Top Line: Jarome Iginla trade reacts, Craig Anderson's return, more links
While you were sleeping...the headline says it all. (Courtesy of the Calgary Sun)
By Allan Muir
A notated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories about Jarome Iginla...and other stuff:
• We've got several reacts to the late-night trade that sent Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh and solidified the Penguins' standing as the prohibitive Stanley Cup favorites: the Penguins' web site, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, CSNNE, the Calgary Herald, the Calgary Sun, the Edmonton Journal and the Boston Herald.
In other news...
• The Flames managed to play a hockey game last night without Iginla. They even managed to win it to pull within four points of a playoff spot.
• Good news in Ottawa, where goaltender Craig Anderson is close to a return to action.
• Rookie sensation Brendan Gallagher called Montreal's thrilling 6-5 shootout win over Boston the "funnest" game of his career. Probably the "funnest" game to watch this season, too. Here's hoping these two teams meet up in the playoffs and give us seven more games like it.
• Montreal's top prospect, North Dakota winger Danny Kristo, looks to close out his college career with an NCAA title.
• Zack Kassian is learning how to cope with the high expectations of a hockey-mad Vancouver market.
• Roberto Luongo has been the consummate pro as he waits for the approaching trade and his next start.
• The Minnesota Wild are playing postseason-style hockey during their seven-game winning streak.
• The Winnipeg Jets won't shed the same team, different sweater label until they distance themselves from their Atlanta past with a playoff berth.
• Joe Thornton is a Howard Stern fan. Some guy from Howard's show was at the Sharks game last night. The Sharks won. The guy is now a lucky charm. Or something. Go ahead and see for yourself.
• Drew Stafford draws back in for tonight's game against the Panthers, but it's likely that Buffalo will be without Thomas Vanek for at least one more game.
• The stunning play of Joffrey Lupul is giving Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle some options moving forward.
• The Islanders play 10 of their final 15 games on the road, which suits them just fine. They're lousy at home, but 9-4-1 away from Nassau Coliseum.
• The Rangers' season is on the line with seven of their next eight games against the East's top-six teams.
• A healthy Nikolai Khabibulin is playing so well for Edmonton that the Oilers may want to re-sign him if he's not dealt at the deadline.
Jussi Jokinen
Hurricanes