Chris Nichols

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

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

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The Edmonton Journal points out that the bad news on trade deadline day was Dustin Penner leaving the Oilers after almost four years.

The good news was he was on his way back to southern California, where he has a home in Los Angeles and won a Stanley Cup ring with the Anaheim Ducks. It’s also where his new wife, an actress, has worked.

Indeed, it couldn’t have been a better trade scenario for the left-winger, who will be on the Los Angeles Kings’ first line with Michael Handzus and Oscar Moller when he returns to Rexall Place to play his old team on Tuesday night.

The Kings are trying to cope in the playoff race without their best player, Anze Kopitar, who broke his ankle on Saturday. With the No. 1 centre Kopitar (73 points) and front-line winger Justin Williams (57) banging up his shoulder in the last week, Los Angeles will be leaning heavily on Penner, another former Oilers winger Ryan Smyth, and captain Dustin Brown to get them through the last two weeks of the regular season.

Penner has had trouble scoring (just two goals) since he was traded, but does have six points in 12 games with the Kings.

“We went through a significant amount of time where people thought Dustin might get moved and we had fun with it in the dressing room,” said Renney. “When I made the call to him and told him it was for real, we kind of chuckled.

“He’s a good man. He handled it really well. He was very complimentary of our efforts, trying to help him be a player and what his requirements were as a teammate,” said Renney, “and he did everything he could to help us.

“At the end of the day, he’s got a real good opportunity to be a playoff player and do some serious damage there.”

The Journal says that Penner wasn’t a huge fan favourite in Edmonton because the fans saw him as a big body who was capable of more, but he wouldn’t be alone in that category. Big guys, especially 240-pound players, don’t blend into the woodwork comfortably.

“The coaches and Dustin’s teammates had a very very healthy relationship with him,” said Renney, who knows that hockey is a business and the Oilers got a former first-round pick (Colten Teubert) for their back end, a first-round draft pick in June and a third-rounder, as well, for their rebuilding process, but didn’t want to see Penner leave.

“Having him here was enjoyable, engaging, provocative ... all those things. Frustrating at times, but that’s human nature. To be honest, I’m not sure if there was some residual stuff there historically (Penner didn’t always see eye-to-eye with former coach Craig MacTavish), but I think we understood him really well.”

The article notes that it’s an interesting situation, having the Kings in Edmonton. If the Oilers lose, it solidifies their hold on last spot for the fans who would like them to have the best odds in the draft lottery, again, after they got Taylor Hall last June.

But, if the Oilers beat the Kings, that might help the second part of the draft equation should Los Angeles stumble and not make the post-season, because that would improve the pick Edmonton got for Penner.

“Yeah, we’ve thought about that,” Renney said with a laugh.

The Nashville Tennessean believes the relief on Mike Fisher's face was evident Saturday. The Predators forward had been in a scoring slump, but he busted out in style with two goals during a 4-2 victory against the Stars.

The Predators are hoping it continues when they play the Canucks today at Bridgestone Arena, as Nashville can extend its winning streak to seven games.

"If you'd ask our coaches and our players if we are happy with Mike Fisher, I think the answer is absolutely," Predators General Manager David Poile said. "Do we think he could contribute more offensively? Absolutely. Are we happy that we got him? Absolutely."

Poile's comments have just as much to do with the future as they do with Fisher's recent play.

"He's a playoff type of a player," Poile said. "I'm really happy he is on our team. I see nothing but upside for him as the rest of the season progresses and what he's going to do for us in the playoffs."

Fisher, 30, was acquired from Ottawa on Feb. 12 for a first-round pick in the 2011 entry draft and a conditional pick in 2012. The move made waves.

It sent the message that the Predators were willing to give up valuable assets to make a push to not only get into the playoffs, but also advance past the first round for the first time.

The Tennessean points out that Fisher made a quick splash and picked up an assist in his first game as a Predator. In his third game he scored his first goal. But as a nagging upper-body injury continued to limit him, Fisher's production suffered.

Before his two-goal game Saturday, Fisher had not scored a goal in 17 games. In 21 games with the Predators, he has six points (three goals, three assists).

"If you're not scoring, you have to do other things," Fisher said. "You can't be a liability. You have to block shots, bring energy, use your feet, all those things. That's what I was trying to do. But it's still hard offensively when you want to do so much more and it's not there."

Fisher said despite his drought, it was nice that his primary linemates Patric Hornqvist and Sergei Kostitsyn continued to produce.

"With him, me and Sergei, we have a pretty good line together," Hornqvist said. "Both me and Fisher like to shoot the puck, and Sergei loves to pass it. We have good chemistry going on right now. You're going to see a much better Mike Fisher in the next couple of games here."

The Tampa Tribune observes that as Steven Stamkos has dinged pucks off post after post of late, his point production has taken a dent.

And by his standards, a 21-game span with three goals is Sahara-like considering the 21-year-old reached the 20-goal plateau in his first 21 games of the season. During that torrid pace, Stamkos had a pair of hat tricks and four multi-goal games.

While at one point looking like a lock to reach the 50-goal mark for the second consecutive season and capturing his second-consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy, Stamkos has fallen behind in that race. With only three goals since reaching the 40-goal mark, Stamkos has seen Anaheim's Corey Perry recently race past him to grab the league lead with 44 heading into Anaheim's game at Chicago on Monday.

Heading into tonight's game against Ottawa — in which the Lightning could clinch a playoff berth with a victory coupled with a Carolina regulation loss — Stamkos has tied his season-long drought by having gone six games without a goal.

The recent slump also has seen teammate Marty St. Louis move past Stamkos into second place in the league scoring race and has the talented young sniper wearing less of a smile around the rink these days, particularly while the team has only three wins in the past 13 games.

"I'm just trying to find a way to have fun right now, it's not fun when you are not producing, it's not fun when the team is losing," Stamkos said. "It's not a fun time of the year when you are playing like this."

The Tribune notes that Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, a good scorer during his playing days with the Detroit Red Wings who endured his fair share of scoring droughts, recently reached out to Stamkos in an attempt to reassure the young superstar maintains the proper perspective.

"I just wanted to reassure him that everybody goes through this," Yzerman said. "He has to keep playing and not let this affect the other parts of his game. Mostly, when you are scoring goals you are not thinking, you just go to spots and play the game. When you are not scoring you start thinking about what spots are you supposed to be in and the game just doesn't come natural for you. I just encourage him to go out and play on instincts. He's got too good of a shot and he's too good of a player that the puck will wind up on his stick and end up in the back of the net."

While pucks have not found the back of the net recently, it's not from a lack of chances. Although there is no exact count of the number of posts or crossbars Stamkos has clanged with pucks, there are plenty of nets with black marks from his rocket shots, including one in Saturday's victory in Carolina.

"Right now, I've never seen anybody hit so many posts in my life, I don't think I'll ever see anything like that again in my life," Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "Maybe going back about four games ago, in the span of three games, he hit eight posts. If only two of them go in."

It's a fine line. Early the season, the shots found a way to go in instead of caroming off the iron. With that in mind, Boucher said he would like to see Stamkos stop trying to be so fine attempting to pick corners and instead put more pucks on net hoping to create more scoring opportunities, even if a linemate winds up eventually scoring the goal.

"It's a simple answer, but it's very difficult to do," Boucher said. "If everybody knew how easy it was, nobody would go through slumps and everybody gets a slump. But it's a great thing for his career to get one early now in his career, because he'll figure out how to get through it."

The Tribune says that has been the underlying message Stamkos has received during the past few weeks, from his coach, general manager and even a former league MVP who happens to be his linemate.

"I told him, that this is going to happen numerous times throughout your career, and you come out of it stronger. We've all gone through it, every good player has gone through it and he's going through this now," said St. Louis, who won MVP honors in 2004.

And while going through this kind of a frustrating stretch is neither easy nor fun for Stamkos, in the long run, it could be a lesson in a long career.

"He'll play his way through it and pucks will go into the net," Yzerman said. "It's just something a young player has to deal with and you are better for it when you come out of it."

"You've got to stop somewhere," 40-year old Ducks winger Teemu Selanne told The Orange County Register last night, brushing aside a retirement question following an impressive five-point performance. "We don't go that far yet. You know, I've been feeling great the whole year and obviously I've been able to play with great players all the time.

"It has been fun. That's the only reason why I'm still around."

The New York Post relays that the Rangers have an 8-1-1 record in their past 10 games, and a seven-point lead over ninth-place Carolina in the Eastern Conference. The magic number is down to six points with six games to go.

So after relying on other teams down the stretch last year and ultimately failing to qualify for the playoffs, this season their fate lies in their own hands.

