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Curtis Joseph entered Sunday's game needing one regular-season victory to reach 400 for his NHL career. The potentially memorable day quickly turned forgettable thanks to three Anaheim goals in the first period. That prompted coach Wayne Gretzky to pull Joseph from the game after the first period. "We wanted to shake up the mentality of the team and get them in a different mind-set," said associate coach Barry Smith, who spoke for a hoarse Gretzky after the game.
-- Arizona Republic

This season's first installment of Todd Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks versus the Colorado Avalanche went off without a hitch, much to the liking of National Hockey League executives. Colin Campbell, NHL executive vice-president of hockey operations, watched the Avs take the majority of penalties in the light-hitting affair that was kept under control by referees Dan O'Rourke and Kevin Pollack. Campbell likely will be on hand again when the teams meet Thursday and Saturday in Denver, where fans remain upset by the shortness of the NHL suspension handed Bertuzzi in March, 2004, after he struck down Avs player Steve Moore from behind, causing serious injury.
-- The Globe and Mail

This morning, league executive vice president Colin Campbell will decide how long Atlanta's Eric Boulton will be suspended for elbowing Tampa Bay rookie Paul Ranger in the head last week. Compounding this infraction, a week earlier, Atlanta's Andy Sutton pounded Darcy Tucker's head into the glass during a 9-1 loss to Toronto. Sutton drew a four-game suspension. Boulton also had a late hit on Eric Lindros in that game. Two routs, two flagrant fouls by Atlanta players. Coincidence? Leafs coach Pat Quinn and Lightning coach John Tortorella lashed out at Thrashers coach Bob Hartley after both hits, saying they were cheap shots intended to injure.
-- Philadelphia Inquirer

The Devils are a team full of holes. Martin Brodeur has been mostly spectacular but sometimes mediocre. The defense, revamped without Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens, is porous. And the forwards, who used to shut down opposing scorers, are now beating a path to the penalty box and forcing the Devils to kill off far too many penalties. The result: A 4-4-0 record for a team which has a weakness of giving up goals in bunches, not to mention failing to hold onto a lead.
-- Newark Star-Ledger

Wild coach Jacques Lemaire confirmed that Marion Gaborik re-aggravated the groin injury that kept him out for most of training camp and the season's first six games.
-- Minneapolis Star Tribune

Steve Yzerman (groin) practiced Sunday but won't play tonight. Instead, he'll return Thursday at Joe Louis Arena against Chicago. Kris Draper, hit in the eye by a puck against San Jose on Oct. 17, returned Saturday wearing a visor. The visor is similar to one worn by Henrik Zetterberg.
-- Detroit Free Press

Add Kyle Calder to the Blackhawks' injured list. The star winger couldn't play Sunday against the Minnesota Wild, and he's very doubtful for Tuesday's game against the Nashville Predators. Calder crashed into the boards during practice Saturday in Bensenville and left the ice. Assistant coach Denis Savard, running the team while head man Trent Yawney deals with issues relating to a death in his family, didn't think much of it until trainer Mike Gapski told him that Calder had injured his elbow and already was on his way to a nearby hospital.
-- Chicago Sun-Times

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