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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; It was a banner night in Chicago as the Blackhawks launched their Stanley Cup defense. (Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;By Allan Muir&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 The good folks over at Kukla's Korner posted the video of last night's banner-raising ceremony in Chicago. Love 'em or hate 'em, you gotta admit the Hawks did it up right.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Here's Nick Cotsonika on a night to be treasured in Chicago. I'd forgotten about the business card bit. It's a good reminder of how quickly the Hawks have risen from irrelevancy to the status of cultural treasure in that town.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 An injury to Montreal's new enforcer George Parros cast a pall over opening night. We'll have more on this later today.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Amalie Benjamin is relatively new to the Bruins beat, but she's just written a cracker of a story about  Jarome Iginla's quest for the Cup in Boston. It's a must read.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Here's an equally compelling read about Carolina analyst Tripp Tracy and his efforts to free his brother after he'd been arrested for spying in Venezuela. The story is only peripherally about hockey, but it's well worth your time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Adrian Dater is at his best, offering up an inside look into the life of a hockey beat writer. AD promises it will be a continuing series, so I'm really looking forward to his entry on sportswriter groupies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 In the first \"Coach's Corner\" of the season, Don Cherry sounds off on John Scott's bullying act and hybrid icing. Glad to have you back, Grapes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Lots of great angles out of Washington this morning. How about Mikhail Grabovski's hat trick in his debut with the Caps?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 If this head coaching thing doesn't work out for Adam Oates, he probably has a nice fallback career as a stick whisperer. I always knew it was a bad lie, not bad hands, that made me such a duster. Wonder if Oatsie gives private consultations?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Alex Ovechkin said he \"supports everybody\" when asked about gay rights in Russia on NPR Tuesday morning. We can keep asking him all we want, guys. He's ain't comin' down from the fence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Here's a &lt;em&gt;Washington Post&lt;/em&gt; piece on Gary Bettman, a man at the top of his game. It's a balanced read, although I can't believe the writer resisted the urge to place a winking emoji at the end of the quote where Bettman says the league \"doesn't take our fans for granted.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Where were these Jets during the preseason? Winnipeg got a pair of goals from newcomer Michal Frolik to lead them over the Oilers in a come-from-behind thriller.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Elliotte Friedman touches on the soundness of Phil Kessel's contract, David Perron's hot hands and Boston's failed trade bid in his weekly 30 Thoughts column.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Nashville coach Barry Trotz had no doubts about keeping Seth Jones in the NHL this season. That it goes against everything the organization preaches about player development says it all about Jones and where his game is at.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related gallery: Kids to watch this season&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 After a season that demanded seven moves in 11 months, Jason Pominville is settling in and feeling at home in Minnesota.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Though the Penguins have come down with a serious case of Pirates fever, it's expected they'll be able to ice a full lineup for tonight's season opener against the Devils.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Much like the Sabres, the Lightning had two great options to serve as team captain this season. Unlike the Sabres, they managed to pick just one. Looks like they made the right choice here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Awful Announcing wonders if Chris Chelios can be a credible NHL analyst for Fox Sports 1 while he's working in Detroit's front office. Might help if he stopped referring to the Wings as \"we.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 No one in Columbus is expecting a miracle turnaround for a power play that ranked 28th last season. They're just hoping that this year's unit creates more energy than it drains.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 The Rangers will be without a key player when they open their season against Phoenix on Thursday night.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Well, this sucks. Three days after being unveiled in his hometown of Brantford, Ont., a pair of statues honoring Wayne Gretzky were vandalized. On the bright side, they fared better than Jebidiah Springfield.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Jeff Skinner is saying all the right things about two-way hockey, but the fact that he's playing on Carolina's third line beside Drayson Bowman and Riley Nash speaks volumes about where his game is at right now. Not many teams hide a $5.725 million cap hit on the checking line, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related gallery:&lt;/strong&gt; Players with something to prove&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Hoping to get tickets to one of the two Red Wings-Maple Leafs alumni games scheduled as part of the Winter Classic festivities? Unless you're a season-ticket holder in Detroit or Toronto, you're probably out of luck.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 The declining ice time -- and production -- of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle is impossible to ignore in San Jose. Although there seems to be good intentions to extend all three before their contracts expire at the end of the season, this might be the last hurrah for these veteran Sharks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 What's it take to make it to the NHL? Mark Zwolinski talked with five Maple Leafs about the pivotal people, moments and characteristics that earned them a spot on Toronto's opening night roster.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Sean Gentile compiled a list of the 30 storylines for the 2013-14 season we'll all be sick of soon enough.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 Their season hasn't even started yet and they're already pondering the impact of a veteran sell-off in Calgary.\n\u2022 This list of 10 forwards to watch this season in college hockey might be the best thing Flames' fans read all year.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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