Hockey Hearsay

Hockey Hearsay runs weekdays, 12 months a year; mixing NHL stories, quotes and fantasy takes.

The Pittsburgh Penguins web site reports that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby announced Thursday that he is “cleared for full contact,” the next step in his road to recovery from a concussion he suffered in early January.

“I’m cleared for full contact. It’s a good step in the right direction,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes for the next little bit.”

Crosby, who discarded his white “no contact” helmet for black headgear, has only been cleared to receive contact in practice. So he must first receive contact from his teammates during practices and see how he reacts before even considering playing a game.

“It’s pretty tough right now, we play every second day and back-to-back games. There aren’t a lot of practices with contact per se,” Crosby said. “I’ve got to get hit at some point during practice, but we’re playing so much that it’s pretty tough to get that in right now.”

Crosby, who added that he hasn’t had any concussion-like symptoms since training camp, met with his doctors and all parties agreed that it was time for him to take the next step of having contact in practice.

“Doing light stuff and feeling pretty good and the way I responded over the last few weeks to everything else, it was a good sign,” Crosby said. “We discussed things and decided to go to the next step here and go full contact.”

Now that he has been cleared, it’s up to Crosby’s teammates to step up and start hitting him.

“When a guy comes back from injury you’re usually a little hesitant. That’s pretty normal,” Crosby said. “I might have to do something to get them to hit me. Maybe I’ll have to bump them a little bit and get them going. As close to a game situation as we can get it.”

Crosby will monitor his health day-by-day and will have a dialogue with his doctors before making a decision to get back into game action.

“It’s up to how I respond to getting hit,” he said. “I guess it’s up to me, but we have to see when we get to that point.”

**Nichols' note: FYI: Marc-Andre Fleury is sick and it'll be Brent Johnson for the Pens tonight.

The Montreal Gazette describes how Erik Cole has enjoyed success playing at the Bell Centre over the years, but the veteran forward says the Canadiens' home opener against the Calgary Flames tonight will be something special.

That's because this will be the first time Cole has appeared in a regular-season game in Montreal wearing a Canadiens jersey.

"I'm excited about it," said Cole, who expects the game to be a family affair.

His parents and godfather are making the four-hour drive from their home in Oswego, N.Y., and the veteran said his 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son will be given special dispensation to attend the game on a school night.

"This is the one game the kids can come to during the year so they can see just how amazing the atmosphere is and how much fun it is," Cole said.

Cole started the season on the third line, but the 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-winger was moved up to the top line with Michael Cammalleri and centre Tomas Plekanec for Game 2. After Cammalleri was injured, Travis Moen joined the line, pitching in with a goal and an assist.

"I think we'll be a little bit taller, that's for sure," Cole joked when asked about playing without the 5-foot-9 Cammalleri.

"Obviously, Cammy's a big part of the team, and hopefully he can rest up and get back as quickly as possible, but we know Mo can do the job."

Tonight's game opens a three-game homestand for the Canadiens, who host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday and the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

The Toronto Sun relays how for Dion Phaneuf, completing a crushing body check is a "hit-and-miss" proposition.

Time it right, and you'll be on the highlight shows.

Time it wrong, and you'll be featured on the next reel of sports bloopers.

Asked what is the key to making an effective open-ice bodycheck, Phaneuf broke it down to one key element.

"Timing," he said. "It's all about timing.

"You have to know when it's not there. When it isn't, you have to back off. You can't commit yourself.

"Like I said, timing is the key. You have to know where and when."

Phaneuf said a clean, crushing check to an opponent can change the momentum of a game.

"I've been doing it for a while now and I can tell you this — a big hit feels great," he said. "It can really lift a team. It's like scoring a big goal.

"The most important thing is to never target a guy's head."

Phaneuf's crushing blow to Sens rookie Stephane Da Costa during the second period of Toronto’s 6-5 victory on Saturday was the type of hit that was a Scott Stevens trademark during his trek into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

It is also becoming a lost art form, one only a handful of NHL players such as Phaneuf can still pull off.

Make no mistake. Delivering an open-ice bodycheck like that is a skill. It is also a part of the game, even if some observers feel it is too violent.

"I'll make a hit like that any day," Phaneuf said during the Leafs three-day team-building stint in Trenton, Ont.

During Saturday's Coach's Corner, Don Cherry complained that the NHL's crackdown on headshots and blind side hits would take open-ice bodychecks out of the game. According to the controversial broadcaster, the days of the Stevens hits were over.

Less than 30 minutes later, Phaneuf proved him wrong. When Da Costa went back to the Sens bench, he pointed at the trainers and seemed to say "My fault."

After the game, Sens coach Paul MacLean said the hit was clean and should be expected from Phaneuf.

After all, it's a skill very few players still have.

"That would be a good average, right? I've got guys (chirping) me back home that they should have drafted me in their fantasy pools,'' Bruno Gervais, 27, joked with The Tampa Tribune of his two-point debut with the Lightning. "I got lucky that night on a few things …but I try to get whatever I can to help the team.''

The Ottawa Citizen believes that if 25-year old Sens forward Colin Greening is dealing with rookie nerves and uncomfortable in his surroundings, you would never know it. He quietly went about his business in training camp, quite content that so much attention was being showered on higher profile rookies Mika Zibanejad, Jared Cowen, David Rundblad and Stéphane Da Costa.

Greening has now scored in consecutive games. At various points in the first three games, he has been a linemate of Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson and 18-year-old sixth-overall pick Zibanejad.

Greening owns the trust of new coach Paul MacLean, who had him stationed in the crease in front of Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom on the power play late in Tuesday’s game when he found the loose puck and jammed it between the netminder’s legs.

“When you have that net presence (Greening is 6-3 and 212 pounds), it gives your more skilled guys, like Alfredsson and Spezza, time to shoot, and goalies are not as prepared,” he said. “If I can get that little bit of an advantage, great.”

MacLean says Greening has come as advertised — “a big, physical, power forward” — and that the team is satisfied with what he has delivered so far.

Greening considers himself a “pretty mature guy,” with lots of “life experience, in terms of living on my own.” He figures he can “pick up things pretty quickly, as opposed to when I was 17 and 18.”

He’s also not about to get carried away just because he was tied for the NHL rookie scoring lead after three games.

“I still think there’s a lot of learning to do,” he said. “I looked at the video (from Tuesday’s game) and I still made some mistakes. They’re growing pains. Hopefully, you manage to reduce those as you go on.”

The New York Post says that despite his comments after Monday's 2-1 win over the Wild, Islanders coach Jack Capuano is doing everything he can not to ladle pressure on the already-burdened shoulders of his 21-year-old center, John Tavares.

"When goal scorers aren't scoring, I try to stay away from them," Capuano said yesterday in reference to Tavares' zero points and minus-2 rating through the season's first two games.

"The last thing I want to do is make guys grab their sticks and play tighter," Capuano said. "I want them to play loose and relaxed. When they do that, and they don't worry about it and don't think about it, then good things will happen."

Though the Islanders won that game after opening the season with a deflating loss to the Panthers, Capuano still made a point about his team getting "cute in the neutral zone." When the Isles take on the Lightning tonight at the Coliseum, the coach would prefer to see a much simpler game.

"At times, instead of trying to force it, we need to make simple plays," Tavares said. "I think maybe because a lot of those penalties [the team spent 12:04 on the penalty kill vs. the Wild], we were trying to create stuff and trying to get some momentum back and trying to get back into the offensive zone. That can happen sometimes."

Just before this season, Tavares signed a six-year extension for $33 million. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 is now more committed to the franchise than the franchise is committed to the Coliseum, where the Islanders' lease runs out in 2015.

"He's a very determined and focused individual," said Matt Moulson, his linemate for the past two seasons. "I don't think you can say he wants it so much he's trying to force it because he always wants it so much."

Now Tavares needs to turn his desire into points that result in wins.

"Well, I'm trying to score," Tavares said. "I'm trying to work as hard as I can and I think me working as hard as I can is not me trying to force the issue."

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review indicates that Kris Letang, like many notable Penguins, did not practice Wednesday, which is not to suggest he took the day off.

Trainers treated a few of his bruises that come with playing defense in the NHL. Letang also studied video of his latest gem of a performance — an assist, a plus-3 rating, two hits and a blocked shot in the 25 minutes, 48 seconds he played Tuesday night in a 4-2 win over Florida.

However, most important Wednesday, Letang had his legs stretched and massaged.

The regular season is only a week old and Letang is just 24, but keeping him fresh is a priority for coach Dan Bylsma, as the Penguins continue a wicked October schedule.

"Typically, at the beginning of the year, you're still getting work in, (but) we've got 13 games with very little practice time," Bylsma said. "Rest and practice time is more like you'd see at the end of the year right now."

Letang, considered by some a Norris Trophy favorite this season, has clearly established himself as the Penguins' No. 1 defenseman. Working on the left side because of Brooks Orpik's abdominal injury, his six points lead the club, as does his average ice time of 26:48.

That average is nearly two minutes too much.

"I think around 25 is a good number," Letang said. "It allows you to stay fresh all game."

To stay fresh between games, Letang has maintained a "healthy diet." He has eliminated unnecessary sugars and is eating more fish than at any point in his life.

He produced only nine points after Jan. 12 last season, a finish as frustrating as the start that earned him a first All-Star Game selection was strong.

That recent history might convince a player to steady his pace in the new season's opening months.

"When you're tired, you have to learn when it's time to make a safe play, like going off the wall instead of trying to do too much," he said. "But I don't want to conserve. I never want to manage my energy."

Michigan Live has Mike Babcock’s power-play units: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom (back in the line-up tonight) up front, with Nicklas Lidstrom and Ian White at the points on the first unit. Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula and Danny Cleary up front, with Niklas Kronwall and Jiri Hudler at the points on the second unit.

That leaves Todd Bertuzzi battling for power-play minutes.

"Bert’s the extra guy," Babcock said. "Bert’s going to do everything to force my hand, and I want him to. He’ll be more than happy to take anyone’s spot that doesn’t cherish it."

The New York Post notes that Henrik Lundqvist rarely gets a night off.

But the Rangers' goalie will have to wait at least six days between starts. The Rangers, who last played Saturday in Sweden do not play again until this Saturday, when they travel to Long Island to face the Islanders.

The seventh-year goalie has appeared in 70 or more games in four of the past five seasons. Last season, he started 67, after the Rangers finally signed a quality backup in Martin Biron. The thinking was Biron would be insurance in case Lundqvist got hurt, but also could help spell Lundqvist from time-to-time.

In November 2010, Biron started five of the team's 16 games, giving Lundqvist some much-needed rest. But when he was in the middle of another few starts in February, Biron broke his collarbone, leaving Lundqvist to play the Blueshirts' final 26 games of the regular season.

After coming home from a European trip that saw the Rangers play five games in nine days (three exhibition games followed by two regular season games), in three different countries, the Rangers have a week off between games -- something that rarely occurs in the NHL. Even the winter break and the All-Star break gives teams just 4-5 days off.

So, The Post wonders, will the longer break hurt or help Lundqvist? One can argue both ways: Either the long layoff will be beneficial for rest, or the time off will not keep him fresh.

"There's a lot of different ways you can go at it," Lundqvist said. "I'm not going to think to much about how [the coaches] are going to use [Biron and himself]. I'm just going to be ready for every game, and when they tell me to play, I will play.

"I think we'll do something similar to last year," he said, referring to getting a bulk of the starts in the first month, with Biron getting more playing time as the season goes on. "I think we had a pretty good system. I felt pretty fresh all year. But I'm not going to put too much thinking into it. Whenever they tell me to play I will be ready."

To no one's surprise, coach John Tortorella, who always wears his poker face when discussing which goalie will start, didn't give anything away yesterday on how he plans to use Lundqvist and Biron on the teams' five-game, 10-day road trip.

"Marty is going to play his games," Tortorella said. "However well Hank plays is still not going to take away what I think is best for him in the big picture. In hoping that we get there in the end and continue playing. So it is the same philosophy."

The Buffalo News says Nathan Gerbe is on a point-per-game pace so far and suggests more success could be coming when the three members of his line get accustomed to each other. Gerbe is skating for the first time alongside center Derek Roy and right wing Drew Stafford. Gerbe was with Paul Gaustad and Patrick Kaleta for most of training camp and the preseason, so last week's sudden grouping has included a breaking-in process.

"It's something you have to adapt to," Gerbe said. "We said from Day One that nothing is ever set in stone. You've got to be ready to play with anyone. It doesn't matter if you're playing first, fourth, second or third line. It doesn't matter, just go out and play your game.

"Playing with Paul and Pat Kaleta, we were north-south, very simple, get it in and work hard, get pucks to the net. Drew and Derek have the ability to make plays, and I'm just going to keep my game the same, up and down, work hard and get to loose pucks, battle for these guys, get to the net."

Coach Lindy Ruff is hopeful the line will improve when its center gets up to speed. Roy missed the second half of last season with a leg injury and most of the preseason with a shoulder strain. He has one assist, one shot and a minus-1 rating during the Sabres' two victories.

"I don't think Derek is quite up to speed yet," Ruff said. "He's playing OK, but OK for Derek is not the level he needs to be. I just think quicker plays, quicker decisions. When he's really on his game, he's getting opportunities and he's setting up the people around him."

Said Roy: "I'm right there. I can see it. I felt better in the second game and started skating with the puck a little more, felt more confident and I'm just trying to work on little things in practice to try and sharpen up my game."

Though Gerbe plays a different style than Roy's career-long left winger, Thomas Vanek, the unit has similar scoring potential. Gerbe finished last season with 15 goals in the final 41 games, while Stafford scored a career-high 31 in 62 outings.

Whenever they score at home, a grateful Gerbe will have an American hero in Section 100 cheering him on. Soldiers interested in being selected can visit Sabres.com and fill out an application.

"It's something that's pretty special," Gerbe said. "Around the league it's pretty popular, and I'm lucky enough that they let me do it."

The Chicago Tribune writes that with Daniel Carcillo set to make his debut after a two-game suspension earned while playing for the Flyers, Patrick Kane sounded excited to skate with the physical winger. Carcillo, Kane and Marian Hossa practiced on the second line again.

"Any time he does something dumb, you can give it to him and he laughs it off," Kane said. "He's a pretty intense guy. I know he wants to do well with us on our line. He has been asking us a lot of questions about how we play."

The Miami Herald indicates that Wednesday’s Panthers practice began with both power-play units in gray sweaters instead of the sweaters of their lines or the defense unit. Spending a chunk of practice on the power play wouldn’t have been surprising considering the static look of the units during Tuesday’s 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh.

“My feeling is when you practice it — like today when it’s 20 minutes long, sometimes, it might be only five minutes long — at least we’re getting the puck and we’re moving it around,” Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. “What it does is create conversations and looks that we can design on boards and try to be smart. When players get out there and move the puck around, that’s where the exchange of ideas comes from.”

Pittsburgh popped in a short-handed goal against the Panthers, who also went 0 for 5 on the power play.

The NHL schedule starts for the Panthers in a rather halting manner before rapid acceleration. Saturday’s game will be only their third in eight days but starts a run of nine games in 17 days. Not much time to tarry in building team cohesion.

“Practice is … where you’re building your chemistry with guys,” defenseman Ed Jovanovski said.

Dineen said, “We’re trying to put in a couple of drills every day that gives our units a chance to work together. It’s something that if you look at a team that had been together for a long time.”

Getting attuned to each others’ rhythms isn’t just something the players need to do with each other.

“Sometimes, it’s as simple as recognizing when a guy has the jump,” Dineen said. “I like to think that is one of my strengths, to see when a guy like [center] Marcel Goc [Tuesday] night — not because he scored a goal, but just his overall game, I thought was very good — I probably should’ve leaned heavier on him as I look back at it. Probably one of those things as you move forward, you start recognizing earlier.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the Penguins announced this morning that they have signed left winger Chris Kunitz to a two-year contract extension. The deal runs through the 2013-14 season and is worth $3.725 million a season.

Kunitz, 32, has been a top-line winger for the team -- often with Sidney Crosby -- with a blend of offense and physical play. He was acquired from Anaheim in a February 2009 trade and was a member of the Penguins Stanley Cup team that season.

Kunitz has one assist in four games this season. Overall with the Penguins, in 140 regular-season games, he has 43 goals, 99 points, with 12 power play goals, two shorthanded goals and a plus-minus rating of plus-25. He has six goals, 26 points in 43 postseason contests.

Shane in Oil City: "Hey Chris, I used your rankings, and they were a huge help! Thanks so much, as usual for your great help! As well, the Oil are already on pace for a perfect season!! Sweeeeet!

So the following is my team in my 9-team points-only-pool, (g-2,a-1), where we start 4 C, 4 LW, 4 RW, 4 D and 2 G (3-win, 5-shutout) everyday. C - Malkin(rw), Lecavalier, Tavares, Roy, M. Richards, RNH LW - Kovalchuk(rw), Cammalleri, Dubinsky(c), Elias, McDonald(c), Penner RW - Semin(lw), Hemsky, Setoguchi, Alfie, Eberle D - Streit, Carlson, E. Johnson, Gonchar G - Lundqvist, Price, Brodeur I'm loving my goaltending, and am happy with my forward crop, although I'm already dealing with some injuries already... I was just wondering if there were any instant upgrades you could see for me, or if you think I should just stay pat for now.

Top available FA's are Michalek, Marchand, Fleischmann, Legwand, Lupul, Prospal, Dupuis, Hudler, Frolik, Souray and Suter. Thanks so much for your help, and keep up the great work!"

Chris: Thanks Shane.

Agreed on the goaltending. Nice. I don't really see anything you have to do this moment in terms of FAs, but I'd say your likely "fringe" candidates early on are going to be Eberle, Gonchar and Carlson (so many options in WAS). Maybe Setoguchi, but I like his spot in MIN. Maybe RNH, but I'm hopeful. Maybe Penner, but we'll see.

Souray has done well with Dallas so far and we know he's capable of goals with that shot too, which helps in your format. Prospal is off to a good start on the big line with CBJ. Even Fleischmann has the potential to be a nice depth add. I'm still meh on Michalek despite the start. Lupul has done well and has a nice line slot, but I'm less bullish on him keeping up this sort of pace.

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