Chris Nichols

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

Twitter: @Nichols_NHLPool/ Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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NHL Free Agents: Western Conference

NHL Free Agents: Eastern Conference

Calgary Flames acting GM Jay Feaster spoke at length with The Calgary Herald about his desire to bolster the Flames for the drive to the playoffs - without mortgaging the future.

For years, the Flames have lived off credit (by trading away draft picks). Eventually, the bill, with interest, has to be paid.

"One of the things I think we need to do in order to have long-term success is to stop what I call the deficit spending, " Feaster said. "You end up moving a second for next year and a third for next year at the trade deadline this year, and you're going to find yourself right back in the same situation."

The Flames have just one pick, a first rounder, in the top 100 of the 2011 draft. They dealt away their second to Toronto with Wayne Primeau for Anton Stralman and Colin Stuart.

Their third-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers for defenceman Steve Staios.

"The big thing is you have to recognize the assets you have and what you're willing to do in terms of moving those assets." Feaster said. "I'm not very interested in changing the chemistry or negatively affecting the chemistry on this hockey club.

"That limits the assets you have."

So, The Herald wonders, are the Flames pedalling their goods or shopping?

"We're not going to be a seller," Feaster said, firmly. "This hockey organization doesn't deserve that. This group has played right back into contention, and our mission hasn't changed since Day 1. And it certainly hasn't changed since I was named on Dec. 28.

"And that is to make the playoffs."

In a perfect world, Feaster wants to buy without giving up too much in return. The blueline, in particular, is thin. Adam Pardy is walking around with his arm in a sling, so he's not expected to come back any time soon.

Depth up front would also be welcome.

"As far as buying, if we can find the players and we can do it at a price that makes sense, then we would do it," Feaster said. "But we don't have a second. We don't have a third. We have to be judicious about our deficit spending. We have to be careful about it. And so it's not going to be easy.

"We'll see what happens at the deadline."

The Edmonton Journal poses the question: Now that his roomie Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers has his first NHL three-goal game — the first natural hat trick by a rookie in five years — has the gauntlet been thrown down to his best buddy Jordan Eberle to follow the leader?

“We’re competitive, but Hallsy gets three goals and we win the game … the game before he passes to me and I score (against Montreal) and we win again,” said Eberle, who tucked one past Carey Price for the game-winner.

“I think I’ll be passing more to Jordan now so maybe he can put a few more in his total,” said Hall. “He’d have more, for sure, if he hadn’t got hurt. And I’ve got two empty-netters in there which people don’t know (among his 20 goals). Jordan’s had a very good year too and I love playing with him.”

Captain Shawn Horcoff likes watching both at work.

“Hallsys getting all the press because of what he did against Atlanta, but what had he done the last while? Not that he’d been playing bad, but it’s a media-driven thing,” said “They’re different players but great in their own way. Hallsy likes attacking guys one-on-one with that outside speed. He’s more of a shooter … Ebs kind of does a bit of everything. He’s a great passer. He thinks the game at an extremely high level and has a knack for scoring goals with a great set of hands in close.”

Horcoff told The Journal he can’t fathom how Eberle, who has 13 goals and 31 points in 46 games, almost always comes out of a high-traffic area with the puck on his forehand, not on his backhand like most guys trying to squeeze their way to the net. “I watch him and I’m always thinking ‘How does he do that?’ ” said Horcoff. “He just turns his head and makes it look so easy. Unless you play the game, you don’t know how hard that is to always keep it on their forehand (for a better shot opportunity). Most of us have to go to the backhand to protect the puck.”

“He’s got such quick feet. When he’s in the corner and he’s got a step on a guy, he’s beating him,” said Hall.

“I learned at a young age that you have to change speeds coming down on defenceman,” said Eberle. “He’s trying to close the gap and you get to one more gear … you can use your quickness in the corners too. That’s the one thing I was worried about with my ankle, that I wouldn’t have the jump, but I’ve felt good.”

“I don’t think I’ve missed a beat other than the Columbus game where I didn’t feel right. A lot of that is how hard you work when you’re injured. We were at the pool, swimming, working out, skating,” said Eberle.

Renney loves both kids, and wasn’t holding his breath when Hall, who had gone seven straight games without a goal until breaking out against the Thrashers, crashed into the net against Atlanta after trying to beat goalie Chris Mason.

“I thought it was awesome what he did … you can’t play this game with one foot on the brake and the other on the gas,” said Renney.

