Chris Nichols

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.

@Nichols_NHLPool on Twitter for timely NHL & poolie info, along with occasionally snarky comments.

Live blogging nightly: line combos, defensive pairings, analysis, statistical trends and more from every game on the NHL docket. Refresh the 'Live NHL Recap' page while the games are on to get new info as it is added.

Send in a brief fantasy hockey question, including all relevant league info, and it may be included in a future Hockey Hearsay blog during the week. One per person, please. Send it via Twitter for a possible response in the blog, or send via email (include your first name and hometown to represent!) if you'd prefer. chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

The Orange County Register reports that Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf will be out until at least late January with a facial injury, according to the team.

Getzlaf saw a specialist Tuesday and it was determined that surgery will not be required. But he will be out four to six weeks from the time of his Dec.28 injury, which means he won’t be ready to return until after the All-Star break. Getzlaf suffered nasal sinus fractures against Phoenix when he was hit by a deflected shot from Coyotes captain Shane Doan.

It is the second straight season Getzlaf will miss significant time due to injury as he sat out 16 games last season with an ankle sprain and leg laceration.

The Ducks have had Bobby Ryan take Getzlaf’s place as the first line centre between Corey Perry and Matt Beleskey.

Philly.com reports that Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger, the heart of the Flyers' defence, was cleared by a doctor todaty to start some light skating on Thursday.

Pronger broke his right foot blocking a shot in Montreal on Dec. 15 and, at the time, was expected to miss four to six weeks. Without Pronger, the Flyers have allowed 23 goals in six games and are 3-3. Pronger will be re-evaluated by a doctor on Jan. 12.

The holidays weren't kind to the Canadiens, according to The Montreal Gazette, who went 2-5 on the road and then returned home to drop a 4-3 overtime decision to Atlanta.

While road trips are accompanied with talk about bonding and togetherness, goalie Carey Price said he was happy to be back home where the Canadiens will play four of their next five games.

"It's tough," Price said of the seven-game road trip around Christmas. "Everybody's away from their family, so it's nice to get back home, stay here at our practice facility and be able to do all the little things you can't do on the road."

The little things go beyond shopping. With seven games spaced out over 18 days, there's more time to work in practice.

"It's hard, especially for goalies, when you don't have time to work on things like positioning," Price said. "Things like plays around the crease. It could be adjustment of six inches that can make a difference between the puck hitting you and the puck going in off your skate."

The Gazette notes that Price has lost four in a row and six of his last seven starts and said there's room for improvement.

"I definitely feel I have more to bring," he said. "(But) I feel the exact same way I did for the first 20 games. I'm sure all it will take to get back is a solid period, a solid win."

When asked whether the biggest challenge was physical or mental, he replied: "A bit of both."

"It's always going to be physical as far as the technique and doing things correctly, and mentally you just need to rest yourself. This stretch is a perfect time to do both."

The article notes that Price refused to use fatigue as an excuse.

"Everybody gets tired at some point," he said. "It's no secret. There are guys in every locker room in the league who get tired. It's these mid-season games, between 30 and 60. You don't see the starting line and you don't see the finish line. These are the times you have to play through."

Price is on pace to play 70-72 games and he said that he may reach a point where he'll need to manage his workload and skip a practice or two, but "I'm not there yet."

The Ottawa Citizen mentions that Robin Lehner, pegged to be the Senators’ goaltender of the future, displayed his colourful side following a 4-3 shootout loss to Russia in the semifinals. The ever-honest Lehner was outraged because officials originally signalled an icing call and then abruptly changed their minds, leading directly to a goal that gave Russia a 2-0 second period lead.

“F’n refs,” Lehner said. “You call icing and put your arms up and I slide into the posts and wait for a call and all of a sudden they call it off? That’s not the way it works ... not the last time I checked the rule book, at least.”

Lehner wasn’t finished there. He also said the refereeing wasn’t up to the standards required for such an important tournament, and he said a similar event wouldn’t have happened if Canada was involved.

