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.

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The Calgary Herald observes that Miikka Kiprusoff has looked vulnerable in the last few weeks, with the occasional soft goal a game ballooning to two (or three or four).

These things happen, the Flames say. It turns out Kiprusoff is a mortal after all.

“Obviously, it gets blown up a bit,” Flames defenceman Mark Giordano said. “He’s had some unfortunate bounces. I mean it’s not him. I know personally, a couple of them have gone off me.”

Maybe so, but are four goals on eight shots — Kiprusoff’s line before getting the hook in a 6-5 shootout loss Monday to the Carolina Hurricanes — reason for concern?

Especially when it comes on the heels of two shaky outings against Vancouver and Detroit?

“We’re not worried about him around here,” Giordano said. “He’s the top goalie in the world. I haven’t seen too many guys more mentally strong than he is. It’s non-issue. He’ll be fine.”

The Herald points out that the Flames aren’t exactly playing sensational defensive hockey in front of him. Could that inconsistency be contributing to his weak performance in the last three outings?

“I can’t worry about that,” Kiprusoff said. “I have a pretty simple job there. I let in four goals on not too many shots there the last game.

“It wasn’t good.”

In a rare display of emotion, Kiprusoff stormed off the ice and down the tunnel Monday in Carolina.

Clearly, the soft-spoken Finn was seething.

“He was pissed,” assistant coach Jamie McLennan said. “Everyone is allowed to be pissed, but the thing about Miikka is that he’s a very intelligent person. His thought process is always moving forward. If he lets in a bad goal, he can just bank it and move forward.

“He’s allowed to be pissed once in a while, but it’s rare. Very rare.”

The Chicago Tribune writes that Hawks starter Corey Crawford is playing great. Great as in two consecutive shutouts to lower his goals-against average to a sparkling 2.14 — tied for third-lowest in the NHL. Great as in a 14-3-1 record in his last 18 starts and great as in it's time to crank up the hype for Calder Trophy consideration as the league's rookie of the year.

Where does that leave veteran Marty Turco, who backstopped the Stars for nine seasons before signing a one-year, $1.3 million free-agent contract with the Hawks in the summer? On the bench, with just five starts since Thanksgiving — three of which came last month while Crawford battled the flu.

The lack of playing time isn't something Turco is used to after 533 career NHL games, 271 of which he skated off the ice victorious. But as a leader who has been through some battles, he understands the situation.

"What would be difficult is if I was playing well and the other guy wasn't and he's still playing," said Turco, who has a 9-10-2 record, 3.02 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 24 games. "That's something you might have a problem with.

"Corey deserves all the credit in the world for the way he has worked and what he has been able to do this year as an inexperienced guy. I take it upon myself to continue to help him and push him and give this team confidence in the goaltending. Until my next time comes, it's all I'm really focused on.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm human. I wish I was playing. I wish I was giving this team what they want from their goaltending. I've had my bad moments and my woe-is-me-type stuff but you keep plugging through it because you never know what's going to happen."

The Tribune calls attention to the fact that Turco is maintaining an even keel in a dressing room where just one bad attitude can upset the delicate balance of a team challenged with the task of keeping the Stanley Cup.

"We have a lot of young guys who pay attention," Turco said. "I want to be a good teammate. I came here to be a part of a winner and you assume it to be playing.

"But when you're not you still have to hold yourself accountable as a teammate. When I get back in there I want my teammates to look at me as a good teammate and someone to look up to and gain confidence from."

His teammates, including Crawford himself, and coach have all noticed and appreciate Turco's efforts.

Still, The Tribune ponders: Would Turco have signed with the Hawks if he knew he would spend much of his time on the end of the bench wearing a baseball cap while Crawford manned the crease?

"If you find that crystal ball you might want to pass that around or duplicate it," Turco said. "Until then, it's a great situation. It's an amazing city and wonderful organization. I don't have any regrets about becoming a Chicago Blackhawk, that's for sure."

