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Zenon Konopka isn’t pleased, according to The Ottawa Citizen.

The Senators tough guy shared his disappointment about the NHL’s decision to not discipline Wojtek Wolski of the New York Rangers for his borderline hit on Daniel Alfredsson last Sunday. Konopka wasn’t buying the explanation from NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan, who said Wolski’s clean track record was a main reason why he wasn’t suspended.

“Really? Reputation? There still has to be a stance made,” said Konopka, who likened the Wolski hit on Alfredsson to the David Steckel hit on Sidney Crosby last season, which triggered Crosby’s concussion problems.

“At the end of the day, the reality of the matter is, Daniel Alfredsson is not in the lineup. So talk about reputation, talk about whatever you want to talk about, we don’t have our captain in the lineup. That’s killing us. Obviously, there was no retribution, no even up call, whatever you want to call it. That’s a tough pill for us to swallow. We’re not happy in the dressing room. We’re not happy with the league and the Rangers or anyone else, or Wolski. That’s the reality of the matter. You can sugar coat it all you want and say the right things, but we’re not a happy bunch.”

In that same game, Konopka received a charging major and was suspended from the game for what he calls “a less vulgar hit” and he says Wolski has to feel punishment somehow.

“If I was on the ice, there would have been retribution. I know Wolski is a good guy, but at the end of the day, we still have to police ourselves a little bit,” he said. When asked about the fact the teams meet each other again next Wednesday in New York, Konopka said, “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Konopka suggested there may have been other factors leading up to the hit, as well.

“Let’s not forget that Wolski is not having the year he wants to be having and he has been in the doghouse in New York and Tortorella is an intense coach,” he said. “When you get out of your mold and you try to make something happen and you panic, there are lot of times, you see on the road, you see in business, when you panic, it’s not a good thing and bad things happen. I think that’s part of it. Nobody’s really talked about it, but he’s trying to find himself as a player. At point, he was close to a world-class player and he’s not where he wants to be and that’s part of the variable we have to put into the equation.”

The New York Post points out that some of the most skilled guys in the NHL have failed so consistently in the shootout they want nothing to do with it. Jaromir Jagr, for instance, would consistently opt out of the skills competition while with the Rangers, frustrated with a career 5-for-20 record.

But not so Marian Gaborik, who had been 1-for-6 in his two years with the Rangers and 2-for-19 overall before coach John Tortorella tabbed the elegant assassin to go in for last night’s third round against Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller with the shootout and game tied at 1-1.

“I want to make the difference, so I’m glad when I get the chance,” Gaborik said after his backhand beat Hiller before Henrik Lundqvist made it stand up by stopping Bobby Ryan for a 2-1 Garden victory. “I try to relax and [visualize] a good result.

“You want the responsibility for sure. I have to say that I had a good feeling before I went out [for the shot].”

Gaborik, who has been the Rangers’ best forward thus far by leaps and bounds, had yet another outstanding game, even if he was denied while pumping seven shots on Hiller that included a semi-break in the final seconds of the first period.

The sniper not only created chances with his speed and finesse game, but he was consistently on the puck in traffic, taking the body in 23:34 of ice.

“He’s been our best player this year,” Tortorella said when asked why he chose Gaborik, who went only once (and missed) all last season, when the Rangers went 9-3 in the shootout. “He [was] 2-for-19, but he’s ready to take the next step.

“I’m glad for him. He’s been our best player.”

The Denver Post relays that in his continuous quest to find the right chemistry for his top lines, Avalanche coach Joe Sacco on Thursday moved Matt Duchene to the same line as the team's highest-paid player, Paul Stastny.

For tonight's game against the Dallas Stars, Duchene will skate at left wing on a line with Stastny, with veteran Milan Hejduk on the right side.

"We'll see if that can spark a couple of those guys," Sacco said after Avs practice Thursday. "It's an opportunity for (them) to feed off each other a little bit offensively. We'll see what it brings. It can always change, but I'm not going to just keep things consistent when they're not working, when we're not getting production the way we'd like to see it."

Not much has worked for Sacco of late when it comes to his second line, the one with Duchene at center. The loss of Peter Mueller from a line with Duchene and Hejduk has hurt.

Duchene has not found good chemistry with an assortment of wingers, so Sacco will experiment with him at left wing with Stastny — who has also struggled. The two played together at times late last season, but Duchene always has been a natural center.

"Stats and I read the game pretty similarly," Duchene said. "We haven't played that much together in the three years that I've been here, but we did a little late last year and we did well."

The only line that has consistently stayed together all season is Ryan O'Reilly centering Gabriel Landeskog and Daniel Winnik​. That won't change against the Stars. TJ Galiardi will center a line with Joakim Lindstrom and David Jones.

Sacco also will shake up his defensive pairings. Of the three recent pairings, only Kyle Quincey​ and Shane O'Brien will stay together. Erik Johnson​, whose play has been subpar, will be paired with Ryan Wilson. Ryan O'Byrne will skate with Jan Hejda​.

"We can't sit still and watch guys who you think can be better not be better," Sacco said. "You've got to make some changes at the right times."

The New York Post recalls that two months ago, Steve Staios was an unemployed 38-year-old, a lifelong stay-at-home defenseman who had been drafted the same year as Eric Lindros (1991), had averaged just over three goals a season during his 16 years with five teams, and had a career rating of minus-67.

Then he got an invite to Islanders training camp, made the team, got paired with captain Mark Streit, and is now averaging about 19 minutes of ice time through the first 10 games of the season.

“I didn’t know how I would feel coming into this point in my career,” Staios told The Post before last night’s 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at the Coliseum, during which he played 18:39 and registered one shot and two more shots blocked. “But I’m highly motivated. I feel like I’ve been a positive influence to this group so far but I think that I can do more.”

The player most benefiting from some added backline stability is Streit, who has had the freedom to join offensive rushes and exploit his skill with the confidence that his own end is covered.

Although the two were broken up in the third period of last night’s game – in hopes of the team busting out of their franchise-worst offensive dry spell – Streit is still tied for second on the team with eight points (one goal, seven assists).

“I liked him since the first second he got here,” Streit said. “He’s a big veteran, has been in the league forever and he’s very good defensively. We talk a lot and I think he’s very important in the locker room.”

Staios is well aware of his advanced age, but is far from feeling it. He said for the past 11 years he has worked with a strength and conditioning coach, doing everything he can to be prepared for a workload like the one head coach Jack Capuano has heaped on him.

“That’s the least of my concerns,” Staios said. “I feel like whatever amount of minutes I get to play, I can handle.”

That doesn’t mean Capuano is going to be reckless with ice time, knowing all too well how injuries can sneak up and steal away a season.

“As a coaching staff we’ve talked a little bit about the minutes he has played,” Capuano said. “Obviously, we have to make sure we distribute our minutes properly, and that’s from our forwards right down into our backend.”

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that to this point, Toronto native and Blues winger Chris Stewart hasn't found the rhythm he had last season. He scored 15 goals in 26 games for the Blues after being acquired from Colorado in the Erik Johnson trade. Stewart finished the season with 28 goals and 53 points, matching his career-best goal total of the previous season.

"I can ... be better," Stewart said. "We all could be better. The first few games, we've been a one-line team. (Jason) Arnott, (Alex) Steen and Langs (Jamie Langenbrunner) have been producing all the offense. I'm getting paid and brought in to be an offensive guy and I've got to produce more."

The 6-foot-2, 232-pound winger was scoring at a rate of .577 goals per game wearing the Note last season, so it was logical to project Stewart as a possible 35-40 goal scorer this season. At his current pace of .188 goals per game, he would land far short of that projection.

"I'm kind of known to be streaky," Stewart said. "It's just a matter of when. I'm not going to worry too much and read into it. It's a long year. We want to be playing our best hockey when it counts. I'm not saying now doesn't count, but I'll get back on track."

He added, "I've got to get some quality chances. Our PP's been struggling, too. I just have to put the first 11 games behind me and start fresh (today). We went through a streak last year where they'd hit me and go in. Now I can't shoot them in."

Blues coach Davis Payne said Stewart "was a little better in Edmonton. You look back at that game and he had a couple of good chances. He had one on the rush and one there on the power play where (Alex Pietrangelo) got credit for the goal. It was closer and the more it becomes consistent, the better off he is going to be.

"But when you're talking about offense sometimes it's like trying to call a cat. Sometimes it doesn't listen. You just have to be very loyal to the rest of your game and if you're in the right position, getting to the right areas of the ice, you'll get your chances."

The Chicago Tribune details that wearing a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, Kris Versteeg looked right at home in the Panthers' dressing room in South Florida.

The former Blackhawks winger has settled in with his third team since helping the Hawks capture the 2010 Stanley Cup, but Versteeg will always have a place in his heart for the Indian head.

"I'm always going to be a Blackhawk," Versteeg said Thursday at the BankAtlantic Center. "Now, I look forward to being a Florida Panther, but the Blackhawks definitely have engraved something in my heart and that's a Stanley Cup ring. You can't forget about what got you here and the route that took you."

Versteeg played two-plus seasons with the Hawks before being dealt to the Maple Leafs the summer after winning the Cup. Versteeg was sent to the Flyers on Feb. 14 and then acquired by the Panthers on July 1. With his collection of sweaters piling up, it's Versteeg's bond with the members of the Cup-winning team he'll always cherish.

"You walk together as winners forever," Versteeg said. "That's something that we've taken as friends because we were a really close team over there. It's a lifetime bond for sure."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune details how when the Wild cut Casey Wellman late in training camp, the team sent him to Houston with simple instructions: "Go down there and dominate," Wild coach Mike Yeo said.

Wellman's a good listener.

Wellman is tied for third in the American Hockey League with eight goals in 11 games, tied for first with five power-play goals and sixth with 40 shots.

