Friday Morning Post

• For a good look at this weekend's action, check out Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading and USCHO's weekly NCHC picks.
• SCSU's Nick Oliver, a Roseau High alum, is excited to be heading to Grand Forks this weekend as he expects to see plenty of familiar faces in the stands.
• Dave Tippett earned his 165th win as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes last night against Nashville, tying him with Bob Francis for the franchise record. Tippett also has the fifth highest point percentage (.613) in NHL history among coaches who have been behind the bench 500 or more games. Tippett's outstanding coaching resume tends to fly under the radar considering he doesn't lead one of the league's more ritzy franchises, yet he continues to put highly competitive teams on the ice year in and year out. What's interesting is to compare the careers of Tippett and Detroit head coach Mike Babcock. They're both in their 11th season as head coaches, with Babcock having coached 799 games to Tippett's 800. Babcock has 452 career victories to go along with a .635 points percentage while Tippett has notched 436 wins on his way to his .613 points percentage. Tippett's squads have missed the playoffs just twice in the past ten seasons, while Babcock's have done so only once. Tippett has never experienced a losing season percentage-wise, with his lowest single-season point percentage (.506) coming in 2008-09, his last season in Dallas. Babcock had a point percentage of .463 in 2003-04, his final season as head coach of Anaheim. The numbers do tilt towards Babcock, particularly considering his Detroit squad won the Stanley Cup in 2007-08. But considering the stark contrast in franchise stability between Detroit and Phoenix, Tippett's coaching numbers stack up quite nicely to Babcock's.
• On Saturday night Jonathan Toews will play his first regular season NHL game in his hometown of Winnipeg, and he's pretty pumped for the occasion.
• Toews has been named a finalist for Sportsnet's Canadian Athlete of the Year.
• Andy Strickland of True Hockey wonders, is TJ Oshie playing the best hockey of his career right now?
• St. Louis has had a couple of forwards go down with injuries recently, leading them to recall Chris Porter from Chicago (AHL).
• And here's the latest edition of Through These Doors: