Chris Nichols

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

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

The twitter feed has timely NHL & fantasy info with a few funnies along the way. Inane babble is generally kept to a minimum and known starting goalies will be posted leading up to the first games of the night, where possible.

Live NHL recaps run every game night, seven evenings a week. The start time is generally around 7pm et, depending on the schedule. Log on for fresh line combos, defensive pairings, power play times, analysis, statistical trends and more from each and every game. Refresh the recap page while the games are on to see new info as it gets added.

Hockey Hearsay runs each weekday, providing you with a mix of stories, quotes and more from around the hockey world. You can also submit your fantasy hockey question for a Hockey Hearsay blog via email. One per person, please and include your first name and hometown to represent!

The Ottawa Citizen postulates that to those who watched it unfold from the outside, it always looked as if Ottawa Senators coach Cory Clouston and Alex Kovalev were at odds.

It had all the elements of a ready-made conflict: a coach who prizes form and structure versus L’Artiste, the practical side of hockey versus its creative impulse.

Something had to give.

And it finally did when Kovalev was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are in Ottawa on Tuesday night to play the Senators.

But Clouston says he never had a problem with Kovalev. He was a “good guy,” says the coach, wasn’t a distraction and wasn’t a “cancer in the dressing room.”

It’s just that, slowed by age and surgery last spring on his left knee, Kovalev wasn’t able to play the skilful game that had brought him great success over his long career.

“He plays a game that not many guys play in this league anymore,” said Clouston “He plays a game that’s a skill game. He’s a puck-possession kind of guy. And the way teams check and how fast the game is now, it sometimes is difficult to have success as an individual. And sometimes it was difficult to read and understand where he was going to be.

“In saying that, there were nights when he was our best player. I think the biggest problem was just consistency.

“There’d be some nights where the he’d look like a top-10 player in the league. There were other nights where, whether it was because of his knee, (he didn’t), but he has been like that his whole career.

“Ask any coach who’s had him over the last 18 years and they probably would (say) the same thing.”

But The Citizen writes that if Kovalev’s temperament has always been to turn it off and on as the mood struck him, he found it increasingly difficult to do that this season, said Clouston.

His left knee, which needed surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament last spring, bothered him more than anyone knew. Clouston said it was a delicate balance just to get Kovalev ready to play a game.

“There were days when there was a lot of swelling in that knee,” said Clouston. “That’s just a fact. He’s not a real fast guy to begin with, and when you compound that with major knee surgery, there were some good days and there were some bad days.”

One Senator who will be especially happy to see Kovalev is Nick Foligno. The two became good friends and Foligno credits Kovalev with teaching him a lot about hockey.

“He was a great teammate to me and all the other guys in that locker-room,” said Foligno. “He has been a real big influence on me in the sense of how to play the game and what to look for, on what it means to be a pro, and he kind of guided me through experiences he has had.

“I can’t say enough about having him in the room. We definitely miss him, but I’m happy for him. He’s in a good situation.”

Foligno also said Kovalev gets an unfair rap for being a distraction in the dressing room.

“I think he gets misunderstood,” said Foligno. “He’s a guy who really cares a lot. He cares about how he’s playing and how the team’s playing.

“Sometimes he gets a little unfair treatment.

“He was a good teammate and he cared a lot, and it really bothered him that this year didn’t go as planned.”

Jason Spezza offered this to The Citizen: “He’ll be ready to go, for sure. He probably wants to have a good showing in a place he played for a couple of years.

“He’s the type of guy, if you give him some momentum and (he) gets going, he can have a big night.”

The Washington Post reports that the Capitals didn’t offer any additional details on Jason Arnott, who is not on the trip with the team because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Bruce Boudreau said he doesn’t expect the veteran center, who is formally listed as week-to-week, to play in any of the next three games. Arnott played 17:09 against Chicago on Sunday, including one shift in overtime, so it’s unclear when he might have suffered the injury.

While Arnott’s presence helped stabilize the offense almost immediately upon his arrival, adding five points in seven games, where the Capitals will likely miss him most is in the dressing room.

Arnott made no qualms about stepping up to be a leader on the young Washington squad, and even though he’s only been around the team for two weeks, it will be an adjustment without his voice to help keep the team on track. But the Capitals aren’t about to dwell on who they do or don’t have in the lineup either.

“We can't sit here and think we’re missing an important part of our puzzle right now; our leader and a guy that’s very vocal and a guy that knows how to direct a team,” Matt Hendricks said. “But at the same time, that’s exactly what we are missing. There will be a little different feeling in here and we’re going to have to have some other veterans in this room step up and make sure we keep going in the right direction. I think we’ll be able to fight through it.”

