Sheet Player News (Dec. 3)

Sabres' Box 24 forward Nathan Gerbe was the victim of a fairly nasty accident, where his teammate was tripped up during a face-off and one of his skates came right up from underneath him, kicking Gerbe square in the mouth with his skate blade. Gerbe immediately left the ice in considerable pain and left the game, not to return. There have not been very many details regarding the injury, but the Sabres have announced that he will not be able to go tonight in Nashville.

It appears that defenseman John Moore was a healthy scratch for the Blue Jackets on Friday against the Oilers. The Box 14 rookie defenseman has not panned out offensively, as the team may have liked to start the season, only having 1 goal in 17 games this season. There may have been some defensive concerns as well, since the team was matching up against a speedy and dynamic team in Edmonton, but that is just speculation on my part. I don't expect Moore to be out of the line-up much longer, unless, he's got a ticket to more minutes in the AHL.

Box 8 forward Bryan Bickell was a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks on Friday night, as they played at home to the Islanders. The checking forward hasn't been terribly effective for the team of late, so a game in the press box was needed. The checking forward was included on the selection sheet this year, after a good season in 2011, but he has only 3 goals and 2 assists in 24 games for the Hawks, which isn't quite good enough.  I don't think Bickell could be out of action for too long, but that'll be a coaching decision.

A leg injury has sidelined Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald on a day-to-day basis, forcing him to miss Friday night's contest against the Blackhawks. MacDonald's injury is considered to be minor, as he was a game-time decision on Friday night, but the team likely aired on the side of caution for the evening, not dressing him.  MacDonald was one of last year's surprise players, getting a lot of attention from his scoring rate, but this season, he hasn't quite lived up to those new expectations, only having 1 goal in 22 games for the Islanders.