Really cool angle on the Kris Versteeg trade from The Philadelphia Daily News.

Ville Leino is not looking for any credit, a pat on the back, or a high-five from teammates. In fact, he was a little embarrassed when asked about it yesterday.

Multiple team sources told the Daily News that Leino, believe it or not, was the biggest key to the Flyers bolstering their roster last week with Versteeg.

Leino agreed to postpone his ongoing contract-extension negotiations, so that the Flyers could spend their remaining salary-cap and tagging space to acquire Versteeg from Toronto. Leino will become a sought-after unrestricted free agent on July 1.

He knew that the Flyers have a better chance to hoist the Stanley Cup with Versteeg, a talented scoring winger, than without him. And he was able to table an offer from the Flyers, putting his own personal security and gain aside, for the betterment of the team.

"Those conversations are between me and [Paul Holmgren]," Leino said yesterday. "But obviously, we all want to win the Cup. That's my first priority here. And I think everyone else would feel the same way."

The Daily News indicates that Holmgren and Leino's agent, Bill Zito, reportedly discussed two offers somewhere between $2.5 million and $3.5 million per season.

All season, Leino, who has 13 goals and 27 assists, has frustratingly watched the Flyers' available cap space for next season dwindle, with Jeff Carter ($58 million) and Claude Giroux ($11.25 million) inking extensions in November.

The tagging rule - which prevents teams from committing more dollars to next season's unknown cap number than is available this season - has come into play with Leino. And it came into play with Versteeg.

Holmgren, undoubtedly, wanted to leave some flexibility for this time of year, before next Monday's trade deadline, in case he could add a player such as Versteeg. Now, with Versteeg's $3.083 million committed this year and next year, the Flyers have only $2.1 million remaining in tagging space.

Not wanting to ruffle the feathers of Leino, his biggest playoff hero last year (seven goals, 14 assists), Holmgren asked Leino how he would feel about the team pulling the trigger on a deal. Now, Versteeg is here - and Leino is stuck until the offseason. Even so, it was a no-brainer for Leino, who makes more than only Darroll Powe, Oskars Bartulis and Blair Betts.

"He's got to sit tight now," Holmgren said. "We have about $2 million in tagging space, so that's probably not enough to get it done right now.

"I think there's an open dialogue. I think my conversations with Ville and his agent, he wants to be here. He knows we want him here. That's a topic for another day."

The Daily News believes that yes, now it's a topic for another day. But in this "me, me, me" professional sports world, where multimillionaires sweat out each cent of a contract, Leino's willingness to win shouldn't be swept under the carpet. It should be celebrated.

And maybe, just maybe, after that parade down Broad Street, Holmgren can give him a kickback of some of the millions the Flyers made along the way.

“I’ve been aware. I’ve been watching,” Stars winger Jamie Langebrunner told Fire & Ice of his former's team run of 15-1-2 since losing their first game after he was traded from New Jersey to Dallas. “It’s been fun to see them playing so well. You knew it was coming. It was a matter of time and it’s good to see that. I have a lot of good friends on that team and you like to see them do well.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes that at this time of year in the NHL, there are rental agreements and then there are what Penguins general manager Ray Shero repeatedly called "hockey trades."

Shero crafted one of the latter Monday, acquiring power forward James Neal and versatile defenceman Matt Niskanen from Dallas for defenceman Alex Goligoski.

"This is the hockey trade that we've been looking for," Shero said.

In other words, this wasn't a move rushed into being because the NHL trade deadline is bearing down Monday. Both incoming players -- who are expected to be at practice today -- are young, under contract through the 2011-12 season and even after that would be eligible for restricted free agency.

A lot of trades around this time traditionally involve playoff contenders acquiring veteran players who are eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season.

"This is a deal I would have done in the summertime or now," Shero said. "I believe it's a good hockey deal for us."

The Post-Gazette points out that Neal, a native of Whitby, Ontario, is a 6-foot-2, 208-pound left winger who has logged his third 20-goal season, with 21 along with 18 assists this season, despite being just 23. Shero sees him as someone who could blossom into the kind of forward who could become a core forward along with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz.

The first three of that group were Penguins draft picks. Kunitz was picked up near the 2009 trade deadline when he was 29.

"This is really the first young winger we've gone out and gotten," Shero said of Neal.