Playing for new coach John Torchetti's AHL-leading Aeros, Wellman is picking up where he left off from last spring's run to the Calder Cup finals.

"Really happy with him," Aeros GM Jim Mill said. "He's scoring key goals, moving his feet, going to the hard areas. His goals are coming out of working hard, shooting the puck and going to the net hard. He's got to continue to do that."

Torchetti says Wellman is working overtime in practice shooting pucks.

"He's made an effort to work on his game," Torchetti said. "If you want to be a goal scorer, you've got to practice your shot."

Wellman, 24, suffered through an injury-plagued 2010-11 season. He was a scorer at the University of Massachusetts, tying for sixth in the nation with 23 goals before the Wild signed him in 2010. At the NHL level, though, he hasn't showed that same ability. He has scored two goals and had four assists in 27 games with only 38 shots.

That's why as much as the Wild could probably use his speed and shot, the plan for now is to give Wellman a long stretch in the minors. The Wild wants him to gain confidence in Houston, play in all situations and learn how to play away from the puck to gain the trust of coaches.

"Young guys have to play," Yeo said. "We can't just put Casey on the fourth line here and play him four minutes and expect him to develop his game and be at his best."

Given a choice, Claude Giroux tells Philly.com he would rather play Guitar Hero with the fans at the 35th anniversary Flyers' Wives Fight for Lives Carnival on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.

Going head-to-head in Guitar Hero is one of the many attractions at the event, which raises funds for more than 100 charities in the Philadelphia area.

But Giroux will be participating in a unique combo-package, in which fans can purchase both a photo and an autograph with him.

In the 34 years of the Carnival, the Flyers' wives have raised more than $23 million.

This February, they are hoping to top $700,000. Their husbands will participate in several activities, including a dunk tank, Wii Boxing, and even pictures with the Stanley Cup.

"It was interesting, we didn't have a Carnival during the 2004-05 lockout, because we weren't allowed to talk to the players, but people still called to participate," said Mary Ann Saleski, the vice president of Comcast-Spectacor charities. "Since then, interest has been nearly constant. This year, we're looking to raise more money than ever. Everyone loves an anniversary year."

The Washington Post believes that when he was acquired from Florida at the trade deadline last year, Dennis Wideman instantly filled a void for a confident, puck-moving defenseman on the Capitals’ roster while Mike Green was out with a concussion. Fast forward, and with Green likely out for a fourth consecutive game on Friday against Carolina with a twisted right ankle, the Capitals are reminded once more of how Wideman’s presence eases the absence of the two-time Norris Trophy finalist.

Wideman, 28, has a similar ability to make strong outlet passes that provide the jump and speed to the Capitals’ offense, along with a keen understanding of the power play and a quick shot release from the point. He also doesn’t shy away from playing significant minutes. In the three games without Green, Wideman has skated at least 23 minutes 25 seconds in each contest.

“Other than maybe speed, they’re very same ilk of player,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They can think quick, both of them, and they can make that first outlet pass really well because they see the ice in front of them very well and they anticipate very well. Both of them are really good at it and that’s a lucky thing that you have two of them.”

The Post believes one of Wideman’s strongest attributes is his willingness and confidence when making plays up the middle of the ice, to help send the play in the opposite direction. It’s something that the Kitchener, Ontario, native feels comfortable doing given the skill level of Washington’s forwards — he doesn’t have to worry whether Nicklas Backstrom or Marcus Johansson will be able to make the correct play under pressure.

“A lot of guys will take the safe play and throw it up the wall, but his head is always up and he makes confident, sharp passes into the middle of the ice,” Brooks Laich said. “That allows us to transition out of our zone rather than getting stuck in scrums on the wall and stuff. It allows us to get out of our zone and on the attack.”

For all his positive offensive contributions (he's tied with Alex Ovechkin for second on the team at 10 points apiece) so far, Wideman admitted he hasn’t been as sharp defensively. He had a particularly rough time in Washington’s most recent game, when he and Hamrlik were on the ice for the first two Anaheim goals and prompted Boudreau to shake up the pairings.

“For me, it’s always been just making sure you concentrate on winning battles and getting the puck out as fast as you can,” Wideman said. “Just some reads and stuff like that. It probably comes more so with not being quite mentally right there, ready to go for the start of the game. That’s something that, as long as you become aware of it, hopefully you can snuff it out pretty quick.”

Mike: "Is Greiss worth picking up and do you see him taking over for Niemi? Thanks."

Chris: I'm not worried about Niemi losing his job, no. He's had a rough few games, but was strong before that and should be fine. Maybe Greiss will earn a start or two, but Niemi's the guy. The Sharks have five more games on this homestand and no back-to-backs, so we'll see what happens. Greiss stepped up last night and has done well when called upon this season, but whether he's worth adding just depends on who he'd be replacing on your roster. I don't remember your league being deep enough that I'd really worry about grabbing him at this point. If I owned Niemi I wouldn't be losing any sleep over this right now.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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