Friday NHL Morning Papers (Western Conference)

In NHL Morning Papers we break down the stories published in newspapers around the country. By reading our synopsis the average hockey fan can catch up to all the happenings around the National Hockey League.

• The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks in overtime on the second goal of the night from Troy Brouwer.  ”We had exactly the right start that we wanted,” Brouwer said. “We had a little hiccup in the middle of the game, but we were able to fend them off and pull it out in overtime.”
• Blue Jacket fans reminded the team that the game lasts 60 minutes as Columbus fell to Los Angeles 4-0.  ”This is painful,” left winger R.J. Umberger said. “We heard the boos, and rightfully so.”
• After climbing their way back into the playoff picture, the Red Wings fail to keep a solid foothold on their position with only one win since mid-January.  ”Lately we’ve been finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win,” captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.
• The Predators and coach Barry Trotz claim no fear when facing the Red Wings tonight.  ”We’re not afraid of the Detroit Red Wings and we haven’t been in a number of years,” Trotz said. “But we respect them because they have been so dominant as a team and organization for so long.”
• Alexander Steen scored his twelfth goal of the year to push the Blues past Edmonton 2-1.  ”We didn’t want the game to go any longer than it needed to, but you’re not going to knock a team out, especially when we didn’t feel that we were at our best,” Blues coach Davis Payne said.

Northwest

• Another shootout loss brings the Flames losing streak to nine games. “We know shootouts can go either way but these are two road games where we were playing two good home teams so we’re going to stick with it and keep going,” said captain Jarome Iginla.
• The Avs bored themselves to a 1-0 loss against the Wild.  ”They always seem to play a boring trap game,” Chris Stewart said. “They just want to keep it close and hope you make a mistake and capitalize. We let that happen tonight.”
• Even though Gilbert Brule and Mike Comrie returned to the lineup the Oilers lost. “Maybe the addition of guys will make the team play little bit on the defensive of the game and that will help us get a better result,” Oilers coach Pat Quinn said.  Too bad for Quinn the offense couldn’t muster enough to win.
• Wild backup Josh Harding persevered to give his team a 1-0 victory and the first road win of the new year. “If I was him, I know that I’d want the other guy to battle pretty hard, too. But the team made it easier on me than maybe it looked out there,” said Harding.
• Canucks Depth blueliners Nolan Baumgartner, Aaron Rome and Brad Lukowich need to dig deep for this upcoming road trip.

Pacific

• Despite his scars Teemu Selanne still puts a smile on his face as he practices with the Ducks.
• Mike Modano played with over 300 linemates in his illustrious 20+ season career.  This year is no different as he shifts from playing the top line to the fourth on a nightly basis. “He definitely has the experience where he can adapt his game,” said captain and on-and-off linemate Brenden Morrow.
• The Kings won four in a row now with their recent drudging of the Blue Jackets. Although out shot in the first ten minutes of the game, defenseman Matt Greene fired one in and changed the game.    ”The whole game changed,” Columbus Coach Ken Hitchcock said. “The energy changed and we didn’t grab it back.”
• Robert Lang scored the game winner in shootout, putting one past fatigued netminder Miikka Kiprusoff.  ”You’re either gonna beat him, or you don’t,” Lang said. “Everybody has their moves. He likes to poke-check and likes to be aggressive in the net, I saw him getting ready, and I froze him a little.”
• Even though the final score appeared close, coach Todd McLellan believes their poor start contributed more to their loss.  ”The start was unacceptable,” McLellan said.  ”We’re all going to talk about how hard we fought and that we worked our way back into the game, but that start was unacceptable.”