Interestingly, Shero noted that he would not have been able to swing this deal if not for the fact that roughly $8 million in cap space opened when centre Evgeni Malkin went on long-term injured reserve and had season-ending knee surgery.

"This might have been the year we didn't do anything," Shero said. "Hopefully, a good came out of a bad."

The article also notes that this trade was not based on any projection of whether Crosby will return this season from a concussion. Shero and Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk spoke sporadically for several weeks before finalizing the deal.

Dallas needed a puck-moving defenseman. Shero was loathe to part with Goligoski, 25, who has nine goals, 31 points in 60 games this season.

"A lot of teams have called about Alex," Shero said. "I made it clear I was not looking to trade him. Our defence was playing well.

"In the back of my mind, it had to be for the right forward."

On the Dallas side of the coin, the Post-Gazette indicates that trading Neal allows the Stars to move Jamie Benn to his natural spot of left winger. Dallas executives apparently believe Benn has a bigger upside long term, although Neal will have the advantage of perhaps playing with one of the Penguins' world-class centres.

It's believed the deal originally was a one-for-one, but Shero persuaded Nieuwendyk to include Niskanen, 24, a former first-round draft pick who has been something of an enigma.

"We're hoping whether it's just a confidence thing or just a change, [the trade] will be good for him," Shero said. "Hopefully he can get back to where he was earlier in his career."

Niskanen hopes so, too.

"I came in as a younger player, and things seemed to click really well early," he said. "I played with some great partners who kind of helped me along the way. The past two season, things didn't go as well as earlier. I struggled at times. I've had some better games lately."

Also of note: this trade doesn't preclude further Penguins moves before Monday's deadline.

Despite being publicly noncommittal in recent weeks, the Penguins have a genuine interest in acquiring winger Alex Kovalev, a former Penguin, from Ottawa. Kovalev, 37, has 14 goals and 13 assists in 53 games with the Senators. His cap hit is $5 million, and he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"We have some room to look for some other pieces," Shero said. "We'll let the dust settle a little bit."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that of course the Penguins are getting immediate help at forward after trading for winger James Neal, but help from within might not be far off.

Winger Chris Kunitz could be back as soon as Wednesday for a home game against San Jose, coach Dan Bylsma said.

Kunitz missed his seventh game in a row Monday when the Penguins played Washington at Consol Energy Center, but earlier in the day he participated in the morning skate, the first time he skated in full gear and with his teammates.

"No contact or anything. Just trying to move the legs," Kunitz said. "It's nice to be out there, but there's a lot of areas to work on."

Kunitz was scheduled to be evaluated by medical staff Monday night with the hope that a timetable for his return could be firmed, but it appears he should be back before the end of this stretch of five games in seven days. The Penguins have road games Friday at Carolina and Saturday at Toronto.

"Hopefully, by the end of the week. Possibly for San Jose," Bylsma said.

Two other injured forwards, Dustin Jeffrey (leg) and Mark Letestu (knee), were on the ice before the morning skate. Jeffrey is believed to be the closer of the two for returning.

The Orange County Register indicates that there was no Jonas Hiller on the ice when the Ducks practiced Monday. Hiller had a second session with a physical therapist as he tries to solve lightheadedness and fatigue, but he remains day-to-day on injured reserve.

That leaves the team trying to work through this skid of having allowed 21 goals in the past three games without any immediate answers on hand.

"It's unacceptable the number of goals that we've let in," Toni Lydman said. "I really don't have a lot of explanation to offer you. It happens sometimes."

Coach Randy Carlyle called his team's recent performances "unacceptable" and took the Ducks through a near two-hour session to go over special teams and coverages.

"You go back to the basics," Carlyle said. "We create a checklist. These two days of practice are going to allow us to go over everything that we feel has been a staple of our game."

Asked if he was concerned that Curtis McElhinney's confidence is being damaged, he pointed to the whole team's performance.

"Our team game has to rise before we put any expectations or lay anything in anybody's direction," Carlyle said.

The Register points out that McElhinney received a vote of confidence from Ducks general manager Bob Murray, but Ray Emery looms in the background.

McElhinney had won three consecutive starts on the road but has allowed 16 goals over his last seven periods as he fills in for Jonas Hiller.

Murray backed McElhinney but indicated that Emery, who played his first games in more than a year for the Syracuse Crunch last weekend, isn't far away.

"I think Curtis has earned the opportunity to try to get back on track," Murray said. "We'll give Ray Emery a little while longer. He said he felt better Saturday than Friday, which is a very encouraging thing. He said he saw the puck better."

