Top Line: Don Cherry defends John Scott; Duchene rips Sacco; more links

Matt Duchene and the Avalanche have made a strong start to the season. [Michael Martin/Getty Images] By Allan Muir An annotated guide to this morning's

Matt Duchene and the Avalanche have made a strong start to the season. [Michael Martin/Getty Images]

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning's must-read hockey stories:

• Aw, Grapes, say it ain't so. Don Cherry used his bully pulpit on Hockey Night In Canada to sympathize with suspended enforcer John Scott. Not often you catch him this far off base. You can see the whole video here.

• Meanwhile over on "Hotstove Tonight," the boys talk about the possibility of holding coaches and general managers liable for the misdeeds of the miscreants they employ.

• Matt Duchene explains the secrets to this season's success, talks his new diet and rips ex-coach Joe Sacco. This is a great read from sleep-deprived scribe Adrian Dater.

• Vancouver coach John Tortorella was looking for something different from Ryan Kesler. What he found was key to his resurgent game and the most successful road trip in franchise history.

• If you were looking for some sort of reading on how Ilya Bryzgalov was perceived as a potential goaltending option around the NHL, consider this: With injuries to their top-two netminders necessitating some kind of move, the Carolina Hurricanes passed on Bryzgalov and signed Rick DiPietro to a minor-league deal instead. Larry Brooks offers some insight into that decision, as well as a take on how Bettman is making the NHLPA look foolish on the issue of player safety.

• Steve Simmons puts the onus on star players like Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and John Tavares to take charge of the player safety conversation within the union and dishes on other hot topics in his far-flung Sunday column.

• The pair of goals Dave Bolland scored last night to lead the Leafs to a 4-1 win over the Pens weren't the most telling numbers he posted on the stat sheet. Chris Johnston points out the stat to watch and explains why Bolland is the perfect fit for Toronto.

• Larry Robinson told Marc-Edouard Vlasic he'd spent his whole life shooting the puck wrong. Listening intently to the advice of the Hall of Famer has the young San Jose blueliner squarely in the mix to make Team Canada.

• Sure it's still early in the season, but tell me this doesn't look like a play of the year candidate from Keith Yandle last night? No quit in this kid.

• The Red Wings are now 0-3 with Nick Lidstrom in attendance, but Detroit has bigger problems to deal with than a jinxed former captain after laying a fourth-consecutive egg against the Rangers.

• Bruce Garrioch offers his thoughts on a series of trade rumors that are making the rounds as the first month of the season comes to a close, including talk on Anaheim's goalies, New Jersey's defense and the need for a swap behind Buffalo's bench.

• There was bad news for the Ducks, who learned they'll be without a key to their red-hot offense for four-to-six weeks because of a broken hand.

• Boston had allowed a league-low three power play goals all season going into last night's game with the Devils. So how exactly did they give up four in one night...to New Jersey's pop-gun offense, no less?

• You don't see a six-on-three power play too often, do you?

• Have the Flyers finally gotten their season back on track? They certainly figured out one of the keys to success in consecutive wins this week.

• I'd take issue with Ed Tait's assertion that Ondrej Pavelec was the best player on the ice last night in Dallas--my vote would go to Kari Lehtonen--but he clearly was the reason the Jets managed to end their losing skid. And he set a franchise mark in the process.

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