The Citizen affirms that for anyone familiar with the 19-year-old netminder, who will return to the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, New York, when the tournament ends, the comments aren’t shocking. Lehner has never been afraid to speak his mind. Still, Senators Swedish captain Daniel Alfredsson, who shared Lehner’s heartbreak at the defeat, says he will offer the goaltender some advice about choosing his words more carefully in the future.

“You put so much effort into a tournament like that, sometimes the frustration shows a little too much,” Alfredsson said. “I don’t think it’s an issue of forgiving. It’s an issue of learning. Sometimes, you have to take a couple of breaths before you speak, and I’m sure I will tell him that when I see him and a lot of other people will, as well. His desire and will to win came through a little too much.”

Verbal controversy aside, the Senators are excited about the on-ice experience Lehner has received while playing in such a fishbowl.

Sportsnet.ca's Ian Mendes tweeted this morning that Lehner could, in fact, see the NHL as early as next week if the Sens don't fare well this weekend.

The Citizen also points out that Clouston has also been impressed with the play of Canadian defenceman Jared Cowen, the Senators’ first-round pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft, who has been a standout defensively throughout the tournament. Cowen, who was sent back to junior after an inconsistent training camp with the Senators, was used sparingly by the Canadian coaching staff in last year’s world junior tournament.

“The spotlight they’re put under makes (each of) them a better person, a better player down the road,” Clouston said. “They’re going to grow from it, going to learn from it. Jared’s a much better player (now). He didn’t play a whole lot last year, he wasn’t a go-to guy, they sat him a lot on the bench and he didn’t get a lot of minutes. Obviously he had a bigger role this year and credit to him. It’s a real positive for our organization.”

The Philadelphia Daily News says the Michael Leighton was passed over by all 29 NHL teams and officially cleared waivers yesterday. He was reassigned to the Adirondack Phantoms, likely putting a permanent cap on his magical 1-year run with the Flyers.

"The hardest part is once you think you have security in life, you sign a 2-year deal and you come into camp thinking you're a starting goalie," Leighton said as he packed his bags for Glens Falls, N.Y. "Going from that mind-set, to being injured and working to get that spot back, to going to the minors . . . It's tough.

"It's going to be tough on me and my family."

Leighton will still earn the entire 2-year, $3.1 million contract he signed with the Flyers on June 30, though he will do so in the AHL.

"I just want to be in the NHL," Leighton said. "I want to go down and work on my game and get back to where I should be. That's all I can control. I want to get back here. I hope it happens.

"It's tough to leave. I love all of these guys in the [locker] room, these guys become family. On the other hand, I'm not gone. I'm still part of the organization. I've got to work hard and try to get back."

The Daily News remarks that it was a poignant scene yesterday in the Flyers' locker room as Leighton literally packed his bags in front of his teammates and the media after learning the news.

"It sucks," captain Mike Richards said. "You never really like to see a guy leave, especially a guy that we've had success with before that is extremely well-liked around the hockey team. It's a business. It's the worst part of the business."

General manager Paul Holmgren said Monday that he knew Leighton needed extra work to get back to where he needed to be. The Flyers just weren't willing to risk wins - via a lack of preparation by Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky - to wait for him.

"It's a tough, tough position for them to play," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We managed it. Your goaltenders are sharing nets out there and it's difficult for them to stay sharp. Not to get the ice time they need can start to take its toll."

The biggest thing now, the article notes as Leighton transitions from the Stanley Cup finals to the small-town Glens Falls Civic Center, will be coping with the decision mentally. If he hadn't suffered a herniated disk in his lower back, Leighton likely still would be starting for the first-place Flyers.

"I'm really disappointed," Leighton said, with tears forming in his eyes. "I'm disappointed in myself and the fact that I got injured. There's nothing I can do about that. If one of these guys weren't playing well, it might have made for an easier decision. Everyone keeps telling me that it's not my fault for what happened. It's tough to leave. I guess it just had to happen."

"I had like 17 teams," waived New Jersey Devils winger Brian Rolston told The Minneapolis Star-Tribune of his signing a four-year, $20.25 million deal with New Jersey in July of 2008. "I remember one GM said, 'I'll give you this and this, and you've got 10 minutes to think about it.' With this situation, of course, you think about these things.

"But, no excuse. You come off as confident as I was in Minnesota, you feel you're omnipotent. Honestly, confidence is a funny thing. When you get it shot down, it's tough to get back. This has been a learning experience, and if you come out smiling on the other end, that's what's important."

The Arizona Republic observes that a day after being named the NHL's second star of the week for his five-goal, eight-point performance last week, which led all scorers, Coyotes captain Shane Doan continued his scoring prowess with his 10th goal of the year and 17th assist in a 4-2 win Tuesday night at Jobing.com Arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"Guys are finding ways to score," Doan said. "Uppy's been hot, and we've been scoring more goals as a team. When that happens, everyone benefits from it."

Doan is forever a leader ready to deflect praise, but fact is he's been the catalyst for the Coyotes recent surge in the goal scoring department. He's scored six goals in his past five games and carries a seven-game point streak. His two-point effort against Columbus is his fourth consecutive multi-point performance.

"When he's doing it, everybody else jumps in or should jump in," coach Dave Tippett said. "The thing about players like that they just don't do it a couple days. Doaner's been doing it for a month and a half now. So that's the sign of the kind of player he is."

The Republic notes that when a team like the Coyotes is hungry for confidence and something concrete to latch on to in an attempt to establish some consistency, who better to stand up than the captain? Doan recognizes that.

"You want that pressure," he said. "Every single professional athlete wants that pressure I think. It's something that when we're not winning, it eats at you. The last two or three games we haven't been as good as we wanted to be every single night.

"We want to find ways to win, and two points are huge (last night), and we've got to find another way to get more on this road trip."

The Chicago Sun-Times notes that the Blackhawks need their best and most skilled players to play like it right now. But Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane have said it has been a struggle to regain and maintain their form since returning from injuries.

“To tell you the truth, I feel like the month off and not playing games, I’m missing the timing,” said Hossa, who missed 10 consecutive games after suffering an undisclosed lower-body injury after colliding with Nick Boynton during a Nov. 29 practice session. During the Hawks’ 4-3 victory over the Kings on Monday night, Hossa scored his first goal in five games since returning from the injury.

“Right now, I’m not at the spots where I like to be,” he said. “I feel like sometimes I should be in the right spot, but I’m not there. I feel like I can play my game, but I need to play an extra couple more games to get everything back and be where I want to be.”

The Sun-Times writes that Kane is in the same boat. He and Hossa have had good bursts and moments where they look like themselves, including Monday against the Kings, but until they’re filling up the scoresheet consistently like they can — and are expected to — they won’t be satisfied with themselves.

The Hawks need them to produce. Having Kane and Hossa playing well is essential if they are to rise from the middle of the Western Conference pack.

“I’m still getting back into it,” said Kane, who missed eight games after injuring his left ankle Dec. 5 when trying to avoid a hit against the Calgary Flames. “But I definitely have got to produce.”

Kane said there are a number of things he needs to regain.

“It’s pretty much everything — feeling the puck out there, trying to get the puck in good situations and trying to set up plays,” he said. “Sometimes it’s there, sometimes it’s not.

“[Producing is] something I have to start doing for myself to be successful and my team to be successful, too.”

The Buffalo News says Cody McCormick remembers Denver as the place he got his start, the town where he learned to become a professional. He returned for the first time Tuesday as the player who has erased most of his career highs set with Colorado in just half a season with the Buffalo Sabres. The most notable benchmark so far has been in the fighting category.

McCormick entered the game against the Avalanche with nine fighting majors this season, one more than the career-high eight he set in 2008-09. That's a lot of glove-dropping through 37 games.

"If I keep that pace up, I don't know how my hands will feel," he said with a laugh in Pepsi Center.

McCormick's role with the Sabres was set from Day One. Coach Lindy Ruff expected the forward to play physical and stick up for his teammates, and McCormick has done that.

"Cody's filled his role really to a tee. When we've needed the added toughness, he's supplied it," Ruff said. "In Cody's case, he's been able to respond to the right situations. There hasn't been any staged fights, all of them have been for teammates, and I think that's all you can ask."

The News points out that McCormick has been a battler since his junior days, but this season has been particularly busy. He's tied for ninth in the NHL with the nine majors, which are already two more than the total Steve Montador led the Sabres with last season.

"I guess with my fights, they're nothing premeditated or anything like that," McCormick said. "It's just kind of spur of the moment and the way the games are going. It's been a little busier I guess, but at the same time I don't mind it. If it's something that can help, it's something I can do."

McCormick's fights have helped vault him to 93 penalty minutes, one more than the 92 he had with the Avalanche in 2008-09.

"It's something that he took on, and he's done really well with it," Sabres center Paul Gaustad said. "He's one of those guys that whatever needs to be done, he'll do it."

McCormick appreciates the support.

"After every time, these guys are recognizing that it's not the prettiest job in the league to do," McCormick said. "They're always there to make sure they acknowledge it, giving me a pat on the pads, and that's something you can really appreciate as a teammate."

The Boston Globe writes that be it the brief primer in the AHL or just his pro-game tool kit, one with skating skills aplenty, Steve Kampfer thus far has segued seamlessly and impressively to the Bruins back line.

“I watch him out there and I get excited,’’ said veteran centre Marc Savard. “He can skate, move the puck, and you can see he’s not afraid to be out there making plays. He’s been impressive.’’

Seasoned blue liner Dennis Seidenberg, often Kampfer’s partner, has been equally taken by the wheeling, dealing Kampfer.

“We talk a lot, but there’s not much I have to tell him, really,’’ noted Seidenberg. “Good player, smart with the puck. He gets it. Nice to see.’’

The Globe suggests it’s not too early to take notice of Kampfer’s willingness to make plays, both handle and push the puck, even look for that rare hole in the offensive zone to exploit.

“Jump up in the play, move the puck, make the quick outlet pass,’’ said Kampfer, musing over his role in Michigan, listing the same things he was told to do in Providence. “I have tried to do that up here, and will continue to do that as along as I am up.

“But it is one of those things that you are still young, still learning the game, and I’m not the kind of player that’s going to make that flashy pass through a couple of guys’ legs. I am going to make the simple play. I am just going to try to get it out of the zone, get us going on offence to create chances.’’

Coach Claude Julien added, “Hey, he’s going to make mistakes, we know that, you have to live with it and you have to show confidence. It’s not an easy position to learn, for sure. That was an obvious mistake there [in Florida]. But you work with him and you also know he’s going to make some very good plays, too. We like what we’ve seen, for sure.’’

"I think they've battled through a very tough first-half schedule," Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray told The Orange County Register of his team. "And I think they've battled hard. Yeah, there's been some nights where you're wondering what they're thinking. There's been some nights where people are wondering what's going on.

"But you take a look at the schedule and, for God's sake, they're just trying to survive out there. I can be as hard as anybody on the group. But I have to give them credit. There have been some tough situations where they've battled and gotten something out of them."

In yesterday's Hockey Hearsay, Ryane Clowe's lambasting of his team's effort in Monday's 4-3 loss to Vancouver was included in the quotable section.

The best part of it was, “And when you work hard and you win, you feel it after a game. I guarantee you right now there’s guys that don’t feel that tired after that game. Just terrible."

The San Jose Mercury News writes that Ryane Clowe's tone of voice was calm Tuesday, but he didn't back away from what he had said about the Sharks' effort the previous night.

"I absolutely stand by what I said," said Clowe, one of the Sharks' assistant captains. "We need to find some consistency in our game."

A night's sleep did nothing to change Clowe's thinking.

"When you play an 82-game season, there's always going to be nights where you just don't feel good," he said Tuesday. "But are you going to give yourself permission as an individual to take the night off or are you going to find another way to help the team? I don't have an 'A' game every night, but I at least try to find something in my 'B' game that brings something to the table."

