Player Notes in the Draft (Apr 2)

Not long after returning from dealing with some personal issues, Kings forward Dwight King missed out on Monday night's game, due to an undisclosed injury.  On Tuesday, King returned to the team's practice, preparing for Los Angeles' next game, Wednesday night, at home against the Phoenix Coyotes.

King was a Waiver Draft pick-up for Dale B. this season, but hasn't been quite as effective as one would hope, only picking up 8 points in 25 games since the Waiver Draft.  Dale's team sits in 15th place, after Tuesday night's action.

The Carolina Hurricanes did a number on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night, beating them 4-1, and they did so without one of their leading scorers, Alex Semin, who was under the weather.  Semin has 22 goals and 42 points in 62 games this season for the Hurricanes, which ranks him 142nd in pool scoring this year.

When you're at the top of the standings, this is when a game here and a game there gets a little bit hairy and this was a game missed for Scott, who dropped a point from his lead on Tuesday night.  He'll go into Wednesday night with a 6-point lead.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are also feeling the pinch of some late season pressure, as they hold the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but only marginally. Needless to say, they were holding their breath when they found that Nathan Horton was unable to go, due to a lower-body injury.  There's no word on the severity of the injury, but obviously, it is enough to keep him out of the line-up, when they need him the most.  He is currently listed as out day-to-day.

On the flip side of being needed, forward R.J. Umberger made another trip to the press box on Tuesday night.  Umberger still has another three years on his current deal, which has a cap hit of $4.6 million per year and I would wonder if the Jackets will be trying to find a new home for him in the off-season.

As for this season, both Horton and Umberger belong to teams that are well-below the equator of the hockey pool standings, as John and Doug have them, respectively.

There was no indication of any injury in any of the line-up news from Tuesday night, so I believe it may be safe to assume that Avalanche defenseman Andre Benoit was a healthy scratch for Colorado's game against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.  Benoit has 27 points in 72 games for Colorado this season, but may have been in line for a rest game down the stretch, as the Avalanche have already clinched a spot in the playoffs.  Hard to say for sure, but it does sound like a plausible reason.

Resting players down the stretch is another fear for the teams that hold prize positions in the hockey pool, as Chris' margin for error has dwindled again on Tuesday night.  He now hangs onto 4th place by 3 points, going into Wednesday night's action.

On the weekend, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen suffered a facial injury, after taking a puck up high in the game against the Boston Bruins.  Timonen didn't suffer any major injury, but the injury was enough to keep him out of the game against St. Louis on Tuesday night.  The Flyers likely could of used his offensive capabilities in the game, as they lost 1-0 in the shootout to their Western Conference foes.

No money impact here, as Timonen belongs to Ryan V. in the pool this year, but this could be something to watch, as we near the playoffs.

A lower-body injury forced back-up goaltender Al Montoya from performing his loyal duties on the Winnipeg Jets' bench on Tuesday night, thanks to a lower-body injury that he has been nursing.  I don't believe that Montoya had missed a start, as the Jets are looking at trying to make the playoffs with their number one, Ondrej Pavelec, in net down the stretch.  Montoya may be, if at all, used sparingly with only a few games left in the regular season.

Thanks to the investment in both goalies, Brenda really didn't miss out on a start here, as her team has both Winnipeg goalies.  Unfortunately, her team has fallen off since the Olympic Break and is now out of money contention, sitting 37 points back of 4th in 9th place.

Finally, the New York Rangers took away a costly win from Vancouver on Tuesday night, as defenseman Ryan McDonagh left the game, late in teh 3rd period, with a suspected shoulder injury after getting double-teamed along the corner boards in the defensive zone.  McDonagh left in plenty of discomfort, but the team has said that they don't believe that the injury is too serious.  Only time will tell here, but it would be a pretty big loss, if the Rangers didn't have McDonagh for an extended period of time.

McDonagh has been the best defenseman on Scott's team this season, picking up 43 points in 77 games, as he leads a defense corps that ranks 2nd in the pool in scoring with 154 points.  Scott's 6-point lead may be challenged down in the last 10 days of the season, if McDonagh can't play in them.