A career backup now thrust into a starting role, McElhinney said he is going back to basics to get righted.

"It's easy to question yourself, no doubt," he said. "I think the big thing for me that I'd like to improve on and make sure I can bring to the next game is that I'm out on top of my crease and challenging shooters and trusting guys to pick up backdoor plays and stuff like that. For me, it's simplifying."

The Buffalo News observes that Tim Connolly has been with the Buffalo Sabres longer than any other player on the roster, coming from the New York Islanders in 2001 for Michael Peca. But this could be Connolly's final week with the team.

The centre is in the final year of the controversial two-year, $9 million extension he signed at the trade deadline in 2009. He's an unrestricted free agent after the season and could be the kind of third-line centre and special teams player that a club like Pittsburgh, Washington or Los Angeles might be interested in as the NHL trade deadline looms next Monday.

It's unfathomable that the Sabres would re-sign Connolly again for next season. And many observers think it would be hard to believe he even lasts the week here.

"I don't know what to expect to happen," Connolly said after practice Monday in HSBC Arena. "I've seen a lot of deals happen early this year but those aren't real deadline deals. You just have to wait and see. It's not in my control. I have to perform to the best of my ability for this team. I'm excited about this team. We still have a good shot [to make the playoffs]."

The News notes that in 44 games, Connolly has just eight goals and 26 points. And he's a minus-13, the lowest rating on the team.

"On 5-on-5, I have to create more offensive chances for the guys I'm playing with and for myself," said Connolly, who has just five goals and 14 points all season at even strength. "Special teams is special teams and 5-on-5 is a different thing.

"I'm trying to be positive right now. I've been working lately to have a positive attitude and have it rub off others. We're right in the thick of things."

Connolly's best contributions have come on Buffalo's penalty-killing units, where he's been a consistent shot-blocker and shown more willingness to battle for the puck along the boards.

"On 5-on-3, he's our best forward when it comes to sacrificing the body," said coach Lindy Ruff. "He's done a great job."

According to The Chicago Tribune, watching the Blackhawks sleepwalk through the first period of a game they absolutely had to win was too much for Jonathan Toews to stomach.

So the captain let his teammates have it.

"Maybe I got after the boys a little bit too much, but we saw the guys responded to it," Toews said after the Hawks' 5-3 victory Monday over the Blues.

"What's frustrating (is), we say things before the game that we have to do and we go out there and play the way we did in the first 20 minutes. It was unacceptable and the leaders in the locker room held the rest of the team accountable and everyone stepped up to the plate in the second 20 (minutes)."

And how. Trailing 2-0 after an awful opening period, the Hawks exploded for four goals en route to a win that pulled them even with four other teams at 68 points in the Western Conference playoff race. Still technically in 11th place because of tiebreakers, the Hawks are only two points from fifth.

The Hawks have strung together consecutive victories for the first time in nearly a month and have points in six of their last seven games. They expanded their points lead over the 12th-place Blue Jackets to four and to five over the Blues.

"It's a confidence-builder to get two in a row," said Toews, who had a goal and an assist in the second period. "These are games we need. Maybe I vented a little frustration after that first period because we say the same things over and over (and) that it's obvious to us that a team like St. Louis is going to come out hard in the first period in their own building. We can't afford to go out there and blow the first period."

The Denver Post writes that just as Erik Johnson and Jay McClement are settling into their new surroundings in Colorado, they must return to St. Louis and play the team that last weekend traded them and a No. 1 draft pick to the Avs for winger Chris Stewart, defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk and a No. 2 pick.

The Avs will be trying to end a 10-game losing streak, the longest since the franchise moved to Colorado in 1995.

"I think it will be good just to get it over with, get the first one out of the way in St. Louis," McClement said after Monday's practice and before the club's flight to St. Louis. "It will be weird playing against the guys I've played with for six years, but I'm looking forward to it. It will be fun — once the game gets started."

Johnson, the top draft choice in 2006, said: "It's pretty weird to come back that soon, but that's part of the business. It's going to be a fun game, for sure, and I'm looking forward to it. Nothing better than to get a win against those boys."

Meanwhile, Johnson, who was selected No. 1 overall in the 2006 draft, obviously knows that some people have used the “bust” tag on him.

