Wednesday, February 04, 2009

List of Notes for Wednesday

The Thrashers were not too quick to re-insert Garnet Exelby back into the line-up after activating him from the injured reserve, after missing a substantial amount of time with a fractured leg. The team instead decided to dress Boris Valabik again on Tuesday night, likely opting to put Exelby back in the line-up for their next game.

Horrible news for the Oilers on Tuesday night, as it appears that Lubomir Visnovsky has sustained a shoulder injury, likely a separation. The Draft pick of Dennis' will likely be re-evaluated in the next day or so and we'll have a final conclusion as to how much time he'll miss. A separated shoulder is rather devastating, as it has claimed a number of defenders for long periods of time.

Jeremy was without his first round Waiver Draft pick-up on Tuesday night, as David Booth sat out of Florida's game against the Leafs with a bout of the flu. Of course, this probably isn't serious and he'll likely have enough energy to go in the team's next game.

On Wednesday, Jordin Tootoo missed his second consecutive game with what the team is describing as an upper body injury. Tootoo missed Sunday's game against Edmonton and now he missed last night's game against Phoenix. There hasn't bee n much indication on how severe the injury is, but we'll keep you up-to-date on the condition of the Box 7 winger. Also, with the return of Greg de Vries to the line-up last night, the team scratched Ville Koistinen again, who will likely return to his healthy scratched ways.

It has been a while since Nigel Dawes was a scratch for the Rangers, but on Tuesday night, he was back in the press box watching the game from above. Dawes hasn't been the clutch performer that he was last season and that lack of production is getting rewarded with nights off the ice. In his spot, the Rangers called up Artem Anisimov, one of their future stars playing in the AHL. Anisimov was selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game and has shown good improvements, enough so to play with the big club. He could be one to watch.

Also heading back to the press box last night was Christoph Schubert of the Sens, as he missed out on their game against the Kings on Tuesday night. Schubert has fallen out of favour in Ottawa, even to the new coach who took over for his first game last night. I almost expect Schubert to be dealt before the deadline, as he may still carry some value somewhere in the league.

The trade winds are swirling in Phoenix, as Derek Morris and Daniel Winnik were both sat again on Tuesday night. The two Sheet players missed out on the game against the Predators. Morris, does have a claim of being out with an undisclosed injury, but with all the trade speculation out there about him moving to a bigger market, suspicions have been raised. Winnik, on the other hand, he's been a fairly constant scratch this season for the Coyotes and it doesn't come as a surprise to seem him here again.

More defensemen scratchings in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, as this time it was two veterans, instead of a veteran and a rookie or two rookies. Both Phillipe Boucher and Hal Gill were scratched from the game against the Canadiens, possibly due to their lack of speed. Both players have been scratched on a few occasions this year already and could likely be in a part of a trade to improve the Penguins, especially if they wanted to move some cap space.

The Blues were without one of their high-flying rookies on Tuesday night, as T.J. Oshie, a Box 9 forward, sat out of the game against the Blue Jackets because of a lower body injury. It is believed that it could be the same ankle injury that caused him to miss a bundle of time earlier this year, but of course, that won't be disclosed at the moment.

The relationship between the Canucks and Box 28 defenseman, Shane O'Brien, is strained to say the least. O'Brien is not happy with the coaching staff and management after a sit-down meeting describing what was wrong with his game. O'Brien sat for a second straight game on Tuesday night and his displeasure with the team could expedite is exit from the squad to make room for more improvements.

Finally, it's been a rather unlucky season for Brent Johnson of the Capitals, who again found himself out of the line-up on Tuesday night as his team took on the Devils. Johnson has served as Jose Theodore's back-up well this year, but he has missed a number of games due to a number of injuries, or quite possibly the same injury, as most of the time they are undisclosed. The Box 32 goalie doesn't have much fantasy value when he's hurt, but when he does get the occasional start, he does play well.

Click here to see an updated injury page.

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