Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Sens' GM takes over for Paddock; Lalime's streakiness continues; Smith debuts for the Bolts; Campbell fits right in with San Jose; the Leafs continue their improbable hot streak; Is Olesz ready to finally break out? Tracking Bouchard's minutes; and more...
MURRAY'S LAW 
Does firing a head coach late in the season motivate a team? Bryan Murray will find out soon, after the Senators' GM fired head coach John Paddock Wednesday with just 18 games left in the season.

The move mirrors one made last season by Devils' GM Lou Lamoriello, who gave Claude Julien the boot on April 2. Murray, who coached the Senators last season all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, wil take over the reins once again behind the bench. So what can we expect? Probably a winning streak early on for the Sens, who are 4-4-2 in their past 10 games. At second overall in the Eastern conference with 78 points, and with much the same core as they had last season, the Sens may be poised for another long playoff run.

A key for Murray will be to jump-start his team's struggling offense, which has been shut out two games in a row. Happily for Ottawa fans, Murray is an excellent offensive coach and should get the most out of his talented charges. Another thing to look for: added toughness. Murray made that a calling card of his first arrival as the team's head coach, so don't expect the Sens to get pushed around anymore. That may especially be a factor Thursday, as the Sens take on the rough-and-tumble Flyers in Murray's return to the bench.

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AVALANCHE 
He's not quite ready yet, but Peter Forsberg is getting there. The Associated Press reports the superstar center skated with his teammates Wednesday and did some after-hours work on his own to get ready for his eventual return to game action. When he does return, he is expected to make a big impact with the fast-improving and suddenly-healthy Avs. It's conceivable that Foppa will make his season debut Saturday night, at home against the Kings.

BLACKHAWKS 
Will the real Patrick Lalime please stand up? Inconsistency has bedeviled the talented netminder his entire career, and that same streakiness has characterized Lalime this season with Chicago. Earlier this month he posted back-to-back 1-goal-against performances for the 'Hawks, only to follow up by allowing four, five, then five again. But on Wednesday night the stellar Lalime was back, as he pitched a 32-save shutout against the Coyotes in a 1-0 win. Hopefully this will be the start of one of his good streaks.

BLUE JACKETS 
Have the Blue Jackets decided they're no longer a playoff team? Of course not, but their fans and players have to be a little disappointed that the team decided to be sellers rather than buyers at Tuesday's trade deadline. After the team said goodbye to veteran stars Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov it became clear the Jackets are playing as much for the future as for the present. The disappointment may have carried over to Wednesday's game against the Sharks, as Columbus lost 4-2. All that said, don't expect them to slump for long with hard-nosed head coach Ken Hitchcock behind the wheel.

LIGHTNING 
Will Mike Smith be the answer in net the Bolts have needed since Nikolai Khabibulin? The team is certainly hoping so, after acquiring Smith on Tuesday in a deal that sent Mike Richards to the Stars. On Wednesday Smith made his debut for Tampa Bay, and his nerves showed. Despite stopping 27 shots, Smith finished with a loss in his new team's 3-2 defeat to the Wild. Smith stopped just 88.9 percent of his shots (a good but not great showing). One new Tampa player who was better was Jeff Halpern. The veteran forward tallied a goal and an assist for the Bolts in his first game with the team.

MAPLE LEAFS 
Could the Maple Leafs actually make the playoffs? With their 4-3 shootout win on Wednesday night, Toronto pulled within six points of eighth-place Buffalo in the Eastern conference. The victory was also their fifth in the past six games. While the team's core veterans are playing a key role in the late surge, feelings about them in Toronto have become decidedly mixed because several of those vets exercised no-trade clauses that are keeping them in Toronto. Adding to the intrigue: if the Leafs actually do make the playoffs, they won't be a great bet to land a high pick in the summer's draft.

PANTHERS 
Is Rostislav Olesz finally living up to the hype? Maybe. On Wednesday the slick winger posted a goal and an assist against the Maple Leafs in Florida's 3-2 win, giving him seven points over his past eight contests. More notable for Olesz was that he logged over 20 minutes of ice time, a (literally) big development for the 22-year-old winger. Olesz was drafted No.7 overall in 2004 based on his scoring potential, so it's about time he started living up to that. Perhaps now he is.

PENGUINS 
All the buzz in Pittsburgh is obviously focused on the arrival of super-sniper Marian Hossa, and for good reason. But somewhat lost in the shuffle is the fact the Pens' defense will have to scramble a bit to make do with the loss of Rob Scuderi. The solid role player is expected to miss up to a month after needing surgery for a broken pinkie finger, which should mean even more work than usual for massive newcomer Hal Gill. In other Pens' news, forward Adam Hall is expected to miss the rest of the regular sked after needing hernia surgery.

SABRES 
After last summer's exodus of talent and the recent loss of star defenseman Brian Campbell, the Sabres need to rely more heavily on a smaller number of stars. One of those is Ryan Miller, and Wednesday night he gave Buffalo a bit of a scare. After taking a shot to the mask during the second period against the Predators, Miller left the game. Backup Jocelyn Thibault got shelled in the interim (giving up two goals on just seven shots), but Miller made it back between the pipes to finish the game. He suffered a bloody nose, but appears to be okay going forward. Meanwhile, Buffy defenseman Toni Lydman picked up the slack for the departed Campbell by putting up four assists in the 8-4 win, while newcomer Steve Bernier posted two goals and a helper.

SHARKS 
So far, so good for Brian Campbell and the Sharks. After being acquired at Tuesday's NHL trading deadline, the star defenseman suited up Wednesday for his first contest as a Shark, and looked like a nice fit. He logged a team-high 5:10 on the power play and posted an assist on an even-strength marker by Joe Pavelski late in the second period. With Campbell aboard, look for Christian Ehrhoff and Matt Carle to see less ice-time with the man advantage for the foreseeable future.

WILD 
One of these days, Jacques Lemaire will have to start explaining why Pierre-Marc Bouchard doesn't see more ice time. Now 23, the cagey playmaker is just coming into his own as a player, and this season he has emerged as Minny's second-leading scorer (with 50 points) and their top assist man. On Wednesday Bouchard posted two more helpers, despite seeing a measly 12 minutes of ice-time. At plus-8 on the year it's tough for Lemaire to say Bouchard is a defensive liability, so maybe it's time to start letting the former junior star play more. On the season he's averaging under 17 minutes per game.