Quick Strikes for Thursday, October 9

• Martin St. Louis will be an alternate captain to Ryan McDonagh for the New York Rangers this season. Salt, meet wound. [The Journal News]
• J.R. Lind's blog covers the oddly aligned Central Division. In this post, he discusses the divide that fans feel within the division. [Conference III]
• The NHL Department of Player Safety may soon have a new employee if recent rumors prove to be true. That person would be none other than former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, whose playing career is all but over. [Broad Street Hockey]
• Remember when the Tampa Bay Lightning traded former prospect Carter Ashton to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Keith Aulie? Well, that trade hasn't exactly worked out for the Leafs just yet. [Pension Plan Puppets]
• Sam Bennett, the top 2014 NHL ddraft pick for the Calgary Flames, may need shoulder surgery and could be out for months. [Calgary Sun]
• The Toronto Maple Leafs started the season without enforcers in their lineup, and that may be because of the increased importance of hockey analytics to NHL teams. [TSN]
• The San Jose Sharks, after a much maligned summer, downed the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 ... but, rather anticlimactically, failed to name a captain, instead going with rotating 'A's that includes veterans Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. [Fear the Fin]
• The Kings raised their second Stanley Cup banner in the past three years during a pre-game ceremony. [LA Times]
• A look at the analytics behind a new-look New York Islanders lineup, including Cory Conacher on the top line with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. [Islander Analytics]

Which team will win the Atlantic Division in 2014-15?