New Year's Day Bytes

The Sabres aren't having a fun time trying to win this season. There has been a carousel of players in and out of the line-up and New Year's Day wasn't much different. Back into the line-up was Maxim Afinogenov and out of the line-up was Box 25 forward, Nathan Gerbe. Afinogenov has drawn the ire of the coaching staff all year, while Gerbe has been battling his health and his play, getting the occasional stint in the press box.

The Panthers didn't keep Shawn Matthias up with the big club for very long in another stint up with the big club. With the team not going to play until Saturday, there is a chance that Matthias has been sent down to play one more game with their AHL club before returning. Both Rostislav Olesz and Kamil Kreps are both likely to remain out of the line-up with their injuries.

The Predators decided to scratch Ville Koistinen again, as they took on the Canucks on Thursday night. The Predators likely wanted to keep some of their toughness in the line-up, as the game was to be a bit of a grudge match. The previous meeting between the two clubs resulted in some questionable hits and a lot of fights, so Koistinen was sat in favour of the likes of Wade Belak.

After being a healthy scratch for a long stretch of games, it looks like Daniel Winnik will be able to get his game shape legs back in the AHL after being sent down on Thursday. Winnik, a Box 6 forward, has only appeared in 23 games for the Coyotes this season and has only registered 1 assist. Not only should he get his legs back, but hopefully his scoring touch as well.

It appears that Phillipe Boucher hasn't quite been playing at 100% since coming back from injury a few weeks ago. Boucher was scratched on Thursday, likely due to a lack of offensive production and/or overall play. The Box 11 defenseman has played in 30 games between Dallas and Pittsburgh, scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists. Some rest may help him out at this point in the year.

The struggling Lightning decided to sit a couple of their key defensemen on Thursday, as both Lukas Krajicek and Paul Ranger didn't take to the ice for the team against Washington. Both players were nowhere to be seen on the roster sheet, as they were both likely healthy scratches for the game. Don't expect them to be out of the line-up for very long.

Click here to see an updated injury page.