Hockey Hearsay shines a light on stories of interest from around the hockey world and runs weekdays, year-round. <\/i><\/p>\n
NHL Line Combo Central<\/a> | Nichols on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n LUCIC LAUDS LUONGO\u2019S CHARACTER<\/b><\/p>\n There is never a shortage of bad blood when the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins square off, as they will Tuesday night in Beantown, but CSNNE.com<\/a> passes along that there is no lack of respect from Bruins power forward Milan Lucic toward Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo.<\/p>\n \u201cI think too many people point the finger too much on Luongo,\u201d said Lucic on Monday. \u201cI think he\u2019s a great goaltender. He was still able to get them one win away from the ultimate goal. It shows what type of person he is, going through what he went through with how he was treated [in Vancouver] by everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s managed to keep his game at a high level, and he\u2019s on the Olympic team. He\u2019s still one of the best goaltenders in the league. It shows a lot about his character. I wish him all the best in Sochi. I\u2019m Canadian, right? It\u2019s the only time I\u2019ll cheer for him.\u201d<\/p>\n EAKINS AVOIDS TWITTER NEGATIVITY<\/b><\/p>\n Oilers fans may have noticed how head coach Dallas Eakins has been tweeting lineup information for fans.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/dallaseakins\/status\/430376404262592512<\/p>\n Eakins discussed Twitter Monday morning, as relayed by The Edmonton Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI just put them out there and let J.J. (Hebert, the Oilers PR man) handle the rest,\u201d Eakins told a scrum of reporters following the morning skate. \u201cI think Twitter is a number of different things to me.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first is thing is information. I go on there and I follow the New York Times and some other news agencies and my endurance sports stuff that I like to read.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s my duty, especially when we\u2019re on the road, to let our fans know what\u2019s going on. We want to continue that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second part for me is inspiration. I get lots of inspiration off of Twitter. People\u2019s stories, things like that. I think it\u2019s our job (as coaches) to try to inspire, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with Twitter is when you talk to the players about it, it\u2019s an easy place for people to type and snipe at people.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has turned into a very negative place. That\u2019s where I\u2019m not sure what the feedback is. I learned a few years ago, when I was with the (Toronto) Marlies, don\u2019t go read what they\u2019re saying about your name on<\/p>\n Twitter, because it\u2019s not going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n RYAN WON\u2019T BE WATCHING TEAM USA<\/b><\/p>\n Via The Ottawa Citizen<\/a>: Don\u2019t expect Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan to tune into Team USA\u2019s hockey games in Sochi. After being left off the Olympic roster, Ryan is headed to a European destination for some rest.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere I\u2019m going there won\u2019t be a whole lot of coverage on the hockey,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cI\u2019ll check in on the internet, but that\u2019s about it.\u201d<\/p>\n LUNDQVIST SLAMS \u2018IGNORANT\u2019 CRITICS<\/b><\/p>\n The New York Post<\/a> writes that Henrik Lundqvist scoffed at those who had attributed his early difficulties to the approximately 2-inch reduction in pad length coupled with enhanced enforcement by the NHL this season.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who said that the pads were the reason I was not playing well, or said I\u2019d been good before because I\u2019d been cheating, maybe I\u2019d care if they weren\u2019t ignorant about the game and the position,\u201d Lundqvist told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cYou close your pads at the knees, not at the tops. The way I play, staying back and then moving across, the change has actually helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n DECEPTIVE KESSEL DOMINATES FOR LEAFS<\/b><\/p>\n Consider The Globe and Mail\u2019s<\/a> profile of the secrets to Phil Kessel\u2019s success from Monday a must-read.<\/p>\n Joffrey Lupul on how Kessel uses one of the most flexible and unique composite sticks in the NHL: \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to handle the puck. It takes talent. He\u2019s been using that stick for a long time and, obviously, he just has more talent than the rest of us. He\u2019s able to deal with it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I take a similar shot, I have to exert a lot more pressure on the stick to push down and get that reaction out of the stick. That\u2019s what it\u2019s made for \u2013 for the kick point to be right there. The way it\u2019s set up it sometimes looks like he barely has to push and it helps him with a quicker release.