fabian Brunstrom will do in the wake of the Nonis firing. Not sure what the fuss is here, Fabian Brunstrom sounds a lot like Jiri Dopita to me.
11. James Duthie thinks Bryan Murray is about one game away from being Nonised.
12. More from Duthie, who hearts the Capitals.
13. Some quotes on the Sean Avery screening scandal.
14. Jason Reitman's thoughts on the Kings (Passover at Cammy's house) and the playoffs.
15. Bob McKenzie's reaction to the firing of Dave Nonis.
16. The Best of Seven blog suggests that the Toronto Maple Leafs have the best fans.
17. The Unofficial USHL Blog hands out its end of season awards.
18. The weekly release from the USHL.
19. The Hot List from the Hockey News.
20. A preview of the OHL Western Conference Finals.
21. Ross McKeon cites lack of mental preparation and passion as reasons for the Ducks poor start to the playoffs.
22. Canada defeats Denmark at the World Under-18's.
23. Patrick Thoreson wants to return to action this series. He must be nuts (nut?).
24. Joe Pelletier looks at Hockey's Greatest Pests.
25. Someone really dislikes the Wild. Like I mean REALLY dislikes them.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. The Senators have made a splash in the trade market, acquiring Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves.
2. Michigan is back on top of the INCH college hockey rankings.
3. Pierre Lebrun says that making a splash at the trade deadline has its risks.
4. Ryan O'Byrne, fresh off a call up to the Habs, allegedly steals a woman's purse in Tampa. Must have been trying to fit in better with the Canadiens.
5. Bruins fans see a little Cam in Milan.
6. NHL.com with its 6-Pack of games to watch this week.
7. A profile on the Manchester Monarchs Danny Taylor.
8. The Hot or Not List from the CHL.
9. Al Strachan writes that a complete rebuild of an NHL team no longer makes sense.
10. Ken Campbell jumps on the Ken Holland to Toronto bandwagon.
11. Interesting story about the resurgence of hockey in post-Katrina Biloxi, Mississippi.
12. Fanhouse writes that Evgeni Malkin is thriving in the vacuum left by Sidney Crosby's injury.
13. Damien Cox makes an excellent point, further contributing to the possibility that the end may be at hand.
14. Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province believes that the NHL-UFC marriage is not good for hockey.
15. The Capitals may have found the cure for Sean Avery.
16. Luke Decock (best name ever?) says its time to have a Best Defensive Defenseman award. Kyle TheWang agrees.
17. Michael Farber takes a shot at NHL refs and picks the 2010 US Olympic Team.
18. Former Michigan Wolverine defender Kevin Quick has signed an AHL deal with Norfolk after allegedly stealing a credit card and racking up charges. Note the quote by Wayne Gretzky at the bottom of the article.
19. Stephen Valiquette is making a name for himself on Broadway.
20. Spector discusses the current trade rumours from around the NHL.
21. Former NHL'er Rob Cimetta details the story of how he survived the 9-11 Attacks.
22. The Puck Stops Here has an interesting study on why the number of high scoring Americans is going down while the number of American players continues to rise.
23. Scott Burnside tells us that the SE Division race might be a fight to the finish, as all teams have a chance to take it.
24. The Zapruder film of a brawl involving RIT and Canisius College.
25. Why does Rowbear Nilsson dress like a douche?

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatshek and Alan Maki of the Globe & Mail examine the affect of the soaring Canadian dollar on small-market U.S. clubs.
• With Eric Lindros scheduled to retire this afternoon, Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail reviews his controversial career.
• Hockey Night in Canada fans will enjoy this week's Hot Stove as it will include journalists for this weekend's Hall-of-Fame game broadcast between the Rangers and Leafs.
• Mark Messier believes that leaders aren't born, rather, they are made.
• Damien Cox argues both sides of the Eric Lindros Hall-of-Fame debate in this morning's Toronto Star.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• It is easy to detect the excitement in the voice of Chris Bourque (son of Ray) heading into the second game of his NHL career.
• With the struggling play of the Leafs so far this season, frustration has begun to set-in for Jason Blake. With the expected return of Bryan McCabe and Darcy Tucker this weekend, the Leafs' roster could be near 100% healthy.
• The Bolts finally got a 3-1 victory over the Panthers last night and one of the reasons for their victory was their ability to keep things in perspective during the team's recent struggles.
• The Penguins found out this year's version of the Flyers is far more difficult to play against than last year's team as they were defeated by Philadelphia 3-1 on home ice last night. Expect Marc-Andre Fleury to get the start in net tonight as the Penguins take on the Rangers. Pens' defenseman Ryan Whitney hopes to be back in the lineup for tonight's game.
• Flyers' center Daniel Briere says last night' s victory was a big confidence boost for Philadelphia. It looks like coach John Stevens made the right line changes last night as both Mike Richards' line and Daniel Briere' line tallied markers.
• Ray Emery will get the start tonight against Washington, however, John Paddock has been very displeased with the goaltender's work ethic in practice. Jason Spezza won't be in the lineup tonight versus the Capitals, but the center is shooting for a return this weekend.
• Even though he hasn't been scoring goals lately, Mike Comrie has still made quite an impact for the Islanders writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• Tom Renney wants to get his team out of its scoring slump and is stressing more shots on net in the process. Henrik Lundqvist will get his 16th straight start in net tonight when the Rangers host the Penguins. (Writer's note: I understand the schedule has been quite spread out during the early part of the season, but 16 games in a row is far too many. Renney, and a number of other coaches who are overplaying their top players, will regret their decisions come April or May.)
• Patrik Elias initiated a talk with Devils' coach Brent Sutter to make sure the coach knew he wasn't slacking off. Martin Brodeur says he has to adjust to the Devils' new style of play.
• Rookie goalies will be the story in Boston tonight as the Bruins give Tuukka Rask his first NHL start versus fellow rookie Carey Price of the Habs.
• Tomas Vokoun's frustration was boiling over after last night's loss to the Lightning; the veteran netminder can't help but stress the importance of these early-season intra-division contests. "You can't tell me we were ready to play," Vokoun said.
• The Hurricanes scoring depth is one of the main reasons for the team's early season success writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer. The Canes hope to add to the Lightning's road struggles when they host them tonight.
• Clarke MacArthur made the coaches decision to put him on the ice in overtime look great, as the winger converted on a pass from Drew Stafford to give the Sabres a 2-1 victory over the Bruins.
• The Bruins are working hard they just can't seem to catch a break writes Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald. Bruins' rookie Milan Lucic was right back in the lineup last night after being a healthy scratch over the weekend.
• The status of sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is up in the air for Friday night's game versus Florida after the winger left Tuesday's game against Washington with back spasms. Meanwhile, former Thrashers' winger Scott Mellanby thinks that the team should already have named current assistant coach Brad McCrimmon the team's new head coach.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Even though the Ducks lost to the Coyotes in overtime last night, goaltender J.S. Giguere wants the team to focus on the fact they came back from a 4-2 deficit and salvaged a point. The Ducks really miss Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer writes Mark Whicker in the morning's Orange County Register.
• Dion Phaneuf's leg injury will not force him to miss any time so the workhorse defenseman will be in the lineup tonight as the Flames take on the Canucks.
• The Blackhawks impressive 5-2 victory over the Blue Jackets was overshadowed by the loss of Kevyn Adams to what looks like a season ending injury. Patrick Lalime picked up the victory last night for the Hawks, and coach Denis Savard said after the game, "Whoever's hot is going to play."
• The Avalanche demonstrated their great depth last night as neither of their first two lines could create offense, so their third line accounted for all three goals the team scored in its 4-3 shootout win over Edmonton. Terry Frei reminds Avs fans that impressive youngster Tom Gilbert was once property of their favorite franchise before being traded for Tommy Salo in 2004.
• Nevermind their impressive 3-1 victory over the Stars, Mike Modano became the all-time leading U.S. born scorer last night with two goals in San Jose. (Writer's note: While there, arguably, may have been better American players than Modano, there were none more exciting to watch as a fan of the game.)
• While they didn't register a victory last night against the Avs, the Oilers played a spirited hard fought game. "Our effort was outstanding I thought, we worked our tails off tonight and played a real good game," said coach Craig MacTavish after the contest.
• Red Wings' winger Henrik Zetterberg broke the team record for consecutive games with a point to start the season in the Wings' 3-2 shootout victory over Nashville on Wednesday night.
• The Predators were happy that they were able to comeback from two goals down in the third period against one of the best teams in the league and salvage a point. The Predators wouldn't even have had a chance to comeback if not for the stellar play of goaltender Chris Mason who turned aside 43 of the 45 shots he faced.
• Wild coach Jacques Lemaire is hoping to have Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra back for the team's next game Sunday at Colorado but he isn't getting his hopes up.
• Kings' coach Marc Crawford has been happy with the team's goaltender play as of late.
• Coyotes' coach Wayne Gretzky was very happy with the team effort he received last night as his young Phoenix team knocked off the defending Stanley Cup Champions on the road in overtime.
• Mike Modano stole the show last night in San Jose writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• In an attempt to spread out his team's offense, Blues' coach Andy Murray has swapped centers Keith Tkachuk and Jay McClement.
• The Canucks' penalty killing, which was so good last season, is hurting the team's performance this year writes Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun. Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province chronicles the similarities between the Canucks' start last season and this season.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: These new uniforms need to go

I know many writers on Illegal Curve have already weighed in with their opinion on the NHL's new RBK jerseys but I just can't hold back. First off, these jerseys are far too tight. The players look like they have to suck-in their stomachs to even get into the uniforms. Moreover, you are restricting the patented jersey tuck-in that some players, i.e., Wayne Gretzky, used to have as their staple. Secondly, the uniforms actually look horrid. Wow! I can't believe someone in the marketing department actually approved these with the expectation that the uniforms would be appealing to the hockey consumer. Has anyone seen the new Canucks uniform? The new Oilers uniform? The new Islanders uniform? They are all equally ugly. Due to the fact that these uniforms have just been tweaked and not totally remade (Washington aside), why would someone drop a couple hundred dollars on a jersey they probably already have.

