Player Notes in the Draft (Nov 30)

An upper-body injury is to blame for Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Andrej Sekera's absence on Friday afternoon, as the Canes took on the Devils in some Black Friday action.  The Slovak defender is currently listed as out day-to-day and there are very little details about the injury or his timetable for a return, but without much to go on, one may speculate that the injury is minor and there is nothing really to tell.  He'll go again when he's 100%.

This isn't likely what Dale C. wanted to see, an injury (and no real update to go with it) for one of his Waiver Draft pick-ups this week.  Dale dropped one injured defenseman to pick up a guy who gets injured before the first week of availability is through.  Nevertheless, Dale is having a great week, leading the pool with 27 points, heading into Saturday's action.

Looks like there was a bit of a blueline shuffle for the San Jose Sharks on Friday afternoon, as Matt Irwin returned to the line-up after a lengthy absence, while Jason Demers was the odd-man out and headed up to the press box for a game.  It is hard to say whether or not this change facilitated the scoring breakout by San Jose, that will be for the coaches to determine, but since they were able to open up the flood gates a little, one may be pessimistic about Demers return right away.

A team that needed a return got one, as Ryan M. welcomed a player back into the fold, while Brenda, who is in the money fight, missed out on a big scoring game with one of her players.  Ryan has moved back up to 17th from 20th last week, while Brenda has remained in 4th from week to week.

Another defenseman swap in the pool in an NHL line-up, as Jake Gardiner returned to the Maple Leafs line-up on Friday evening for their game against the Buffalo Sabres, while rookie blueliner Morgan Rielly came out for a game.  Both blueliners are looked to for some quality puck movement and a little bit of offense and you can tell when the coaches don't believe they are getting enough.  The scratches don't seem to last long, but the revolving door likes to spin.

Gardiner belongs to our co-pool leader Allan S. and got a timely return from Gardiner, as his battle with Grant for top spot is really heating up.  Dale B. has Rielly and has been suffering a little this week, currently holding the Basement Dweller spot with only 10 points in the week.  He'll be looking for a big Saturday.

Some injuries are starting to pile up for the Washington Capitals, but they do sound like minor ones, so it will likely be a small hiccup.  Michal Neuvirth indeed miss last night's game with the lower-body injury that he suffered in practice on the weekend, while Brooks Laich also missed yesterday's game against the Montreal Canadiens with a lower-body injury.  Both players are considered to be day-to-day, but it sounds like neither player are good to go on Saturday either and will probably get a better look on Monday.

In Neuvirth's case, it looks like he is missing a start on back-to-back days, so that means Wyllie will be without some goalie minutes and Braden Holtby goes again for the Caps, good news for Stacey C..  In Laich's case, that would be Allan S.'s player that has taken a tumble, which takes away from the return of Gardiner above.

There has been very little word on the lower-body injury that Evander Kane suffered in the early game on Friday, as the Jets took on the Flyers in Philadelphia.  Kane had left the game with the injury, not to return, but since then, the team has had their lips sealed as to the severity of the injury and/or his timetable for a return.  All we can say is that he did leave the game with the injury and we're awaiting word.  He'll be listed as day-to-day until further notice.

Bad news for John S., who has been making waves since the Waiver Draft order had been decided.  John now sits in 20th place, only 6 points away from moving up again and he's having a pretty good week, compared to those teams around him, picking up 20 points through Friday.  He is back of the Mover & Shaker nominees, but he remains close.