“I had a good first season (five goals, 33 points in 69 games), lost the second season to (knee) injury and then had a good third year last year (10 goals, 39 points in 79 games), making the Olympic team and coming one goal from a gold medal,” he said. “Maybe a change of scenery will help me do whatever it takes to be a dominant player in this league, and that’s definitely what I want to be, and plan on being.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had reaction ahead of tonight's game from former teammates.

"It'll be nice to see them again," Blues defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said. "It was such a quick transition to when the trade happened to them playing the next night and then us playing the next night. … You don't really get an opportunity to say bye to the guys.

"Hopefully, we'll have an opportunity to catch up. But we've just got to treat it like another game."

For Johnson and McClement, "the emotions will obviously flood back," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "But when the competition starts, the friendships go out the door and you play to win. I expect nothing less from Jay McClement and Erik Johnson when they come in here, and I expect nothing else from the two players that (came) here.

"We're going to play to win, they're going to play to win. It's going to be a heck of a hockey game."

The Columbus Dispatch writes that it was a cold, somber December morning for the Blue Jackets in Nationwide Arena. They gathered for one of those pick-up-the-pieces practices, having lost four straight games as part of a 2-7-3 slump that turned a promising season in the opposite direction.

Coach Scott Arniel, who had displayed the Western Conference standings in the middle of the dressing room since the beginning of the season, was looking for a way to ease the growing pressure on his players.

"There has been so much emphasis since October ... playoffs, playoffs, playoffs," Arniel said, "I thought if we could break it down and not stress so much on 82 games, it would help."

Arniel employed a plan he'd used in the minor leagues.

At the time of that practice, on Dec. 20, the Blue Jackets had 50 games remaining. So Arniel divided them into 10 five-game segments. The goal was to earn six points in each segment, along with a special-teams index (power-play percentage plus penalty-kill percentage) of 102 or better.

"There's still one big goal: the playoffs," Rick Nash said. "But to get there, we have a bunch of little goals."

The Dispatch points out that if the Blue Jackets averaged six points per five-game segment, they would finish with 95 points - what it took to earn the eighth seed in the conference last season.

"When you look at it like six points every five games, it looks doable," centre Antoine Vermette said. "It doesn't look so big."

The segments have been a big hit in the dressing room. Not to mention highly successful.

Slowly, the Blue Jackets have worked their way back into the race. They play host to the Nashville Predators tonight with a chance to perhaps get within two points of eighth place.

"For us, as a young team, it's been good to focus on the short term, to have small-term goals," forward R.J. Umberger said. "You don't get lost in the big picture.

"We can't gain nine points in one game, and that's what we were trying to do when we had that bad stretch. We all want to make the playoffs so badly that you get kind of consumed with that whole idea."

Arniel added: "I don't think it's something you have to do when you're out in front. But for us, I think it's helped quite a bit. The pressure was starting to build, and it's helped us reduce distractions."

The Red Wings have won six of their past seven games with only 11 goals against in those six wins. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told Michigan Live that commitment and energy level have contributed to their rise. He wants his team to get "stingier and stingier" defensively.

"Pavel (Datsyuk) is back," Babcock said. "So we all got better when Pavel arrived. Let’s not kid ourselves."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Mikko Koivu's broken left index finger will not need surgery. But the question remains: How will the Wild react to the loss of its captain over the next few weeks?

That was General Manager Chuck Fletcher's indeterminate timetable, by the way. Koivu had his left hand examined by a specialist Monday, and will be back before the end of the regular season April 10.

"It will be a few weeks," Fletcher said. "Hopefully it's on the shorter side rather than the longer side. In a week or two we'll see how it's healing, and we'll be able to give a more definitive update."

So what will the Wild do?

Fletcher said again that Koivu, a centre who plays in every situation, cannot be replaced by a trade-deadline deal. "The thing is, how do we keep our team competitive, what do we do to help our team win games?" Fletcher said. "That's our focus."

The Star-Tribune indicates that the Wild still is considering a trade as a possibility, Fletcher and coach Todd Richards said they would prefer to find solutions within the organization.

"We want to be careful," Fletcher said. "The guys play hard for each other. They're a well-coached, hard-working team. And we will get Mikko back. So we want to be careful that, in whatever we do, it fits in with that group, and with the character of the group."

Richards said he's reluctant to change lines by moving either Eric Nystrom or Pierre-Marc Bouchard to centre. Richards loves the way the Nystrom-Madden-Cal Clutterbuck line has played recently against the top lines from Anaheim and Detroit, and he doesn't want to break up a line with Bouchard and Martin Havlat on the wings.

So giving Cody Almond increased time will be the first move. That could change if Guillaume Latendresse, who practiced with the team for the first time since his multiple surgeries in November, can get back in the lineup quickly.

Latendresse had five procedures, two on groin muscles, two on sports hernias and one to repair his hip. He wore a noncontact jersey during practice Monday, which started with Richards welcoming him back and his teammates banging their sticks on the ice.

The Star-Tribune says that Latendresse, who was cleared to return to practice during a Monday morning doctor's appointment, said he felt great to be back on the ice but wasn't 100 percent yet. He is experiencing groin-muscle pain and said he can't push off with 100 percent power yet.

"Those guys have 50-some games on me," he said. "I need to get my conditioning back. And I cannot go NHL speed right now."

Latendresse, who said he was as nervous as he was in his first NHL practice, was pulled aside by Richards during the workout and told the team wasn't going to rush him back before he's ready.

"I hope I can come back and make a difference at the end of the year," he said.

The Mercury News observes that San Jose has spent the past five weeks steadily climbing up the Western Conference standings in a decidedly un-Sharks-like manner.

Known more for offensive flair, the Sharks have become adept at winning low-scoring games thanks to a newfound defensive emphasis.

The team's marquee players -- Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle -- are not racking up points at their usual pace. Yet that hasn't stopped the Sharks from putting together a 12-2-1 run.

As the Sharks begin a challenging three-game trip Tuesday in Detroit, though, a question remains. Doesn't San Jose need the big guns to start scoring eventually?

"There's a sacrifice to be made when you're playing hard defensively," Boyle said. "You're giving up a little bit on offence. But it's all about winning games. Whatever works. And it's clear that defensively we've tightened things up."

It's also clear the Sharks, who are 16th in the NHL in goals per game at 2.73, have learned how to win without burning out red light bulbs. Their 4-0 victory over reeling Colorado on Saturday qualified as an offensive explosion. That game also marked the first time since Dec. 23 that the Sharks won a game by more than two goals.

So while coach Todd McLellan would like more scoring, he is not about to mess with the current success.

"We're sticking to the same formula and the same recipe," McLellan said Monday. "If they continue to give us everything they have on the defensive side, eventually the offence will come. At the end of the day, they have to produce a little more offensively. But it will not be at the cost of play at our own end."

Or as Ryane Clowe added: "Nobody complains about not scoring goals when you're winning."

The Mercury News posits that perhaps what happened to the Sharks is playoff-style hockey arrived early this season.

With so many teams packed together in the West, the fight for points each night has produced high-energy encounters similar to what's seen in the postseason. For the Sharks, that has translated into lots of tight-checking, one-goal games that come down to the final horn. And that also means there is precious little space on the ice for players such as Thornton.

Normally a points machine, Thornton has only three assists in the past eight games.

"I think the way we're playing right now is the way we're going to win," Thornton responded when asked about his personal production.

In fact, Thornton believes he has been at the top of his game lately as he focuses more on hockey's smaller battles: Winning faceoffs, chasing down loose pucks, forechecking.

"There have been times where I felt like I controlled the game, and then I look at the score sheet and I have no points and I'm minus-1," said Thornton, who leads the Sharks with 49 points. "Sometimes the goals and assists really don't reflect how you're playing."

Thornton and Marleau echoed Boyle's sentiments: Whatever it takes to win. Heatley agreed "... to a point.

"No question that's our attitude," said Heatley, who has only 20 goals thus far after scoring 39 a season ago. "But we've got to get goals from somebody. We don't care where they come from, but it's my job to score. It's a lot of guys' job on this team. We want to contribute offensively."

According to The Nashville Tennessean, tonight is going to be one of those "full-circle" moments for Jonathon Blum. The Pre­da­tors defen­ce­man -- a 2007 first-round pick -- will make his NHL debut in Colum­bus. Iro­ni­cally, this is where Blum's NHL jour­ney began -- on draft day in 2007.

"My mom said that when I called her," Blum said. "It’s kind of weird that it all star­ted here and you’re pla­ying your first game here so it’s pretty cool."

Blum, a native of Long Beach, Calif., said his family will be in atten­dance tonight for the Pre­da­tors' con­test against Colum­bus. Blum said he had a few sleep issues last night.