\u201d<\/p>\n Lupul, on how you should never underestimate his teammate: \u201cAny sport you want to play him in, he\u2019ll beat you at. That\u2019s just natural fast-twitch muscles. It\u2019s the same thing if you go play golf with him. \u2026 You wouldn\u2019t picture him driving the ball 50, 60 yards past you, but it happens.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people are naturally powerful, and in his case, that\u2019s what gives him that extra gear.\u201d<\/p>\n SEGUIN, VANEK SWAP DISCUSSED IN SUMMER<\/b><\/p>\n So much trade talk goes on that never see the light of day, but this tidbit must make Sabres fans wonder what might have been.<\/p>\n Via The Buffalo News<\/a> early Monday evening, multiple sources indicate the Sabres and Bruins discussed a trade package at the June draft that would have sent Thomas Vanek to Boston in exchange for center Tyler Seguin. It’s not clear why the talks didn’t result in a deal, but it is known the Bruins were seeking another NHL-ready player off the Sabres’ roster.<\/p>\n The Dallas Stars eventually wound up landing Seguin, while Vanek was dealt to the Islanders in October.<\/p>\n THOMAS WOULD CONSIDER RE-SIGNING WITH PANTHERS<\/b><\/p>\n Florida Panthers goaltender Tim Thomas, via The Sun-Sentinel<\/a>, on the prospect of returning to the team for next season.<\/p>\n “I’m certainly willing to entertain the idea. I haven’t talked to the club about that,” Thomas said Monday.<\/p>\n “I was hoping by this time to be seeing more team success. That’s been a little bit difficult. Having said that, it’s a process. I knew coming into it where the team was last year. I bought into this process, and what we’re trying to do is turn it around.”<\/p>\n He added: “I’ve been with Boston when they were where the Panthers are right now, actually. So I do know how rewarding it is to be a part of that turnaround.<\/p>\n “It’s baby steps at times, but we’ve got a lot of young talent here. We took some steps forward and now we’ve taken some steps back. It’s time to start pushing this way again.”<\/p>\n MAURICE ENJOYED TIME WITH CANES<\/b><\/p>\n With the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets meeting Tuesday, The Raleigh News & Observer<\/a> has Paul Maurice\u2019s thoughts on his former team. Any regrets?<\/p>\n \u201cNot one,\u201d Maurice answered quickly, then pausing. \u201cNo, not one. There are no negatives from my time there. I really care about that franchise, about the people, about the city.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was time for me to go, and off I went. And now I have a new challenge, a new start.\u201d<\/p>\n On the success of the organization: \u201cThis is such a good franchise and probably doesn\u2019t get noted for that as much as it should. When we first started there was nothing. Every once in a while you\u2019d see a little Hurricane flag and you weren\u2019t sure if they were sold out of N.C. State flags or liked the red.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost a model franchise for the non-traditional market. You always had that sense that there was a connection between the fans and the players, more so than other places and very much like Winnipeg. It wasn\u2019t easy. There were a lot of questions at the time about, would this franchise succeed?\u201d<\/p>\n BRUNNER READY FOR SWISS UNDERDOG ROLE<\/b><\/p>\n New Jersey Devils forward Damien Brunner, via The Star-Ledger<\/a>, on his Swiss team\u2019s hockey chances in the upcoming Olympics.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never know. We start the tournament against Latvia. I think that is a must-win game for us,\u201d Brunner said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to start like that, a game we have to win but maybe not the toughest opponent compared to the other two in the group. We\u2019ve had success lately against the Czechs and Sweden. The thing for us is to just play our style, puck possession, speed, put them under pressure with a lot of forechecking.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously we need good goaltending, but Hiller is pretty hot this season so I don\u2019t see a problem there.\u201d<\/p>\n On perhaps shocking teammate Jaromir Jagr and the Czechs: \u201cWe have a lot of young guys who can really skate. The Czechs are obviously favored against us just because of the amount of players coming from the NHL and the success they\u2019ve had in the past. But the days are over when they say they know they can beat Switzerland. I think they respect us as an opponent and they know we can surprise everyone. We know we\u2019re underdogs but everyone in Switzerland knows we can also beat them.\u201d<\/p>\n VIGNEAULT RESPECTS ROY PAYING HIS COACHING DUES<\/b><\/p>\n