The league needs a lesson in tradition and continuity. As a fan, all I ask is for less change. While I understand the desire to always improve and be on the cutting edge, in certain instances, that agenda can be taken too far. The NHL needs to stop changing uniforms, rules, etc., and stay true to the game.

On to the morning papers:

• Grant Kerr of the Globe & Mail has the story of Dustin Penner and the pressure that goes along with signing a huge contract. (Writer's note: A story on Dustin Penner!!! This is only the 33rd of the pre-season.)
• The Leafs have some decisions to make on defense writes Dave Shoalts in this morning's Globe & Mail.
• In camp without the security of a contract, 23 year old Tomas Fleishmann is ready to prove he is worthy of not only making the team, but making the team in a top-six forward role.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star isn't very convinced that the tandem of Toskala and Raycroft is that much better than the combination of goalies they have put together in Phoenix.
• Dan Boyle is coming up on UFA status and, in this instance, Jay Feaster is making an exception to his usual policy of not negotiating extensions during the season. (Writer's note: Dan Boyle may be the most underrated all-around defenseman in the game today. He really is better defensively than people give him credit for.)
• Youngster David Perron is hoping to crack the Blues' roster and avoid being returned to junior hockey; Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the story.
• Coach Ron Wilson decided to split up his three impressive rookies in Friday night's exhibition contest writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• After being traded from Anaheim after their cup victory, Tim Brent is looking to stick in Pittsburgh as a 12th or 13th forward.
• Kimmo Timonen and Antero Nittymaki collided in practice on Friday, but the good news is that nothing serious came of it. Timonen is probable to play in tonight's contest versus the Rangers.
• Ted Nolan is very happy to see Radek Martinek healthy and back in the lineup writes Greg Logan in this morning's Newsday.
• The Rangers' youngsters looked impressive during the team's first exhibition tilt on Friday versus the Devils.
• Alex Bourret, profiled in the Prospect Pulse just days ago, was apparently sent down to the Rangers' farm team in Hartford, in part, because he didn't follow the team's off-season training program closely enough.
• Devils' goaltender Kevin Weekes had to be carried off the ice on Friday night at MSG, however, coach Brent Sutter says he'll be fine. After Weekes went down, there was a target on Sean Avery's back for causing the goaltender to leave the game.
• Confidence will be important for Marek Zidlicky in Nashville this season writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• Christoph Schubert can, once again, expect to play both forward and defense for the Senators this season.
• Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette has a great piece on the outrageous costs of attending an NHL game.
• Derek Boogard got a puck in the forehead in practice, but he was counting his blessings that it wasn't his eye writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• Kings' general manager Dean Lombardi explains why he placed Dan Cloutier on waivers in this morning's L.A. Times.
• Bob Stauffer of the Edmonton Sun claims that the Oilers lack toughness and, in fact, he believes they miss the presence of Georges Laraque to instill fear into opponents.
• With the regular season creeping up, these are nervous times for Oilers' youngsters who are looking to make the NHL roster writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal.
• Johan Franzen will be looked on to score more this season in Detroit.
• Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News informs us that the Stars will be spending this Sunday at the Air Force Academy to help improve team cohesion.
• The Jackets were quick to defend Nikolai Zherdev after he took a questionable hit during Friday night's exhibition game at Buffalo.
• The Hawks went five periods without a goal, and then scored four in the 3rd period of Friday's exhibition contest versus the Wild. Of note, Patrick Kane registered his first NHL point.
• Having dropped 20 pounds in the off-season, Cam Ward feels quicker this season. According to Luke Decock of the News Observer, Ward's quickness was evident in the Hurricanes' 3-0 shutout of the Predators last night.
• Adam Pardy is excited to still be around at Flames' camp writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• Drew Stafford may miss a few days after leaving the Sabres' exhibition contest on Friday with an immobilized left arm.
• Milan Lucic is making roster decisions awfully hard for the Bruins' brass and says he wants no part of returning home to Vancouver.
• Kari Lehtonen has, once again, tweaked his groin in training camp, although this year he assures us it is not serious.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.