Sheet Player News (Jan. 24)

Life hasn't gotten too much easier for Brandon Yip in Nashville, ever since being acquired over the waiver wire from the Avalanche, as he has been made into a healthy scratch again this year. Yip has played in a couple of games with the Predators since coming across, but he hasn't figured into too many minutes.  There may still be a plan for Yip in Nashville, but his inclusion into the line-up on a regular basis may be a slow transition, according to this healthy scratch.

It was a pretty short stay for Stephane Da Costa, who was recalled from the minors during the week, only to be sent back on Sunday afternoon. Da Costa didn't even figure into the game that he was recalled for, ending up being a healthy scratch, likely as an insurance policy if one of the players in the line-up couldn't go. Usually, you would see that if the team was dealing with a bout of the flu through the line-up.  I wouldn't expect to see Da Costa too much for the rest of the season, unless the team goes through more injury troubles.

Box 14 defenseman Justin Braun was having a pretty good run of games in the line-up for the San Jose Sharks, but on Monday, the streak came to an end with a trip to the press box. Braun and Jason Demers were swapping time in and time out of the line-up for the early part of the season, making regular appearances on the blog, but were fortunate to run into a stretch of injury troubles and were able to play more games.  With Colin White becoming healthy again, we might head back to the defenseman rotation again, which could mean more appearances here.

The Vancouver Canucks are expecting to have Sami Salo ready to play on Tuesday night against the Edmonton Oilers, which means that Box 14 defenseman Chris Tanev has been sent back down to the AHL, with the Chicago Wolves, for the time being.  Tanev was up with the club and played in one game with the team, but with the team becoming healthy and some salary cap concerns, Tanev was sent back down, just to keep everything rosy on the books and on the roster.  Tanev will remain as an injury replacement through the year, not a player you can bank on at the moment.