Tomorrow night's game at Buffalo is critical, as the Sabres come in two points behind the Blueshirts for seventh place with a game in hand. The Rangers come in just four points out of fifth place.

"We're getting to the end of the season, so you want to go in [the playoffs] knowing that you can get a win," defenseman Marc Staal said at practice yesterday. "So we'll approach these as big games obviously and hopefully it'll build our confidence going into the playoffs."

Staal missed two games recently with an undisclosed injury, and the defense didn't seem to miss a beat. Now that he's back, the Rangers expect more of the same.

"Throughout the year, we've won games defending well and blocking shots," Staal said. "We know that's the way we have to win games and it's been that much more important the past couple of weeks."

Coach John Tortorella echoed those sentiments to The Post, saying that good defense is what wins this time of year.

"If you get where you want to be at the end of the year when the playoffs do start, [defense] is a huge part of the playoffs. We gave [Boston] two scoring chances the first two periods in Boston [Saturday]," Tortorella said. "In the third period they ended up with a few more, but we blocked shots."

Henrik Lundqvist's contribution should not be overlooked. He has two shutouts in his past three games, having only allowed one regulation goal in that time, and a league-leading 11 on the season.

"Everyone's been more confident -- they know what they're doing," said Lundqvist. "The coaching staff has done a good job telling us how to play and how we have to play to have success. Guys are on the same page and we've been playing together well as a group."

The confidence is there, the effort is there, and the results are showing, having picked up 17 of their past 20 points. And the playoffs are all but a formality at this point.

"In the playoffs, playing at home is a great feeling. The atmosphere is great, especially in New York. So we are really focused these last six games to make sure we do whatever we can to make it," Lundqvist said.

The Washington Post believes that for long stretches Saturday, Caps pivot Nicklas Backstrom was, without a doubt, the best player on the ice.

A year ago, that was so routine it hardly deserved a mention. This season, the fourth-year center has been sporadic.

Backstrom fired a season-high seven shots on net in Montreal, got the primary assist on both Capitals goals in a thorough 2-0 victory and, for 60 minutes, skated with the kind of gusto that made him one of the NHL's top centers in 2009-10.

In other words, he looked like “Old Backie,” the kind of dominant No. 1 center teams must have to advance deep into the spring.

“He played a really good game,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said after Monday's practice. “In Philly [last Tuesday] he was [also] the best player on the ice in that game, in a game we really needed.”

Backstrom said Monday he believes he's turned a corner.

“It feels like I'm back now,” he said.

It's about time.

Backstrom was one of four players to surpass the 100-point plateau last season, amassing a career-high 33 goals and 68 assists. In 71 games this season, though, he's totaled 18 goals and 41 assists, putting him on pace for a meager – by his lofty standards – 63 points.

The Post believes Backstrom's offensive decline has gone mostly unnoticed because there's been so much focus on captain Alex Ovechkin's dropoff in goals. It doesn't make it any less shocking, however. Unless Backstrom goes on a scoring spree over the final six contests, in fact, he'll likely finish with a career low in points. (He notched 69 as a rookie.)

Boudreau said Backstrom’s numbers may have have dipped because of the team’s switch from a run-and-gun system to a more defensive style of play in late December.

“Yeah, his numbers are down,” Boudreau said. “But all our team's numbers are down. We're still being successful. We've all changed our game a little bit.”

“Has any player in the league done as good as they did last year?” the coach added, coming to the defense of his player. “There are going to be no 50-goal scorers, maybe one 100-point guy. Scoring is down, and I don't think you can judge players, especially Nick, on numbers alone. He kills penalties, he's on [the ice] in the last minute, takes [important] faceoffs and his line usually goes against the other team's best line.”

Backstrom acknowledged that the fractured thumb he played with for seven games before sitting out five contests actually bothered him more than he had let on. Including the game in which he was hurt – Feb. 21 against the Penguins – he went nine games without an assist, extending the longest assist drought of his career.

“It was hard with the thumb injury for a month,” he said quietly.

Ovechkin, who is expected back in the line-up tonight, offered this: “Last year, we dominate everyone in the [regular] season,” Ovechkin said.“We play unbelievable and we give everything we have. Sometimes in the playoffs, we don't have any emotion, any power, because we give it away too early.”

Backstrom added: “It's getting closer to the playoffs now, too, and you feel more energized.”

The Vancouver Province believes that when Pekka Rinne was drafted by the Nashville Predators 258th overall in 2004, it was a real surprise in Finland.

After all, he was anything but a star there even though his Team Karpat Oulu was the Finnish Champion that year and went on to win again the year after.

You see, he was a backup, an Eddie Lack in language people who are Vancouver Canuck fans are familiar with. He was the caddie for Niklas Backstrom, now with the Wild, and the year he was drafted he had played just 14 games and two in the playoffs and the year after that even fewer.

He was the first backup Finnish goalie ever drafted by an NHL team.

“It’s been a long hard road, but now I’ve been here three years and it’s really paying off,” said Rinne, whose numbers are absurd, and at the end of next season he will become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 29.

“I played three years in the AHL in Milwaukee while Tomas Vokoun and Chris Mason were here. Maybe a little bit in the third year I felt I could have been up here, but really, it was a matter of contracts and that’s often the way it works.”

Did we mention numbers? He’s played in 36 of the Predators last 40 games holding the opponent to two or fewer goals in 24 of those games. While he has a 2.10 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage on the season, during that 36-game span the figures become a little more gaudy still, improving to 1.94 and .936 respectively. Against the Canucks? You don’t want to know. Try 2-1-0 with a 1.01 GAA and a .970 save percentage.

The Province writes that he’s most assuredly a candidate for the Vezina Trophy, but if Nashville continues this dizzying climb with a chance still to finish with a home ice advantage in the first round, then the Hart can’t be absolutely out of the question although goalies often don’t get consideration as serious as it could be for that trophy.

“It’s amazing the recognition I’m getting,” he said, quite relaxed with it. “It’s true some nights I might really help our team but you have to give credit to the guys who play in front of me like Shea [Weber] and Ryan [Suter] and all the other guys on our D. They are there for me every night and they’re the reason I’m in this position.”

Rinne actually subscribes to the theory that it would be pretty difficult for a goalie who plays as much as he does to get through to win a Stanley Cup, although he says right now he feels fine and isn’t fatigued. He’s noticed how few goalies have done the Marty Brodeur, which is play all the games, then play them all the way to a Cup in the playoffs too. And eventually as the team here eventually gets stronger, if it does, he’d probably settle for playing fewer games.

“I’ve been amazed over the years how many games [Miikka Kiprusoff] has been able to play at the level he’s played them,” said Rinne. “He’s done it for so long, so well. I feel good now but when the season is over, you realize how hard your body has been going. And there’s still a long way to go.”

While he’s understandably not terribly thrilled to be talking contract during the season particularly in a playoff drive, The Province says he knows his team hasn’t been able to sign its stars in the past and he’s watching the Weber situation closely this offseason to use as a gauge for how his own talks will go when they can officially begin at the end of this calendar year.

There’s a lot of things to consider, he says, knowing no matter how it turns out he’ll be making huge money. “Of course we all want to stay here, but we all have to be together to make it work,” he says.

Ryan Miller is playing some of his best hockey of the season at just the right time, according to The Buffalo News. That's good news for the Buffalo Sabres and could be curtains for the slim playoff hopes of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Miller was named the NHL's First Star of the Week Monday after going 3-0 and posting two shutouts. And he'll be in net again tonight, making his seventh straight start as Buffalo meets the Leafs in the Air Canada Centre.

"It's nice this time of year to have a little stretch where you're recognized like that," Miller said after practice Monday in HSBC Arena. "It lines up with the way we've been playing as a team, really paying attention to detail and with good emotion in the game. I guess that's exactly what we need this time of year. A goalie a lot of times can be a difference-maker but is really a reflection of the way the team plays."

The Sabres enter tonight's game with a five-point lead over Carolina for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs are seven points back with just six games left and almost certainly need a regulation win tonight to stay alive.

That won't be easy against Miller. He is 24-10 lifetime against the Leafs with a 2.23 goals-against average and .929 save percentage and four shutouts. The victory and shutout totals are his most against any opponent.

After a stretch of eight starts where Miller didn't post back-to-back wins, he's gone 4-0-1 in his last five with a 1.60 GAA and .944 save percentage. Miller is 7-3-2 in March and his 2.25 GAA is his best in any month this season.

"I'm feeling better, feeling like I'm in the play a lot more and able to get in the flow of it," Miller said. "It has a lot more to do with attention to detail around me and I can commit to some things. Way earlier in the season, we were hesitant on some plays and that makes me wait for things to unfold and that's a tough position to be in sometimes. Right now I'm trying to dictate the play, force guys to do what they don't want to do."

The Columbus Dispatch writes that with seven games remaining in the Blue Jackets' season, intrigue is in short supply.

The curious might want a peek at a couple of prospects developing in the minor-league system, but general manager Scott Howson and coach Scott Arniel aren't making promises.

They said yesterday no decision had been reached whether to promote top performers from the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.

First-year pros David Savard, a 19-year-old defenseman, and Tomas Kubalik, a 20-year-old winger, are among prospects who might be called up in the season's final weeks.

"It's a balancing act," Howson said. There are injured players on the club who are preparing to return from relatively long absences, but there are also prospects who merit an opportunity, Howson added. The Jackets have two minor-league recalls available. They also have emergency recalls available should they suffer injuries and lack healthy players at a certain position.

Howson said saving money is not a factor in the decision-making process. Players on two-way contracts earn substantially more at the NHL level.

Defenseman Anton Stralman (knee) and winger Kristian Huselius (hip/groin) are close to returning to the lineup. Arniel isn't sure if he wants to bulge the roster by adding two prospects, but he acknowledges there are worthy candidates.

The Dispatch points out that Kubalik is fourth among AHL rookies with 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists). Savard ranks in the top 25 of all AHL defensemen with 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists).

There are considerations beyond minor-league personnel. Arniel said the lineup responsible for the Jackets' recent 2-8-5 slide might be the one trying to right the record.

"I'm kind of caught on the fence on that one," Arniel said. "(It's) a little bit of the guys that are here are the ones who got us into this mess and they are the ones who have to finish it off. The other side is, 'Do we want to have to some guys play some games that could help us next year?'"

Recalls such as winger Matt Calvert and defenseman Grant Clitsome sparked the Jackets in January. Arniel said, however, there is some risk involved in late-season promotions.

"I've seen it go the other way where a guy has come up and hasn't played very well over the last four or five games and it's left a bad impression in a lot of people's minds," Arniel said. "We want to see what's best for us and what's best for that player."

Howson said they might be closer to promoting a forward than a defenseman because of injuries.

Keaton Ellerby was a little upset when sent back to the minors in February, but he told The Miami Herald he understood why the Panthers made the move.

Ellerby, who has spent most of this season up with the big club, had lost his confidence and that was showing in his play. In the eight games leading to his demotion to Florida’s AHL affiliate in Rochester, N.Y., Ellerby had a minus rating in each game. Through those eight games, Ellerby was a minus-10.

“It was a little tough being told I had to go back, but now, I think it was the best thing for me,’’ Ellerby said. “My play had slipped, I had lost confidence in my game. ... But going back helped me get that confidence back, and I think I came back better.’’

Ellerby’s recent trip to the minors, as expected, didn’t last long. The Panthers traded away defensemen Bryan McCabe and Dennis Wideman and needed Ellerby back. He said he got over being sent back to the minors as quickly as he went, saying he came back with a different attitude and both assistant coach Gord Murphy and coach Pete DeBoer said they have noticed a difference.

“This is a tough league, and he’s had to earn his spot,’’ said Murphy, a former Panthers defenseman. “One of the hardest things for young players, especially defensemen, is that consistency. Not just game to game, but shift to shift. ... He’s good when he’s playing aggressively. That’s him at his best, and we’re seeing that again.’’

The Herald believes the Panthers have high hopes for the future of not only Ellerby but also his defensive partner, Dmitry Kulikov. The two youngsters — both former first round draft picks — have shown a cohesiveness together with Ellerby saying, “We hope to play together and play well together for a long, long time.’’ When Ellerby was struggling at his most, Kulikov was out of the lineup because of an ankle injury.

At this time last year, Ellerby had been called up from Rochester but found playing time to be at a premium. DeBoer, in one game, gave him just two shifts. Ellerby is now finding himself playing close to 20 minutes per night.

“Keaton was brought along at the right pace,’’ DeBoer said. “I remember being asked about him playing three, four minutes last year. You guys asked, ‘Why can’t he play?’ Well, he wasn’t ready yet. It took multiple trips back and forth to the minors.

“Now he’s ready and you’re seeing the results of developing a young defenseman the right way.’’

The Boston Globe harkens back to March 19 at the Air Canada Centre, where Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask made it very clear to Dennis Seidenberg that he cannot see through bodies. After Toronto’s Keith Aulie let a shot loose that sailed through a Seidenberg screen and hit the back of the net, Rask had some angry words for his defenseman.

“You always try not to be in the shooting lane, which hasn’t always been the case in my [situation],’’ Seidenberg said with a smile.

The last four games have proved that Seidenberg and the other defensemen aren’t blocking their goalies’ sightlines. During their 3-1-0 stretch, the Bruins have surrendered only three goals.

It is a sign not just that Rask and Tim Thomas are finding the sweet spots of their games. The fine goals-against average indicates that the defensemen have been near-perfect amid the adjustments implemented by the coaching staff.

“Defensively, we’ve started getting on guys a little quicker and giving them less time to make plays,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “At the same time, we’ve also been working with our D’s to try and box out a little bit better. It’s trying to find that comfort zone of knowing when to front shots, as a defenseman, and when to box out. It’s identifying those situations.

“There’s a lot of situations where you want to front pucks, but you’re probably screening your goaltender and hurting him more than you’re helping him. Other times, we’ve got guys boxed out and Timmy was able to see them. That’s the part that’s probably changed a little bit.’’

The Globe says the way Thomas visualizes the defensive zone, he sees a rectangle-shaped box that stretches from just below the tops of the circles to the low slot. He figures any shot taken from outside that box is stoppable as long as he sees the puck leave the stick.

“Anything outside of that box, if I can see it, I’m pretty much going to save it,’’ Thomas said. “Inside that box, you’ve got to make sure you pressure that shot and make him get it off quick. Then if I see it and they don’t have time to delay it and fool me, then I’m going to save it.’’

Within that box, however, is the gray area.

The Bruins, like most teams these days, play a collapsing zone defense. The wingers sag off the points and pressure everything that, in hockey jargon, takes place at the house. Appropriately, there will often be a tangle of bodies in the net-front real estate.

So it’s up to the defensemen, primarily, to read plays and strike the right balance. They have to fill the shooting lanes and block shots. But they also have to bail out and give Thomas and Rask the sightlines they require instead of getting in their way.

Lately, the Bruins have been making the right decisions.

“You always want to help them out,’’ said Seidenberg, who leads the club with 153 blocked shots. “But there’s always a good balance. If there’s pressure, maybe you can step out and front shots. If they wind up, maybe you play the rebound. You’ve always got to look at the situation and pressure the guy as you should.’’

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune passes on that in John Madden's mind, he has two options this summer: re-sign with the Wild or retire after 11 NHL seasons.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion has fallen in love with Minnesota. He plans to live in Edina full-time with his wife, two children and five dogs after his career ends.

"I definitely want to play hockey, I definitely think I can," said Madden, who turns 38 May 4. "But it's a family issue. It's not fair to the family to move them around if I don't come back here. So there's definitely a probability that I might not play again.

"I came here with the goal in mind to help the team make the playoffs and we didn't, so I'd love to get another crack at it."

Unfortunately for Madden, it's not that simple. Even if the Wild wants to re-sign the checking center, there are a number of things that might limit its ability or at the very least delay a decision until later this offseason.

There are only so many spots available and only so much salary-cap space left, especially since next season the Wild plans to give a few youngsters shots at making the roster.

First, according to multiple sources, the Wild is aggressively pursuing Merrimack sophomore Stephane Da Costa, the leading scorer for the Warriors and the biggest fish of all the college free agents. GM Chuck Fletcher is scheduled to talk with Da Costa and agent Wade Arnott on Tuesday.

Also affecting Madden? Wellman and Cody Almond could fight for roster spots next season, while the Wild hopes to sign draft picks Mikael Granlund, who scored three goals and two assists during IFK-Helsinki's first-round victory over Jokerit, and Johan Larsson. The Wild also hopes to sign Mikko Lehtonen, who was acquired from the Bruins for goalie Anton Khudobin and led the Swedish Elite League with 30 goals and was second with 58 points.

The Wild also will be looking for forward help via trade, so for a team that already has $50 million of salary-cap space chewed up next season, Madden could be squeezed out.

The Star-Tribune writes that with Madden's family settled, he is unwilling to be separated from his wife and kids for a year. And he doesn't want to uproot them for a job in another city either.

For instance, his 11-year-old son, Tyler, was part of Edina's Squirt A team that went 41-0.

"He's good," Madden said, laughing. "He really fell in love with his teammates. Hockey here is incredible. I've been in other places where the kids' hockey is competitive, but it's not a good level. Here it is, and I like the whole playing for your town thing and being part of the Edina culture that they have. I don't want to take him from that."

So for Madden's career to continue, is it Minnesota or nothing?

"That's the deal pretty much," he said. "Obviously stranger things have happened, but that's the idea right now for us as a family."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette indicates that Pens forward Mike Comrie had surgery on his hip Dec. 29. Having the considerable damage there repaired made him recognize how long it had been since he'd been able to go on the ice without at least some discomfort.

"I'm skating pain-free right now," he said. "I haven't done that in a few years. I feel like I'm able to skate hard again."

Comrie's injury forced him to miss 52 games, but he has played in each of the past two and should be in the lineup tonight when Philadelphia visits Consol Energy Center.

He filled a relatively limited role in both of his appearances, logging eight minutes and seven seconds of ice time Friday against New Jersey and 10 minutes, 19 seconds Sunday against Florida and has been used primarily on the fourth line with Mike Rupp and Arron Asham. That is not the ideal niche for Comrie, who was signed as a free agent in early September because the Penguins believed he could enhance their offense.

"He's not here to be a checker," said assistant coach Tony Granato, who works with the forwards. "He's not here to play against the other team's top line.

"He's here to help us put points on the board. To do that, you want to put him with guys who, offensively, have instincts similar to his."

Comrie, though, said he can adapt to his surroundings, tailor his game to those of his linemates.

"Who you're with is something you have to ... read what their abilities are," he said. "If you're out there with a guy who can crash and bang, you put it in his corner. If you're out there with a guy who can make plays, you get open for him."

The Post-Gazette says that while Comrie's personal stats likely would benefit from playing on a more offense-oriented line, don't look for him to lobby coach Dan Bylsma and his staff to be moved into such a role, or a more prominent spot on the power play.

"You try to perform and do your job when the coaches put you out," Comrie said. "They make the decisions on who's on [the ice], who's playing, who's in certain situations."

Comrie said his hip has not caused any problems in his first two games back, and he goes through an extensive exercise regimen to minimize the danger of that happening.

"There's a lot of before-and-after type exercises that help," he said. "I've really had to strengthen my muscles around my hip to take away the pain from the hip flexor."

Comrie has had plenty of incentive to do that work, though: He's about to appear in the playoffs for the first time since 2007, when he was part of the Ottawa team that beat the Penguins in Round 1 and made it to the Stanley Cup final.

"We're all excited," Comrie said. "It's the best time of year."

Mark in Tennessee: "Hi Chris, I lived to fight another week in our 10 team H2H playoff. We have standard scoring: G, A, GWG, PPP, SOG & +/-. We’re allowed nightly roster changes (C, C, LW, RW, F, F) but only two additions per week. Currently, my roster is: Ryan (C/LW), Kennedy (C/LW), Sharp (C/LW), Whitney, Leino, Legwand, Zajac, Boyes, Pomminville, Brown, D’Agostini & Crosby (IR). I was thinking of dropping Leino for Gagne and a defenseman for Brassard or Vermette. What are your thoughts on those moves? Other possible FA’s are: Stalberg, Lupul, Connolly, Mitchell, Oshie, JVR & Kovalev. Thanks again for all the constant blogging which has helped me get to this point."

Chris: Nice to hear you're still alive in the playoffs. Good stuff.

Gagne has been faring really well lately, while Leino is cooler. That said, Leino plays on a really solid line that is capable of exploding. Since you have a number of guys with C/W eligibility, I'd be more inclined to keep Leino and drop your fringe D to get Gagne if you can massage the line-up to make that work in your favor.

Brassard and Vermette haven't done much lately, so there's no real need to get them. Brassard does have the Nash factor working in his corner, but on a game-by-game basis there may be better options.

Have a close look at your league's FAs and try to pick out one or two guys that have games against teams that have been struggling defensively lately. This time of year is all about match-ups, so it's about trying to marry a connection of a guy who's been hot lately with a potentially higher-scoring game. Maybe a Matt D'Agostini against Minnesota tonight or Martin Erat/ David Legwand against the Avs on Thursday.

So many teams are playing tight defensively these days, so spotting those sorts of match-ups can make a difference in a close race. Hope that helps.