The Post indicates that with both Arnott and Nicklas Backstrom (fractured thumb) out of the mix tonight against the Canadiens, Boudreau has shifted the lines: On the top line, Alex Ovechkin with Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin, and on the second, Marco Sturm with Marcus Johansson and Mike Knuble.

“We’ll find out,” Boudreau said when asked how much of an affect Arnott’s absence would have. “I don’t know how much it’s going to hurt. He has had an impact and we are going to miss him, but like every other team, we’ll carry on.”

Despite the fact that Washington has used the same lines in each of its last three games since Eric Fehr returned to the lineup against Edmonton, Boudreau said he wasn’t concerned about rearranging things for Tuesday’s game.

As you may have seen here on Sportsnet.ca earlier, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenceman Jake Gardiner to a three-year entry level contract. Gardiner will report to the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies for the remainder of the season.

The Leafs acquired Gardiner on Feb. 9 from the Anaheim Ducks along with Joffrey Lupul and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2013 in exchange for defenceman Francois Beauchemin. The 20-year-old native of Deephaven, Minnesota was originally Anaheim's first choice, selected 17th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Gardiner, a 6-2, 184-pound defenceman, played 41 games for the University of Wisconsin this season and collected 40 points on 10 goals and 30 assists with 30 penalty minutes. He ranked second on Wisconsin in assists and third in points. In 2009 he was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team.

Internationally, Gardiner won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships. In seven games for Team USA, he registered three assists and a plus-nine rating.

Fire & Ice reports that Devils LW Zach Parise skated again this morning prior to the team’s morning skate. It seems unlikely he’d be ready to practice with the team this week. When Parise was cleared on March 2 to begin skating, Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said he would need at least two to three weeks of skating on his own to be able to build up his leg strength. It has not been two weeks yet.

Lemaire was asked this morning if he had any idea when Parise might be ready to join the team for a practice.

“The first I’ve seen him was in the (trainer’s room) today.” Lemaire said. “So, he’s getting closer. He used to be home and then always if we were on (the practice rink) he was on this side and today I saw him in the (trainer’s room). He’s getting closer to us. He’s on the same side of the building, same arena. That’s good. But I still don’t know when he’s going to skate (with the team). But he’s getting closer.”

Even if Parise were ready, there won’t be many opportunities for him to practice with the team in the next week-plus. The team will practice Wednesday in Newark before flying to Ottawa for its game there Thursday night. The Devils return home to host Washington on Friday, so their next practice won’t be until Saturday. After that, they will be on the road in Columbus (game Sunday) and Boston (practice Monday, game next Tuesday). So, after Saturday, the next possible day for a practice in New Jersey that Parise (if ready) would be able to participate in is Wedesday, March 23 (and it’s possible they’ll have that day off after returning home late the night before).

Canadiens defenceman James Wisniewski told The Montreal Gazette the National Hockey League might have made too many changes when it tried to make the game more fan-friendly coming out of the lockout in 2005.

As the Canadiens prepared to meet the Washington Capitals Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, Wisniewski suggested that the rule changes instituted following the lockout have contributed to injuries ”you didn’t see in the ’90s, the ’80s and the ’70s.”

“They brought in no holding and they did things to make the games faster and have more scoring. They brought in seamless glass, but everything they’ve done for the fans has put the players in jeopardy of getting hurt,” Wisniewski said.

There has been a greater concern for safety issues this season with at least 73 concussions reported in the NHL. The victims include superstar Sidney Crosby and the Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty, whose head hit a stanchion at the Bell Centre after he was checked by Boston’s Zdeno Chara.

The solution, according to The Wiz, is to bring back some old-time hockey.

“If you go to where you can impede guys a little bit, slow them down just a hair,” Wisniewski said. “You don’t have to do the hooking thing where you ride the guy down the ice, but just enough to slow things down.”

Wisniewski told The Gazette the introduction of the instigator penalty means that players no longer feel responsible. And he said players can get tired because there’s no change allowed after icing and there’s less time between faceoffs.

Hal Gill, whose career started with seven seasons in the pre-lockout NHL, said he agreed with Wisniewski.

“Bring holding back? I’m up for it,” Gill said. “You want me to jump and click my heels?”

“There was a lot more hand-to-hand combat when I came into the league, battling in the corners,” recalled Gill. “It might have been a slower game, but I felt it was more competitive in that nature as opposed to the high-speed collisions that you see now. It’s a give and take. You want the speed, (you want) guys to be able to skate and show their skill. At the same time, when you’re skating that fast, things come at you quick.”

Gill recalled a recent conversation with some teammates and noted: “We were saying you don’t have the hooking and holding marks on your arms, you don’t get the bruises from the slashes, but there’s a lot more hits to the heads.”

The Detroit News says it sure seems like it's been a while since Henrik Zetterberg has scored.

The last time? Feb. 22 against San Jose. Before that? Feb. 11 in Boston. And on Jan. 10 in Colorado.

And here are even more numbers for Zetterberg: No goals the last nine games, and 2 in his last 26.

"Absolutely you want to score goals," Zetterberg said Monday. "Even if you're having assists, it would be nice to get a goal or two soon."

While Zetterberg has 17 assists during the 26-game span, he's been a little cold the last six when it comes to that category, too. Try none. And that is one of the many reasons the Red Wings are struggling in March, with a 2-4 record that included a 0-4 start.

"If you don't score, you don't win games," he said. "That's been one of our problems."

The News believes that Zetterberg was arguably the best Red Wings player while Pavel Datsyuk was out with a broken right hand through January. During a span of 18 games, Zetterberg had 23 points (six goals, 17 assists).

But lately, he just hasn't been able to finish.

If he wasn't getting any scoring opportunities, that would be one thing. But he is satisfied with that aspect.

"I get enough shots," said Zetterberg, who is sixth in the NHL with 268 shots. "It's more when I get a chance, I got to take care of it.

"You're maybe squeezing the stick a little bit too much. You think about it. You want to score instead of going with the flow."

But, Zetterberg isn't the only Red Wings forward struggling. Since his five-goal outburst against the Senators on Feb. 2, Johan Franzen has scored one goal in 18 games. Todd Bertuzzi hasn't scored (one point) in 11 games. Valtteri Filppula has scored one goal and has three assists in 12 games.

"The goals-against was a big issue and we've been better at that," Zetterberg said. "Now it's the goals-for, instead.

"If we get that going, it'll be easier to win games."

Thanks to a recent bout with the flu, Philly.com writes that Jeff Carter has barely been able to catch his breath over a wild two-week period which included a three-day sickness quarantine from the team and his grandfather's funeral.

His team has been in a tailspin, earning just four wins in its last 10 games. The flu zapped 10 pounds off Carter's frame.

"It may not sound like a lot, but I don't have 10 pounds to give,'' Carter said.

But Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said Carter has been one of the team's few bright spots in recent games.

"When you take Jeff Carter from the lineup, you notice it,'' Laviolette said. "It's not to slight the other guys he is playing with, but he skates so effortlessly. Jeff's play has been really strong, I think that's the best word to describe it.

"His speed in which he plays the game, to me, that's really important. To me, the teams that play with speed are the hardest teams to play against. With the puck and without the puck, it's all about skating.

"When he comes back in the lineup, and he's not battling the flu and he's feeling good, he's really noticeable.''

Philly.com notes that few players have bounced through the lineup like Carter has this season, seemingly with new linemates every night; but he has recently created chemistry with Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk.

Giroux and van Riemsdyk have a combined seven points in their last three games.

"Even before I missed a couple games, I thought we were starting to work together and control pucks,'' Carter said. "We've been hanging on to them and making plays. It takes a while to get comfortable with guys sometimes. We've been really clicking now.''

Carter said his line has been focusing on creating opportunities starting from behind the net - the area that used to be called "Wayne Gretzky's office.''

"We've been using the back of the net a lot, that has really opened things up for us,'' Carter said. " 'G' is kind of like Danny [Briere], when he gets open space behind the net there, he's going to make plays. I just try and get open."

The article notes that even though he signed an 11-year, $58 million contract in November, Carter has maintained a low profile this season.

Despite all of the chaos of the last few weeks, Carter leads the Flyers with 30 goals. He has been remarkably consistent, already matching last year's assist total. This is his third straight 30-goal season, and he is on pace to finish with 36 goals and 34 assists for 70 points.

With all of the big names around him, Carter, 26, isn't always the focus of opponents' game plans. They sometimes prefer to key on Giroux, Briere or Mike Richards.

"I think when you're talking about our forwards,'' Laviolette said, "There's different people you can focus on or target. But he's been strong on his skating, jabbing away at pucks at the net. He's been getting second and third opportunities."

That's all right with Carter. He'd like to keep the attention elsewhere.

"It's always nice,'' Carter said. "It's been going well. We've got nine forwards in here who can put the puck in the net on any shift. It's always nice when it's a team effort.''

The Boston Globe points out that when your opponents have the puck more and put a high number of pucks on goal, odds of success will not play in your favor.

Simple stuff.

“They’re spending way too much time in our own end,’’ Bruins coach Claude Julien said after yesterday’s practice at Ristuccia Arena. “Pretty basic. But that’s what it is. You want to spend more time with the puck. You want to spend it in the offensive end, not in the defensive zone and defending all the time.’’

Tonight against Columbus, the first stop in a three-city road swing (Nashville and Toronto later in the week), the Bruins will attempt to wipe out a four-game winless streak. During their stumble, a confluence of shortcomings has halted a seven-game winning streak.

Inefficient puck retrieval and transition from defense to offense. Not enough speed with the puck in the neutral zone. Too little time spent in the offensive zone. Few sustained scoring rushes. Gaps between defensemen and forwards.

The end result: 38 shots allowed per game in the last four setbacks.

“When you look at the games where we’re successful, we don’t give up that many shots,’’ said Dennis Seidenberg. “We just have to work harder at coming back to our own zone by putting more pressure on the puck carrier. He can’t just skate in, take a wrister, and go from there. Us as defensemen have to hold a better gap. Forwards have to do a better job of putting more pressure on their guys.’’

Joe Corvo didn't wait for the question to end Monday, according to The Raleigh News & Observer. Hearing the phrase "power play," the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman quickly replied, "Terrible."

That's word association for you. Pretty apt description, too.

The Hurricanes, who face the Buffalo Sabres tonight at HSBC Arena, were 0-for-9 on the power play in their last game, a 3-2 loss Saturday to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They haven't scored a power-play goal in their past five games - going 0-for-21 - and are 3-for-61 in their past 15.

Nearly everyone agrees the power play is broken. Why?

"I don't know. It's a mystery," Corvo said.

The question now: how to fix it, and quickly.

Forward Cory Stillman said better execution would breed better confidence. Corvo said there should be less hesitation. He also said the booing recently heard at the RBC Center isn't helping.

"The coaches are telling us to stick with it and stay positive," Corvo said. "But it is frustrating."

The News & Observer notes the Hurricanes (31-28-10) are four points out of playoff position in the NHL's Eastern Conference. They've lost four straight since a 3-2 overtime win March 3 over the Sabres. With just 13 games remaining in the regular season, time is running out.

Often, a power-play goal can be the difference, especially in these tight, intense games between teams battling to reach the playoffs. For the Canes, who are not an explosive offensive team, they're desperately needed.

"Power plays go through cycles," Stillman said. "It's a matter of sticking with the system, sticking with the program.

"Once you get one [goal], it's going to open. And as soon as you do that, you have the confidence and you'll probably see us score two or three in a game. It can turn very quickly."

Penalty killers also have been playing the Hurricanes differently, Corvo said. It's like a predator going after a wounded animal.

"It's like they're saying, 'They're struggling, let's get on them and make them lose their confidence early,' " Stillman said.

Teams are attacking the Canes as they approach the blue line and attempt to set up in the offensive zone, often forcing them to dump the puck in. They're attacking the points - Corvo, Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, Jay Harrison - and blocking shots.

"Every team is pressuring," Corvo said. "Before, you'd play a mix of teams that played zone and were not too aggressive. Now every team is being aggressive. Every team is pressuring us, sending two guys up and trying to score."

The Columbus Dispatch writes that Blue Jackets defenseman Sami Lepisto finds himself somewhere between new resident and visitor. His play between now and April9 likely will determine which one he becomes.

The 26-year-old defenseman, acquired along with Upshall for Rostislav Klesla and a minor-leaguer Feb 28, is a restricted free agent at season's end. For a player still trying to establish himself in the NHL, the next few weeks are important ones.

"We want to try to get into the playoffs and that's where the focus is," said Lepisto, who has appeared in 136 NHL games. "I'm always trying to play my best and I'm also playing for my job, too. I really think this is a great opportunity and I want to make the best of it."

Being scratched twice by a team with one of the league's most pedestrian defensive corps isn't a great start. Coach Scott Arniel sat Lepisto after just three games in which he combined for one shot, no hits and a plus-2 rating. The Coyotes scratched him 13 times this season.

But a player still acclimating himself to a system was more noticeable and active in the past two games. Lepisto had several scoring chances Friday against Los Angeles and finally was part of a win on Saturday in Carolina.

"I thought he had his best game the other night in Carolina," Arniel said. "I liked the way he jumped up in the rush (and) I really liked the way he defended and stepped up to pick off pucks. He's getting more comfortable."

