Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 29)

It was kind of a dropped ball situation on this one, as it was kind of lost on me that Jamie McBain was taken.  Well, McBain hasn't been on the best terms with the Sabres coaching staff, in their time of struggles, as he has been a healthy scratch for a few games, including last night against the Dallas Stars.  McBain has 1 goal and 2 assists in his first seven games this season, but that hasn't seemed to be enough to stay in the line-up.

McBain belongs to Dale B. his season, who finished up Monday night in 13th place, 4 points out of the top 10, with 34 games to be played still in Week Five.  Unfortunately, he hasn't seen the scoring production he would have liked this year, especially from his blueliners, who are ranked 22nd in the pool for their points per game scoring rate (0.286).

There are some very strong rumblings on Tuesday morning that the Edmonton Oilers will be welcoming forward Sam Gagner back to their line-up tonight, as he is returning from a broken jaw, suffered during the preseason.  Gagner will likely be wearing a protective face shield, but it sounds like he has been cleared to play and the Oilers could sure use the boost in their line-up.  I have Gagner listed as out day-to-day, but unless there is a terrible setback, I would assume he's back tonight.

This will take care of one of Doug's donuts, in all likelihood, as he has been sitting on Gagner since the draft, taking him in the 3rd round, 60th overall.  Gagner was hurt after the draft and was eligible for the preseason waivers, but Doug decided against dropping him.  Now we'll see if the gamble pays off.

The New York Rangers opened up a newly-renovated Madison Square Gardens on Monday night, hosting the Montreal Canadiens, to which they had their number one goalie back in the crease, but neither mention was enough to lift the club to victory. Henrik Lundqvist returned from an undisclosed injury, suggesting he is close to being 100% again, but the team in front of him isn't playing to their potential quite yet.

Lundqvist was the 6th overall pick in the draft this year, taken by Dale B., who hasn't seen anything that would resemble a 1st round pick's production, let alone as high as 6th overall.  As for his goaltending, he currently sits slightly below-average in minutes played, but with Lundqvist back, he should be able to start making up minutes before too long.

The Vancouver Canucks welcomed back Alex Burrows to their line-up on Monday night, which couldn't come at a better time for the club, that has been seeing other forwards dropping like flies to injury. Burrows was not able to register a point on Monday night against the Capitals, but his presence was felt up=and-down the ice.

Getting a healthy body back is good news for Tony D., who is currently mired in 21st place, but has 35 games to be played this week, so a good week could really set his team alight.  Tony hasn't had much luck with his team's health, as he ranks among the below-average in games played by his skaters and his minutes played for his goalies.