Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 1)

There were a number of games in the pre-Olympic stretch, where the Anaheim Ducks had sat Swedish forward Jakob Silfverberg and I think the only thing that I could surmise was that the young forward may not have had the most complete of games under Head Coach Bruce Boudreau.  The Ducks are continuing to play some solid hockey and Silfverberg returned to the press box on Friday night, as a healthy scratch against the St. Louis Blues.  There hasn't been much for an official word as to why he's been a scratch, but at this point, I think it is fair to assume he may continue to be a scratch, assuming the Ducks are players at the deadline this week.

Not good news for Stacey M., who goes into Saturday in 5th place, 1 point out of 3rd & 4th, 9 points out of 1st.  It may just take one game for her Swedish forward to break out and stay playing, but he'll need playing time for that to happen and that may be a tough task at the moment.

With Evgeni Nabokov trying to keep the Islanders afloat in whatever playoff hopes they may have without John Tavares, the Islanders have acknowledged that Kevin Poulin does need playing time to progress as a player and a goalie, so on Saturday morning, they sent him back down to the minors and called up Anders Nilsson to back-up their veteran Russian keeper.  It doesn't sound like the Islanders are shopping for goaltending at the deadline, even though we all fully expect Nabokov to leave the team in July, so it may be just Poulin getting some development time for next season.

Next season doesn't help Stuart at all, who has only managed to collect 32 points this season from the crease, well-below the pool average, but not quite the worst team in that department.  Stuart goes into Saturday with a 2-point grasp on 20th place, which is about the only thing he has left to fight for.

The Philadelphia Flyers will have goaltender Cal Heeter backing up Steve Mason on Saturday, as they take on the New York Rangers this afternoon.  It has been reported that Ray Emery is dealing with a lower-body injury, which has forced him from the bench, but has unlikely forced him out of a start, although it may have been his turn, given that a lot of back-ups these days take the afternoon games away from the number ones, for fear of lower-body injuries.  Nevertheless, Emery is out for Saturday, unclear about what that does for him going forward.

Cindy's goaltending is one of two teams that have failed to hit the 30-point mark in the pool, certainly not a strength to her team.  I don't think Emery was going to get the start today, which means she isn't quite missing out on a start, but missing out on a relief appearance with a chance and a comeback win, nevertheless.