Thursday NHL Morning Papers (Eastern Conference)

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