One person who didn't seem to mind that Clowe spoke out was Sharks coach Todd McLellan.

"I think it's great he feels that way and speaks his mind openly," McLellan said.

Meanwhile, The Mercury News says the Sharks did some talking among themselves in a previously scheduled team meeting Tuesday.

McLellan acknowledged that there is plenty to improve upon. But he also takes issue with he notion that there's something wrong with the Sharks. He noted that the team is 6-3 in its past nine games and that while the loss to Vancouver stung, the Canucks are the NHL's hottest team.

"Everybody from the team, to the fans to the media wants a Picasso every night," McLellan said. "Well, it isn't going to be a Picasso every night. We have to learn to win more of those 1-0 games like we did against Los Angeles."

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out that Jay McClement, regarded as the team's top defensive centre, has been skating with Alex Steen and Brad Boyes of late. Patrik Berglund, regarded as one of the promising offensive cornerstones of a developing team, has been skating with B.J. Crombeen and Brad Winchester.

There's no sugar coating it. John Q. Blues Fan has to wonder if, in his third season, his last entry-level contract season, Berglund shouldn't be busting out. Blues coach Davis Payne has a different perspective.

"I think he's going to be a guy who can be a top six power centreman," Payne said. "There's areas of improvement, whether it's face-offs, whether it's a drive to take things to the net. There's room for him to grow, but he's a pretty good player right now."

During his rookie season, a 20-year-old Berglund showed both his promise and his pubescence. Fatigued by the length of his first NHL schedule, he had just five goals and 11 points over the last 32 games. Still, his overall production of 21 goals and 26 assists represented an auspicious rookie season by any definition. The flames of high expectations were fanned.

But the numbers dropped to 13 goals and 26 points last season, a sophomore slip. Disappointed, Berglund came to camp in the fall determined to be more prominent. And on some levels, he has succeeded.

The Post-Dispatch projects that with eight goals and 21 assists in 38 games, he is roughly on a pace to produce 40-50 points, similar to his rookie season. That said, there are still long pauses. He recently went 10 games without a point before scoring two goals against Detroit. Overall, there is less fluctuation in his game. Berglund is more physical, more two-way conscientious, more often engaged.

"I think compared to last year, it's a big difference," said Berglund. "I have a bunch of confidence and I think I'm playing well. Then you have some games where the puck isn't going your way, and you have to do other things.

"And I think I'm doing better in that part, too. I'm playing tougher, stronger, hitting guys. You will have good and bad games, but I'm trying to be as consistent as I can."

Payne offered this, noting that Berglund might not be riding a fast track, but believing he's on the right track. "I think if I take a big picture and look over a month's span or two, three weeks span, he's played quite consistently and at a pretty high level.

"I think he's demanding the puck, he has better awareness in his own zone, he's making some things happen. There's still some times where I feel like, as a big body, he could be driving plays to the net. But for Burgie to have this stretch of games as a foundation to build off of is very, very good."

Larry from TO: "Hey Chris, Happy New Year. I'm a long-time follower of yours. Keep up the great work. Here's my 1st question of the year. 15 team Points only pool with limited roster moves. I've been holding on to E. Johnson and I am becoming impatient with him. I've always believed that he was the more offensive of both Johnson defensemen, but not this year. Would you swap E.Johnson for J. Wisniewski. This would be a move for the whole season. Wisniewski is really hot right now, but is due to cool off. Regards."

Chris: Hey Larry, nice to hear from you. One of these years I'll get you talked into a standard league instead of points-only. :-)

I still think Erik will be more offensive than Jack overall and in the long run, but Erik Johnson is having his share of offensive struggles this season. He's been a little bit better over the last three weeks or so, but I think you actually have an option in Wisniewski who can at least match even a surging Johnson in the second half on a team in Montreal that can have a lethal power play. It's not like Wisniewski will put up a couple of points each game, but he'll be in a good position to succeed there and Johnson will, for now at least, face competition for key PP time.

You really have to make your moves count in your format in particular, but that's one I'd feel fairly comfortable making at this point.