Hockey headlines for December 20, 2018

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Penguins' Matt Murray battles his way to second straight win (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Avs improve to 2-1 on a four-game homestand with win over Canadiens (Denver Post)
Golden Knights’ Max Pacioretty placed on IR (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Edmonton Oilers forward Jujuhar Khaira suspended two games for cross-check (Edmonton Journal)
Sabres waive Patrik Berglund with intent of contract termination (Buffalo News)
NCC flattens LeBreton deal — Ottawa Senators-backed bid booted as runner-up waits in wings (Ottawa Sun)
Cheveldayoff keeps eyes on road ahead: Jets GM happy with results, but not getting ahead of things (Winnipeg Sun)
Carter Hart’s solid Flyers debut gives team and fans a jolt (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Nolan Patrick, Shayne Gostisbehere among Flyers’ Clean Slate Club (South Jersey Courier-Post)
Rangers' Vlad Namestnikov has surged into trade-bait discussion (New York Post)
Canadiens good, but not good enough, against Avalanche's hot line (Montreal Gazette)
Sidney Crosby delivers goal, assist to back Matt Murray in 2-1 win over Capitals (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Capitals' Tom Wilson drops Penguins' Jamie Oleksiak in fight (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Charles Hudon finally gets back into Canadiens' lineup (Montreal Gazette)
Sidney Crosby explains his argument with Alex Ovechkin (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Are Rangers better when playing from behind? (New York Newsday)
Wild's missed second chances adding up, causing players to tighten up (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Penalty-killing improving with six-game streak of no goals (Columbus Dispatch)
Blackhawks on best run since Jeremy Colliton took over as coach (Chicago Sun-Times)
Babcock moulding club into shape as schedule favours Leafs following grind of the road (Toronto Sun)
NJ Devils trying to rid themselves of 'passengers' in search for lineup depth (NorthJersey.com)
Marcus Kruger becomes 3rd Blackhawks player in 10 days to go on injured reserve with a concussion (Chicago Tribune)
John Klingberg's return to Stars' lineup signals reunion of Dallas' best players (Dallas Morning News)
DeMelo optimistic about returning to Senators lineup against New Jersey (Ottawa Citizen)
Red Wings’ Jimmy Howard better, will back-up Thursday (MLive.com)
Anderson returns to form, keeping Senators close to playoff spot (Ottawa Sun)
Blues will rely heavily on Allen in the weeks ahead (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Chad Johnson likes the way the Ducks play, especially now that he’s one of them (Orange County Register)
Kings star Drew Doughty preaches individual consistency (Los Angeles Daily News)
Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Patrick Kane have makings to be effective line (Chicago Sun-Times)
Wings' Athanasiou vows to keep shooting to snap goal funk (Detroit News)
How Filip Chytil has become a first-line force for Rangers (New York Post)
Kadri's shoulders not slumping as goal drought lengthens (Toronto Sun)
Tarasenko trying to fight through streaky season (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Bruins’ Joakim Nordstrom at ease with more involved role (Boston Herald)
Danick Martel makes impact as late addition to Lightning lineup (Tampa Bay Times)
Gustafsson has potential to be special D-man for Blackhawks (Chicago Daily Herald)
Relentless practicing finally gets Scott Harrington ice time (Columbus Dispatch)
Jets' Copp plays waiting game (Winnipeg Sun)
Trotz sees improvement from Ho-Sang (New York Newsday)
Gabriel Vilardi will not play for the Kings this season (Los Angeles Times)
Isles call up Toews; Does he have shot to play (New York Newsday)
How much can Martin Necas benefit from playing in the World Juniors? (Raleigh News & Observer)
Leafs' Matthews on Nutcracker: 'Try not to do anything stupid' (Toronto Sun)