Hockey Hearsay

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

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details that when asked about the amount of contact he has had in practice the past few weeks, Sidney Crosby smiled.

"Uh, three hits?" he said, then laughed.

At least the Penguins captain is keeping his spirits up as he continues to work his way back from a concussion that has kept him out of games since Jan. 5.

After yet another practice with no real hitting Monday at Southpointe, Crosby ruled himself out of the team's upcoming West Coast games, Thursday at San Jose and Saturday at Los Angeles.

He said he needs to practice more consistently and get hit more. That has been difficult because of the Penguins' hectic schedule, but opportunities would seem to be here finally.

Practice Monday featured more flow drills and other non-contact activities, but that could change starting today. The team has three days in a row of practice this week. Next week, the team is off Sunday through Thursday, plenty of time for more grueling sessions.

"[Monday] was speed and pace, getting up and down the ice, a little bit of conditioning," coach Dan Bylsma said.

"We've looked at this week and, particularly, next week. We'll get some time to work on some detail and some habits in our game."

Crosby said his conditioning is as good as it can get without playing in a game.

As for contact, he said he has to experience some days of that in something akin to game situations. Simply assigning someone to exchange hits with him wouldn't be the same.

"Sometimes you're fighting for pucks, battling in corners. You get hit sometimes when you don't expect it," Crosby said of game settings. "All that stuff is much different than being prepared [by being] in a one-on-one battle."

Although there has been some educated guessing that Crosby might play Nov. 11 at home against Dallas, he said he's not ready to set a date for his return.

"It's not just an automatic thing," he said. "To go through hitting is a big step. I just want to make sure I get through that well. That's the most important thing, however long that takes.

"I just want to make sure that it goes well and give myself the best chance to make sure that I handle it."

The Edmonton Journal points out that Oilers centre Shawn Horcoff has taken a whole whack of vitriol for trying to live up to his lofty six-year contract — his concern but not his problem with four years left at a salary-cap hit of $5.5 million — and he’s had trouble staying out of doctor’s offices the last few years, but he’s playing exceptionally well right now. He has scored seven points in 11 games and is winning 54.1 per cent of his faceoffs, a smidgeon out of the top 20 (Joe Thornton is at 54.6 per cent).

The veteran centre is playing 21:12 minutes a night. Only Ilya Kovalchuk, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are averaging more time among NHL forwards, in large part because the Oilers are using Horcoff against the other team’s top centre on a lot of nights.

Horcoff changed his summer training routine two years ago in an attempt to get stronger but had “a crappy year” when his foot-speed dropped.

“Last year, I felt really good but got hurt (knee, broken foot). This year, same thing ... I feel great. I definitely think I can produce and I will continue to as long as my body lets me,” he said.

Not having to take every important defensive zone faceoff because Eric Belanger (sixth in the NHL with a 58.9-per-cent success rate on 168 draws) is on the scene has helped Horcoff immeasureably. He’s still taken 220 faceoffs, but if Belanger wasn’t around, maybe he’d have 300 draws. The wear and tear of hopping over the boards continually to head to the faceoff circle, then hustle off is taxing.

“People don’t understand how hard those minutes are ... you go out to take a draw and, while your linemates are resting, you’re out there playing,” he said. “Then you come off, get 30 seconds (to rest) and you’re back with your line. There’s no two minutes, sitting on the bench.

“Now I can recover between shifts. Eric’s really responsible. We can have him out there in the D zone. He’s been a big influence on our team.”

Horcoff knows that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (11),Taylor Hall (nine) and Jordan Eberle (10) are racking up points, but the captain, Smyth and Jones have been a nice older counter-point. They have 21 points as a line.

“If there’s nights we can produce some goals, then that will take the pressure off them. Maybe other teams start saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to watch these guys, too.’ If so, that’s an advantage, especially on the road,” said Horcoff.

The Calgary Herald believes that despite a start that sees Mark Giordano near the top of the NHL’s giveaway list — only three players have coughed up more pucks — adoration for the dashing defender remains sky-high.

