Atlantic Division

• The rematch of Martin Brodeur vs. Ryan Miller will probably come some time next month in Vancouver. If Wednesday night’s game at HSBC Arena in Buffalo was a preview, we can’t wait. And neither can Brodeur. “I hope so,” he said. “We’ll see. I definitely hope so.” Brodeur figures to be Team Canada’s goalie while Miller will be in net for the U.S.
• To say it took the Flyers a little while to adjust to Peter Laviolette’s up-tempo system is a major understatement. But the growing pains appear to be over. The turnaround is in full swing. After going 2-7-1 in their first 10 games under Laviolette, the Flyers have adapted to the nuances of his attacking, two-player forecheck and left-wing lock.
• The Rangers are skipping town today as fast as they possibly can, getting a head start on a Western swing they feel can’t come quickly enough. Wednesday night, at least, their fans seemed to agree that there was nothing at the Garden worth sticking around for.
• Jack Hillen, who was hit in the face by an Alex Ovechkin slap shot in last night’s 7-2 Washington win on Long Island, suffered a broken jaw and damaged teeth. The Islanders defenseman will be out 6-8 weeks. “Jack’s been playing some real good hockey for us and for him to get hurt now [is tough],” Scott Gordon said today before the team left for Raleigh.
• Penguins defenseman Kris Letang realizes he has the potential to become a star and is also highly aware that, as a restricted free agent this summer, he soon could be paid like one. Letang, though, is attempting to delay thinking about his new contract.

Northeast Division

• Jacques Martin’s disposition was anything but sunny Wednesday night as he watched the Canadiens drop a 3-0 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The head coach arranged for the Canadiens to arrive in Florida on Sunday to give them an extra day of warm weather, but they failed to return the favour as they delivered two lacklustre performances.
• If Brian Burke can find a taker for Jamal Mayers, the Maple Leafs forward happily will pack his bags. The same goes for defenceman Garnet Exelby. “I still feel like I have a lot of hockey left,” Mayers said after practice on Wednesday. “Hopefully there are other people within the game who think so. My agent (Pat Brisson) was given permission to talk to teams and see what is out there. I am willing to do what I can to help and if that means moving on, that is what it has to be.”
• This must be prefaced with caution: The Ottawa Senators still have 28 regular-season games to play. That’s an eternity in the NHL. Anything can happen. They could fall off the map just as quickly as they could climb the standings. Nonetheless, as they ride a six-game winning streak that has taken them to a comfortable fifth place in the Eastern Conference, you’d have to think that coach Cory Clouston is beginning to attract notice as a coach-of-the-year candidate.
• After nearly two weeks of jetting from sea to shining sea, the last thing the Buffalo Sabres needed Wednesday night in HSBC Arena was overtime. Or a shootout. But the groggy Sabres weren’t in the fog you might expect after their seven-game road trip. They still found some jump in their step. They got a boost from the 2010 debuts of Andrej Sekera and Nathan Paetsch. And, of course, they have Ryan Miller.
• With the way National Hockey League coaches are so quickly dismissed, you’d think there’s a line in the management handbook that reads, “When all else fails, whack the coach.” For some organizations, the line may read, “At the first sign of trouble, fire the coach.”

Southeast Division

• It’s taken awhile – a long while – but the Thrashers will soon finally face a hard decision it dodged four months ago. The franchise is not going to keep three goaltenders and soon, it will have three. Who is the odd-man out?Johan Hedberg, Ondrej Pavelec or Kari Lehtonen?
• For much of Wednesday night’s game, Jean-Sébastien Giguère frustrated Alex Ovechkin and his teammates with stop after unbelievable stop. The Washington Capitals fired 35 shots on the Anaheim Ducks goaltender through two periods, yet had only one goal to show for their effort.
• This time, it was Cam Ward‘s turn. New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist had been stellar in three games against the Carolina Hurricanes this season, allowing a single regulation goal in each of those games. But in a 25-second span early in the first period, Carolina finally cracked Lundqvist’s armor, the first strikes in a 5-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden Wednesday.
• First, there was the birth of his daughter, Alina, six weeks premature, the day after Christmas. Then his early January bout with the flu. “A weird time,” Lightning goalie Antero Niittymaki conceded. “There were so much other things to think about.” Niittymaki blanked the Habs as the Bolts continued to climb in the standings.
• A day after being a healthy scratch, Panthers forward Nick Tarnasky was one of the first players on the ice at Wednesday’s practice at Incredible Ice, and one of the last ones off it. For coach Peter DeBoer, that was a sign that being able to sit healthy players will help the Panthers as they battle for a playoff spot.

Hat tip to the now defunct Illegal Curve for their permission in taking over this daily series.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC