Sheet Player News (Nov. 20)

The Florida Panthers recalled goaltender Jacob Markstrom on Sunday to back-up Jose Theodore, as Scott Clemmensen was given the day off of action.  It was reported that Clemmensen has been dealing with some pain from his knee surgery, which he had earlier on this season, but it is also giving the rumour mill plenty of things to talk about, as his name has been front and centre among talks of other teams looking for some veteran goaltending to help them out of their funk.  With Markstrom getting a taste for NHL hockey, it could mean that Clemmensen is expendable.

The Predators welcomed David Legwand back to the fold from his upper-body injury on Saturday night, which meant that someone had to come out of the line-up. With only 2 assists in 18 games this season, Blake Geoffrion worked out to be a pretty good candidate, as the Box 7 forward has not given the team the kind of offense they would like from him and they are obviously hoping for a bit of a boost from him, when he hits the ice again.  The Predators haven't been scared to sit some offensive potential this season, if they think it isn't working for them, so this move certainly doesn't come as any surprise.

Box 29 defenseman Mike Mottau made a return to the press box and the injury/news page on Saturday night, as he was sent back up to the press box for the game against the Bruins.  Mottau has played in 11 games for the Islanders and has yet to register a point, so his fantasy value is next to nothing, but very close to nothing, as he has been a healthy scratch a couple of times already this year.  The Islanders are struggling again this season, there is just no glue keeping this roster together and sending players up to the press box isn't quite doing the trick, it's just another short-term fix.

The Ottawa Senators lost the services of Box 29 defenseman Chris Phillips on Friday night against the Oilers, due to an undisclosed injury. Phillips did practice with the club on Saturday morning in Vancouver and he is expected to play on Sunday evening against the Canucks. If you have Phillips in Box 29, I thought it would be a nice courtesy to have his status noted before game time. With the box leader only at 8 points there, Phillps' 5 points doesn't look too bad and is in striking distance of being the best pick in that box.

Box 14 defenseman Justin Braun was a healthy scratch for a second straight game on Saturday night, this coming after his first scratch in a while on Thursday night, as the defensive rotation continues for the Sharks. Braun and Jason Demers still cannot seem to hold onto the sixth defenseman spot for long periods of time, which is greatly diminishing their fantasy value this season, as you're now cutting their projections in half.  Braun has 1 assist in eight games this year, while Demers has 2 assists in nine games, so I would drop both of them, if you have either of them.