“Heart-and-soul guy,” Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter said after Monday morning’s practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome. “Sometimes because of the way Gio is, he makes mistakes. But they’re such honest mistakes because he’s trying to do so much . . . trying to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders. That’s just because of the caring guy he is. He’s a try-hard guy for us every night.

“You know what? He’s not a guy you worry about.”

After all, a bench boss would rather have to rein in a player than boot him into gear, right?

“Absolutely, yup, definitely,” said Sutter, smiling. “(With some of the others) my foot gets sore.”

Giordano’s tendency to over-extend himself is well-established. With an ‘A’ stapled to his chest, with a lucrative multi-year contract kicking in, with fellow defenceman Robyn Regehr taking his act to Buffalo in the off-season, it’s hard to imagine a situation riper for that type of behaviour.

The 28-year-old, however, pooh-poohed the notion that he is heaping too much pressure on himself.

“No, I’ve been trying to play the same way, the same game — solid in the defensive zone and trying to make plays, keeping it simple and trying to contribute when I can offensively,” said Giordano, who carries an even plus-minus rating and sits 19th in blocked shots. “The No. 1 thing about playing against the other teams’ best lines is you’ve got to good defensively.”

Word of his giveaway total — 13 in nine appearances — came as news to Giordano. Last winter, Giordano had been charged with 42 in 82 games.

“You don’t want to be there, obviously,” Giordano said of this year's total. “As far as that stat? I don’t know. There’s probably a lot of really good players who have the puck a lot and who lead the league in giveaways.”

Giordano’s hunch is bang-on — last season’s top 12 included the star-studded likes of Joe Thornton, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Ryan Getzlaf and Brad Richards.

“But obviously,” continued Giordano, “it’s not something you want to be at the top in.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the muzzle has been removed, and chatty Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov again is allowed to talk to the media every day.

The Flyers made that decision Monday evening, scrapping two other silence policies they had announced earlier in the day. The team had said they wanted Bryzgalov, 31, to focus more on his game.

Early Monday, the Flyers said Bryzgalov no longer would talk with the media except after games. Later in the day, they amended it, saying he would not talk the day before a game or the morning of games.

The decision was made jointly by Bryzgalov and the coaches.

Bryzgalov, a free spirit who has enlivened the team's locker room with his hilarious observations, is off to a disappointing start: He is 4-4-1 with a 3.16 goals-against average and .880 save percentage.

"I'm just trying to give him a break a little bit," coach Peter Laviolette said after Monday's practice in Voorhees, explaining why the no-talking days were (then) going to be implemented. "We just talked. There's just too much coming out. We're trying to protect him."

Too much coming out?

"Just to let him focus on the game," Laviolette said. "This isn't a Bryz thing. It's something we talked about for the goaltenders," including Sergei Bobrovsky.

But The Inquirer notes the Philadelphia chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association filed a complaint with the Association's office about not having Bryzgalov available to the media. If the Flyers didn't comply, they could have been fined for violating the collective bargaining agreement.

After he allowed four goals on 10 shots in a 9-8 loss to Winnipeg on Thursday, Bryzgalov, without prodding, said he was "lost in the woods" and had "zero confidence."

The outburst seemed to be cathartic. In his next game, Bryzgalov was solid as the Flyers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, 5-1.

The Tampa Tribune says that bogged down with injuries, surgeries and countless rumors swirling around him and the franchise in the past few years, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier's game looked lost at times. Whether he was worried about his surgically repaired shoulder, dealing with a nagging wrist ailment that required surgery or hearing he was about to be traded to his hometown Canadiens — the concerns took a toll.

All that seems to be in the past as Lecavalier enters tonight's game at Carolina with five goals — tied for fifth in the league — including a league-best three game-winning goals.

"If you feel healthy, your mind feels better, too," Lecavalier said. "When you have to worry about something, even if it's not that bad, my shoulder or my wrist, you feel something when working out, you worry about it. And, this summer, I didn't have that. So, it's just one less distraction."

Gone are all the rumors of a pending move away from the only organization he has played for in his NHL career. And, for the first time in three years, Lecavalier entered the season fully healthy. He came to training camp after a full summer of training, which allowed him to have a clear mind.

"He's done a good job of keeping all that stuff to himself and not letting it creep into the room," center Steven Stamkos said. "We've talked about trade rumors and injuries and all that stuff from the past couple of years. It was a fresh start for him last year. He looked great, and then he got hurt again (broken hand).

"This year — knock on wood — he's healthy and just has that stability now. And you realize the player he can be and the player we all know he is. He's a huge part of our team success and every time we have success he's a big part of it. He's our leader and we follow him."

Lightning coach Guy Boucher said there is something to be said for Lecavalier entering this season with a clear mind and healthy body. It has shown on the ice in the early stages of the season as Tampa Bay has won four of its past five games. Lecavalier has the winning goal in two of those victories.

"I think if you look at Vinny at this stage of the year last year and where he is now, there is no comparison, no comparison," Boucher said. "It says a lot about him for the first time in a long time coming in healthy. There is no chip on his shoulder about anything. He has a free mind and a free spirit and it's translating on the ice."

The Buffalo News reports that the latest spin on the Ville Leino roulette wheel has the struggling Sabre in line to strike it rich.

Leino's opening 10 games in Buffalo have featured whirls as a center on a scoring line, a winger on a scoring line, a center on the fourth line, a winger on a checking line and, most recently, a forgotten man on the bench without a line. Through all the experiments, he's never been with the Sabres' two best wingers, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek.

Until now.

Leino took over Luke Adam's position as the middleman for Vanek and Pominville during Monday's practice, the latest attempt to get production from the offseason acquisition.

"They're really good players and they're playing really well right now with high confidence," Leino said in First Niagara Center. "They make a lot of plays. They're huge scorers, so it's those kind of players you want to be playing with.

"We'll see how it goes."

The News believes there's no hotter duo in the NHL than Vanek and Pominville, who have combined for 13 goals and 29 points. There haven't been many slower starts than the one belonging to Leino, who has one goal and one assist.

"Obviously, you're a little bit worried or you're not feeling as comfortable as you want to there, but you've just got to work hard every day and try and get back at it," Leino said. "Once you get some confidence and you've got the game going, it's a whole different game."

Leino has blamed part of his woes on moving to the middle. Although he said center was his natural position when he signed a six-year, $27 million contract this summer, he recently asked to go back to the wing, which was where he played in Philadelphia and Detroit. He remained hesitant about the center spot Monday, even though he'll be flanked by potent scorers.

"We'll see how it is," Leino said. "It's always different. I haven't been there in a while, but I felt pretty good [Monday], and we'll see how the chemistry will be between us."

Adam obviously did have chemistry with Vanek and Pominville. The rookie has three goals and nine points, but he'll be making two changes. He's joining a line with Derek Roy and Drew Stafford, and he's moving from center to left wing.

The Blackhawks will have a little parental guidance during their two-game trip in Florida, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Many of the players' fathers will accompany the team when it is scheduled to leave Tuesday for South Florida, where they will face the Panthers on Thursday night and then head to Tampa to battle the Lightning on Friday night.

This is the second "Dads Trip" for the Hawks, having done it during the 2009-10 season when they visited Glendale, Ariz., and Denver. Last season, players' mothers accompanied the team to Los Angeles and Anaheim.

"It's a lot of fun," said captain Jonathan Toews, who's father, Bryan, will be on the trip. "Everyone has had their parents and families down here at home sometimes and you spend time together and everyone gets to know each other, but the fathers and the mothers trips are completely different.

"They come on the road, and they're on the plane, they get to be around the locker room and the hotel and they see what the lifestyle is like on the road. It's good to kind of show them what it's all about and they can see all the sacrifices that not only their son has made but that they've made has paid off."

With their fathers on their previous trip, the Hawks finished 0-1-1, while they went 1-1-0 with their mothers along.

"Sometimes it gets you a little more excited to play, but we haven't had the greatest record with these trips," said center Patrick Kane, who will have his father, Pat. Sr., along for the ride. "Maybe we'll try to keep it simple and not think about it too much."

The Denver Post describes how a young, inexperienced hockey player has the tendency to play the puck like a hot potato, wanting to get rid of it quickly.

Gabriel Landeskog has shown no signs of playing with a potato on his stick. The Avalanche's 18-year-old rookie left wing played like a savvy veteran in Sunday's 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the Pepsi Center.