The Denver Post reports that Chris Stewart, the Avs' leading goal-scorer until he broke a bone in his left hand in a fight with Minnesota's Kyle Brodziak on Nov. 27, will return to the lineup tonight against the Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

The team is coming off one of three shutout losses in the past two weeks. Colorado went 9-7-5 without Stewart.

"I feel ready to play," Stewart said after practice. "I got to see a hand therapist three times a week for the last month, and worked on my flexibility and strength. Now I'm just excited to play."

Stewart, who had 11 goals and 25 points in 23 games before the injury, will skate tonight on a line with Paul Stastny and David Jones. The Avs will get rugged winger Cody McLeod (groin) back in the lineup. To make room for Stewart on the roster, the Avs placed rookie Greg Mauldin on waivers before returning him to Lake Erie of the AHL.

The Post believes that an effective return from Stewart would help plug a number of leaks that have sprung lately for the Avs, namely a lack of size and grit around the net that led to easy goals.

"It should be a good energy boost for our team," Avs coach Joe Sacco said. "Those two guys are physical players, and that will be good for our lineup right now. With Stewy being out as long as he has, he's very excited to get back in and that adds good energy to your lineup."

The article also alludes to the fact that the Avs will also see the return to starting duty of Craig Anderson, who sat for a second consecutive game Wednesday at Chicago — the first time that's happened for him as an Av while healthy. Anderson isn't about to dwell on the reasoning by Sacco not to play him Wednesday.

"My job is to stop the puck," he said. "It's very simple. When I'm in there, stop the puck and when I'm not, cheer on my teammates. Nothing's changed for me since I started playing this game at age 6."

“Maybe some guys need to watch a few games.”

- Sharks coach Todd McLellan, following last night's 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review conveys that Jordan Staal's comeback from a severed tendon in his right foot and three surgeries — two to clear up infections in the foot and another on the hand — hit its high point in his sixth game back Wednesday, when he scored a goal and assisted on two others in the Penguins' 5-2 victory in Montreal. They were Staal's first points of the season.

Asked about the frustrations inherent in missing the past eight months and the first games of his NHL career, Staal admitted they were unavoidable.

"I had a lot of ups and downs the last few months, some good and bad — and mostly bad," he said. "But I had a lot of good family and friends around me to get me through it."

Coach Dan Bylsma had plans for Staal after he recovered from the foot injury, suffered when Canadiens defenceman PK Subban stepped on it in the first game of the teams' second-round Stanley Cup playoff series last spring. There was a chance Staal could have been the front man on the power play, a role he filled admirably Wednesday.

"He was a guy who, going into this year, we had pegged for more power-play time," Bylsma said. "We challenged him in training camp and gave him some video (about) being the front guy on the power play. He obviously didn't get that opportunity with him being out, but now that he is back, he is still vying for that position in front of the net."

Bylsma told The Tribune-Review that the absence of star centre Sidney Crosby (mild concussion, no more updates from the team until there's something to update) is only part of the reason for Staal's emergence on the power play.

"He gets more playing time there because Sid is not there," Bylsma said. "But he is also the guy who is challenged to get to the front of the net on our power play, and he did that (Wednesday)."

Even when Crosby returns, Staal will find himself in a fight for power-play ice time with Chris Kunitz and Tyler Kennedy.

"The best guy being at the net front on the power play will get the majority of the time," Bylsma said, "so he has that in the back of his mind. He has worked really hard when he's had the opportunity to. The frustrating part for Jordan is he hasn't had a chance to work hard a lot of the time. ...

"Now, the challenge is getting up to speed and maintaining the positive mindset and not getting frustrated with where he is at. I think you are starting to see him come out of those first five, six, seven, eight games and playing some solid hockey and getting back to what he can do for us and putting that frustration behind."

The Washington Post reports that based on the morning skate, it appears Caps winger Eric Fehr will at least start tonight's contest against the Vancouver Canucks on the right side of a line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. It's a combination that has been used in about eight games this season, but Fehr, with five points in the past six games, has been gaining confidence recently. Perhaps he can help jump start Washington's top line.

"I think it's just important to work hard, get it in on the forecheck and get them the puck; that's going to be my job tonight," Fehr said before discussing how to get the offence back on track as a whole. "I think if we're going to take some long shots, we've got to start shooting for rebounds instead of just shooting at goalies' chests so they can make easy saves. Shoot for the pads and go to the net hard for rebounds especially against a good goalie like Luongo."

The Orange County Register relays that Teemu Selanne was shooting pucks well after practice, a sign that his drive has hardly waned at 40.

Selanne said the team's rough stretches earlier this season didn't really make him doubt coming back for this year. He likens the team's play to late last season when the Ducks surged short of a playoff spot.

"We know how good we can be," said Selanne, who is one point shy of 1,300. "It will be a nice challenge for us."

Selanne has often cited coach Randy Carlyle's grueling training camps as a reason for the team's notorious slow starts, but he said this season was slightly different and hopes it will pay off.

"I think that's a good sign when you know the second half is going to be your time," Selanne said. "Maybe the boys have done their homework in the summertime."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Thrashers forward Evander Kane practiced for the second straight day Thursday and it will be up to the forward when he is able to return.

Kane told the AJC on Wednesday that he is feeling better as he battles a mid-body injury. Following Thursday’s practice, Thrashers coach Craig Ramsay said Kane will know when he is able to return.

“He made a big step forward yesterday,” Ramsay said. “We will review it today and see how he felt on the ice. This is a call that will be up to him. He didn’t feel right. They found something. Now we want to make sure it’s correct when he steps back in because when he plays he has to be able to play hard. He just wasn’t able to do that for a couple games.”

Kane was originally injured in Pittsburgh on Dec. 28. He missed the following game and then played the next three games. He has missed the team’s last two contests after being put on injured reserve retroactive to the Penguins game. Kane could return Friday against Philadelphia.

The Dallas Morning News writes that Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen came to Dallas 11 months ago as a possible successor to the departing Marty Turco. Lehtonen, 27 and signed through 2012-13, has played a major role in the Stars' standing atop the Pacific Division since late November.

"He's been everything that we could have hoped that he would be," coach Marc Crawford said, "and probably a little bit more."

Lehtonen's goals-against average and save percentage don't rank among the league leaders. But they are similar to his numbers from 2006-07, when the Thrashers earned their first playoff berth and won the Southeast Division. And he should approach the career highs in games and minutes played that he set in '06-07.

"Everybody in the league felt that if he could improve his conditioning and he could get over the injury woes, which largely were caused by a lack of conditioning, that there was a chance for him to be an elite goaltender," Crawford said. "I think he's becoming an elite goaltender."

Stars captain Brenden Morrow told The Morning News he's convinced.

"In practice, there aren't a lot of holes," Morrow said. "He's quick. He's agile for a big guy. He moves good laterally on rebounds.

"He worked real hard to condition himself last summer to prepare to come and carry a lot of the load for us. He's been exceptional."

In come the Thrashers, his former team, Saturday; seeking a second postseason trip. Lehtonen said he noted their arrival date when the schedule was released last summer.

"Now it's here, so it's going to be exciting," he said. "But it's still just one game. Two points there; that's what we try to get."

Matthew Lombardi said he is feeling better but The Nashville Tennessean says he still could not put a timetable on his return from a concussion. He sustained the head injury in Nashville's second game of the season against Chicago.

"I get headaches and pressure in my head, and when my heart rate gets up things kind of elevate and you feel off. You don't feel good," Lombardi said. "You feel very lethargic and the rest of the symptoms kind of get worse, but like I said I feel like I am getting better."

Because of the concussion, Lombardi has been unable to participate in any physical activity. He estimates he has lost about eight pounds.

"You put in a lot of time during the summer time, to get in great shape, come to camp and build on that throughout the season," Lombardi said. "It's definitely disappointing. It has been a waste of some hard work, that's for sure."

Lombardi played a few shifts following the concussion. He says he did not start to feel the symptoms until the following day, but wonders if that time on the ice contributed to the length of time he has missed.

