Top Line: Florida Panthers trade rumors; another goofy goal; more links
Marc-Andre Fleury allowed a soft goal from center ice on Saturday night. (Hans Pennink/AP)
By Allan Muir
An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:
• Bruce Garrioch speculates about an impending fire sale in Florida, trade options for the Oilers and the possible availability of Rangers prospect Chris Kreider in this week's Sunday column.
• Another night, another entry into the brutal goal-allowed club. This time, it was Marc-Andre Fleury revisiting his playoff form by allowing one from center ice. Forget how nicely he's rebounded from last spring's playoff debacle. That softie is exactly why there's almost no chance Team Canada officials consider him for Sochi.
• Cory Schneider's first exposure to the Devils/Rangers rivalry went pretty well. He earned his 10th career shutout and helped the team snap a franchise record seven-game losing streak as New Jersey won its first game of the season.
• While Schneider is flying high, his partner is struggling to find his game. Larry Brooks writes about the the sad, but obvious decline in the play of Martin Brodeur.
• The Oilers have lost Taylor Hall indefinitely after the star winger injured his knee in a collision with Ottawa's Eric Gryba. He left the building without crutches, but as coach Dallas Eakins said, any time a player leaves a game and doesn't return, it's not a good sign.
• Outside of the final score, and a trip to the wrong dressing roomDave Bolland enjoyed his first return to Chicago since joining the Maple Leafs.
• Steve Simmons says Chris Pronger should be remembered as a great difference-maker, calls Maple Leafs CEO Tim Leiweke a liar and says neither on-ice officials nor the league are doing enough to ensure player safety in this week's Sunday column.
• Carey Price put together another strong performance, but Nashville dished out more Seth Jones than the Habs could handle. The rookie had another magical night, playing more than 27 minutes and scoring the game winner in the dying moments.
• Stephen Harris catches up with former NHL great Al Secord and talks the value of education with Reilly Smith in his Sunday column.
• Niklas Kronwall says he is partly to blame for the illegal hit by Cody McLeod that left him concussed earlier this week. That throws an interesting twist into the supplemental discipline hearing that McLeod faces on Monday, doesn't it?
• John Tavares opens up about his girlfriend, who the Detroit Lions should start at quarterback and whether or not he'd pay money to watch John Tavares play in this lengthy (and wide-ranging) Q&A with Steve Serby.
• George Malik exhaustively covers every aspect of last night's win for the Coyotes over the Red Wings, including Mike Smith's turning-point moment. And no, it wasn't his first career NHL goal.
• A 5-2 loss in Los Angeles last night served as a reminder that the glass is still just half full for the Dallas Stars. And that's not full enough if they hope to break that five-year streak of playoff no-shows.
• Tyler Seguin says the clean slate he was given in Dallas was key to his smashing start with the Stars.
• Mike Morreale takes a look at the tough decisions facing teams employing junior-eligible players like Sean Monahan, Mathew Dumba and Olli Maatta. With the nine-game window approaching this week, the inexact science of player development comes under the microscope.
• It's probably a good idea not to put the San Jose Sharks on the power play right now.
• Don't expect Marian Gaborik to dish about his troubles in New York...or his issues with ex-coach John Tortorella.
• If only Vancouver's new top line was as awesome as its nickname...
• With the offense struggling--Devin Setoguchi was scratched Friday and Evander Kane was benched--Winnipeg would be in deep trouble were it not for the strong play of Dustoby Buffstrom.