"I was laying in bed last night, thin­king 'you don’t want to make a fool out of your­self,' but in rea­lity it’s the same game you’ve been pla­ying, just fas­ter guys," Blum said. "You have to adjust and just enjoy this – your first game and have fun with it no mat­ter what."

The Tennessean relays that Nash­vi­lle coach Barry Trotz said Blum was Nashville's most best defen­ce­man in Mil­wau­kee this sea­son, hence the rea­son to call him up. Also, des­pite being a right-handed shot, Blum has pla­yed the left side with the Admi­rals, so the tran­si­tion shouldn't be too dif­fi­cult. Blum is effec­ti­vely repla­cing Ryan Suter, who is a left defen­ce­man. Trotz said, depen­ding on match ups, he may rotate defen­ce­men throughout the lineup.

"I think the thing about Jon Blum is he’s a very inte­lli­gent pla­yer, he knows how to play," Trotz said. "He unders­tands the game very well. He’ll have some inner-nerves, but he plays with calm­ness, so I’m not too worried about him."

The article also passes on that Trotz said for­ward Ser­gei Kos­titsyn won't play tonight. Marek Sva­tos will slide in his place. Trotz said he expects Kos­titsyn to play Thurs­day against Chicago.

Also, the call-up of Mark Deka­nich was to ena­ble Anders Lind­back to get a few more games in Mil­wau­kee. Pekka Rinne is expected to pretty much start the rest of the way anyway.

A fellow Chris in Halifax: "Hi Chris,

Sitting in first place in a points-only keeper league, but looking towards the future. My pool is having a one-round mini-draft where you can drop a player and add any available free agent (can't take undrafted youngsters, so no Nuge, etc). My D will be fine next year if Lidstrom decides to stick around, but he has to retire eventually and it's the area that I'd like to shore up before that happens. The pickings are pretty slim, but I am thinking John Moore has a shot at putting up some points in the not-too-distant future. Travis Hamonic is available, as are Brendan Smith (who I like but Detroit brings their young guys along soooo slowly), Tyson Barrie, Cameron Gaunce and Stefan Elliott (with Colorado in a rebuild one of those guys might get a shot soon), Nick Leddy and Justin Schultz.

Any other obscure young d-men that I've missed? Who do you like out of those guys, or should I just grab Brett Connolly, Evgeny Kuznetsov or Tarasenko if any of those guys are available?

Thanks, great job with the blog, and who knows, you may get me on Twitter at some point (never thought I'd say that)."

Chris: Thanks, as usual. I was so resistant to Twitter Chris, but it's turned out to be pretty incredible for the blog. From a reader's perspective, it's just a way to get info more quickly than I can pass otherwise pass along. It's especially helpful when it comes to a certain injury or trade coming up, since it can give you the needed edge to grab a player from free agency.

In terms of the prospect question, if you have a chance to add Brett Connolly I'd do it for sure. I get that you're worried about Lidstrom's retirement, but that's an issue for another day because Connolly should easily be a step above any of those defencemen mentioned. He, IMO, has a chance to be a legit impact star. He may even make the NHL next year, although expecting results right away would be a little much. Still, as much as guys like Moore (and many of the guys you listed) might truly turn into stars on the back end I'd rather grab the impact forward and think about a deal down the line if needed.

Hamonic is doing so well right now. He'd make a great pick-up for a lot of people in standard leagues, given his great point/ PIM ratio lately.

@WasinTocharoen: "Hey, I'm Wasin, from Thailand. Have a Question, keeper league, Heater for Rolo,Goligoski,Hornqvist, should I do it ?? Thx"

Chris: Without knowing the particulars of your league like categories counted, number of teams, number of keepers, etc (kind of hard to jam that into a Twitter question), I'd say that I'd rather have the Heatley side of the deal. That's not really one I have to think about too long, honestly.

Despite San Jose's recent low-scoring ways, I think the offence will come around as they get used to their new defensive style, while also continually improving that +/- mark. Same thing in terms of the offence for Washington, which is why I think it's actually a great buyer's market for the stars from both of those teams.

The more keepers you hang onto each summer per team, the easier it is to take on more players in a trade. The few keepers you have, the more important it is to have the highest quality of player per slot.

Heatley is though, IMO, easily the best fantasy asset in that trade and I'd rather have him. Roloson's getting up there in age. I like Goligoski's chances for increased PP opportunities in Dallas, although nobody likes losing the Pittsburgh allure. Hornqvist is ok, but still not anywhere near a steady impact producer.