"I hope it didn't, but when you look back at something like that, you can't really change what happened," Lombardi said. "I didn't know and kept playing. You hope that didn't make it worse. All you have to do is hope."

The Arizona Republic mentions that Mikkel Boedker has gone through several emotional swings over the past year with recalls to the Coyotes and reassignments to the AHL. His play in San Antonio earned him another shot, and this time he's hoping for a long stay.

"It's been quite the journey," said Boedker, a Coyotes first-round pick (eighth overall) in 2008.

"It's another opportunity to just go out and play well and do the things I've learned down there and keep building on the way I've been playing down there.

"Hopefully it'll be a little longer term than it was last time. You know what? It's a new opportunity, really excited, and I'm really looking forward to it."

Coach Dave Tippett said Boedker merited the promotion.

"Bods was the guy playing the best down there now, that's the way we're going to do things," he said. "He's close to being a regular NHL player here, great speed, great kid. He'll come in with only 12 forwards right now. I think his speed and the way he played when he came up should really help us."

Boedker, 21, said each time he's called up, he appreciates it more.

"I've been up and down a few times over the last year here," he said, "but that's the way of hockey. I guess it's one of those things you've got to go through."

"The problem with this is it's not a lesson," Lightning coach Guy Boucher explained to The Tampa Tribune ahead of tonight's match-up against the last-place New Jersey Devils and how his team has to stay up for every game against every opponent. "Rationally, everybody knows. … It's just, if there's a little man menacing you, you're not scared. I could tell you he knows karate and he's going to kick your butt, (but) it's human; you're not scared."

Boucher's little man is the team in the standings — any team — that might look like easy prey.

The team in question might have good players or a proud tradition or a hot goalie or, in the case of the Devils, have recently made a coaching change and rediscovered how to play the defence that got it to the playoffs the past 13 years.

The next step for the Lightning in their evolution into a Stanley Cup contender is to maintain an even keel that's immune to letdowns against teams they should beat.

"When you're lacking that little scared part in there, you can't generate that," Boucher said, continuing with his metaphor. "So, basically, you've got to fight it off with your habits. Your habits have to be set.

"Every day, it's a brainwash of how we do things and how we've got to be so that whenever you play those teams, it's not a matter of urgency anymore. It's just a matter of your habits are so ingrained, it doesn't matter who you play."

BigFATGoalie in PA: "Chris, I am currently leading in my 8 team H2H with standard scoring league + Hits and Blocks. Chris Stewart is set to come back and I am having trouble deciding on who to let go when he comes of IR. I have carried 4goalies all year with the Caps tandem and the other two currently are Kipper and Pavelec.

My F's and D men include Thornton, Clowe, Gionta, Dubinsky, Lecavalier, Kunitz, Doan, Kopitar, D. Brown, Weiss, Green, Chara, Weber, Seabrook, and Carlson. I am leaning towards letting go of a goalie, but just find it hard to let go of the security of it since I have been either 1 or 2 the whole year so far. Whats your thoughts, do you see a F or D that I could let go of or should I man up and drop a Goalie?

Thanks as always and keep up the great work!"

Chris: Thank-you sir and thanks for the loyal readership each year.

There are a lot of times I'd rather an H2H owner not have four goalies because having two strong ones and using extra offensive players nightly can make a big difference. In your case, I think you should really keep all four goalies because as you've been doing, you can absolutely dominate those categories. Plus, in an eight-team league the quality of F/D on your roster will be higher and the difference between each roster in that respect should be lessened.

If you could trade one of your goalies, like Pavelec, for a stud forward - then I'd be in favour of that since you'd still have strong goaltending capable of winning each week while also strengthening your offensive contributions each night out. But you're leading the league, so there's not necessarily any need to make a change in net. By keeping all four you're also covered in case of injury or severe slump.

So whom to drop with Stewart coming back tonight? I'd actually likely lean toward Carlson on D. In an eight-team format I think his value isn't as high as any forward you might be inclined to drop and since you have four D already, I'd probably go that way. I'm guessing you might have better options than Brian Gionta up front too, but you'll have to check the FA available.