Landeskog assisted on the game's first goal, a Chuck Kobasew shorthanded tally 6:55 into the game. Landeskog and Kobasew's primary responsibility during the shift was to work with defensemen Shane O'Brien and Erik Johnson​ to kill Jan Hejda's hooking minor.

"You get the puck in our end and you ice it. It's automatic," Kobasew said. "That's the first thought. But (Landeskog) looked down the ice, got his feet moving and we were able to get an odd-man chance."

Landeskog didn't immediately ice the puck from the left-wing wall because he and Kobasew were skating out of the Avalanche zone ahead of the Kings' three forwards, and one of L.A.'s power-play point men was star forward Anze Kopitar. Thus, Landeskog figured he could forge an advantage on a 2-on-2 rush by forcing Kopitar to defend. So Landeskog drove through the neutral zone, dished off to Kobasew on the right wing and drove to the right post, drawing Kopitar with him and gaining the attention of goalie Jonathan Quick.

That allowed Kobasew to sneak around the net and stuff in a wraparound while Landeskog was a decoy.

"You have to know who you're playing against at all times. We always talk about that," Avs coach Joe Sacco said. "Kopitar gets caught back on the blue line, so that's an opportunity for a forward to try to exploit that situation. It's a heads-up play by Landeskog.

"But it's easier said than done. When you're on the penalty kill, the first thought is clear it down the length of the ice, but he showed good poise there and confidence to make that play with Chucky."

"It showed his patience," Kobasew said. "He definitely doesn't play his age or act his age. Very mature. Obviously had some good coaching along the way. He makes those little plays that are important. That's why he's out there killing penalties and out there in last minutes of games."

The New York Post writes that what was supposed to be a couple of days turned into a full month, but yesterday the news was finally good for Nino Niederreiter, as the 19-year-old skated in a full-team Islanders practice for the first time since injuring his groin in a preseason game against the Devils on Sept. 30.

Niederreiter was the team's first-round pick last year (No. 5 overall). He played nine games last season before being returned to his junior team in the WHL. In training camp, he skated on the top line with John Tavares and Matt Moulson, and yesterday he was with Moulson, with P.A. Parenteau in the middle, because Tavares was given a day off for maintenance.

“It’s obviously good to have him out there,” head coach Jack Capuano said. “Nino’s a big-bodied guy that’s going to create space and he gets to the net and shoots the puck pretty well. So if you do those things, you have a chance to score some goals.”

Niederreiter was hurt on a hit into the boards when a piece of his equipment lodged into his right groin and his leg became weak.

“Personally, I didn’t expect it to be that long,” Niederreiter said. “Obviously it took a while but I’d rather wait than never come back.”

It’s doubtful Niederreiter will be ready for Thursday’s home game against the Jets, but Saturday’s home game against the Capitals or the following week’s three-game road trip are possibilities. Who will sit when he enters the lineup is all still to be determined.

“I think it’s good to have a healthy competition,” captain and fellow Swiss native Mark Streit said. “He goes to the front of the net and you can never have enough of that.”

Leoroy, Ottawa: "Hi Chris,

Finally put Whitney (EDM) on the IR but a few FA recommendations got picked up. Need to catch up on some points. Non-Keeper, Head to head League, with the Following Stats: Points (P), (+/-), (PIM), (PPP), (SHP), (GWG), (SOG), Faceoffs Won, Hits.

Not too concerned with postions but choices are: E.Kane, Hedjuk, D.Jones, Craig Smith, S.Gagne? C.Neil, R.Whitney (Phx), Kulikov, Burmistrov, Antropov, M.Cullen, Brett Connolly , David Legwand. Who would be your top 2-3 choices? Thanks Again."

Chris: Since your league counts PIM/ SOG, I'd be interested in Evander Kane. His game is coming along and he's one of those up and coming power forward producer types in pools. Despite coming up dry of late, Simon Gagne would also be a good choice. Top six, solid +/- because he's on the Kings.

Guys like Burmistrov and Antropov have been putting up points, but looking down the line I'd be more interested in the other two I mentioned.

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