The Dispatch believes that Arniel's up-tempo system, which encourages defensemen to fill lanes and supply offensive options, did not play to the strengths of Klesla or Mike Commodore. It should, however, be a good fit for a strong skater such as Lepisto.

In fact, given the relative mediocrity of the Jackets defensemen and their share of expiring contracts - Fedor Tyutin and Kris Russell are the only blue-liners with one-way deals beyond July1 - Lepisto could hardly ask for a better chance to make an impression.

Arniel is giving him power-play time, something he rarely enjoyed in Phoenix.

"There is a little bit of auditioning going on, but they are trying to help us win and that's all we care about," Arniel said of Lepisto and Upshall, an unrestricted free agent.

The Jackets could make the arbitration-eligible Lepisto a qualifying offer of $840,000 for next season or allow him to go free. Marc Methot, Anton Stralman and Grant Clitsome also are restricted free agents, and Jan Hejda and Craig Rivet are unrestricted free agents.

Methot and Clitsome will receive qualifying offers, and Klesla's departure increases the possibility of Hejda's re-signing. Stralman and Rivet probably won't return, and Commodore's contract figures to be bought out.

That gives general manager Scott Howson flexibility to rebuild the defense, with prospects such as John Moore and David Savard among the options.

Where does that leave Lepisto? Right now, somewhere between ordering room service and searching for a Columbus real-estate agent.

LA Kings Insider writes that assuming he looks both ways before crossing the street, Anze Kopitar will set a Kings franchise record tonight by playing in his 325th consecutive game. Marcel Dionne played 324 consecutive games, from Jan. 7, 1978 until Jan. 9, 1982. Doug Jarvis hold the NHL record with 964 consecutive games played. Kopitar started his streak late in his rookie season, on March 21, 2007, after he returned from a back injury.

KOPITAR: “I don’t know if that’s something you want to look at too much, and jinx it. It’s definitely a nice accomplishment. Hopefully it’s not going to be done after tomorrow. I hope now. You just play and prepare yourself. That’s about as much as you can do for yourself. Come ready to play, and prepare, and obviously some stuff in the offseason helps too. If you get hit by a puck and break a bone, it’s not like you can do anything about it. The tendons and muscles, if they’re attached, that’s when you can kind of control it off the ice and just take care of yourself.”

Since most players do everything possible to hide the extent of injuries and soreness, it’s tough to know how close Kopitar has come to missing a game. Kopitar had a close call in this season’s opener in Vancouver, when he required 18 stitches in the mouth area after being cut by a stick. Kopitar played the next night in Calgary and didn’t categorize that as a “close call.”

KOPITAR: “No. It was sore, it was painful, but I’m not skating with my face. The only tough part was eating. My teeth were OK, but I had to chop the food down pretty far, into small pieces. Other than that, everything was fine.”

The Arizona Republic believes that during training camp, or even in the first few months of the season, Coyotes forward Lauri Korpikoski wouldn't have necessarily pegged himself as a team leader in terms of scoring goals.

But that's exactly where the 24-year-old winger finds himself, tied with forwards Shane Doan and Taylor Pyatt with a team-high 17 goals.

"You don't think about it that way, that you want to be a leader in goals," Korpikoski said.

Two goals in Sunday's 5-2 win at Anaheim to start a four-game road swing gave Korpikoski three in his past three games as he inches his career-high total even higher.

"He has confidence, and confidence for a player is the No.1 thing," said Eric Belanger, who has been centering Korpikoski during his recent tear and will likely continue to when the Coyotes visit the Calgary Flames Tuesday night. "Right now he's having a lot of confidence. He wants the puck. He's skating well, and he can make plays and shoot the puck. . . . He's doing a lot of little things and as a center, you like that. I like to have the puck, and I like to see my wingers go to the net.

"It's just clicking, and it's nice to see him get rewarded for his effort."

The Republic notes that the Coyotes are one of three teams without a 20-goal scorer (along with Nashville and Ottawa), but they have 10 players with at least 10 goals. Entering play Monday night, only Boston and Detroit carried more 10-plus goal scorers, while four other teams also had 10.

"People are surprised," Belanger said. "They wonder why we're doing so well not having any 20-goal scorers. It's more than just one or two guys scoring more than 20 goals. We have a bunch of guys contributing effectively. It's different guys that score goals, and I think that's what you need to have success in the playoffs and making the playoffs."

Korpikoski thinks his line with Doan and Belanger is successful right now because of the different styles of each player. Belanger can delay the play up the middle, Korpikoski offsets that with his speed and Doan, as a power forward, draws attention to himself.

"You get opportunities, and then you get goals," Korpikoski said. "There's really no secret to that."