Player Notes in the Draft (Dec 20)

A couple of notes from the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday morning... first, defenseman Hampus Lindholm was forced to sit out against the Ottawa Senators, due to a lower-body injury.  Lindholm was reportedly hurt in Montreal the night before, unable to finish that game, but all signs are pointing to a minor injury, considered a day-to-day thing.  His status for Monday night may still be considered to be questionable.

The second note of the night was that forward Devante Smith-Pelly was a healthy scratch for the team, which is saying a lot for this team, since they need their best healthy offensive forwards to be just that, at their best.  Smith-Pelly has only picked up 4 goals this season and I would imagine that the team is looking for more, especially with Corey Perry still out.

Lindholm belongs to Stuart and Smith-Pelly is on Ryan's side and it has been the tale of two teams here, as Stuart is still in the thick of the mix, 20 points back of the money in 9th place, while Ryan is trying to open up some space between his side and last place, now 17 points clear in 21st.  Both teams want their players back for different motives in the standings.

It's no secret that the Calgary Flames are starting to slump a bit and it has been pointed out that a lot of their struggles had started with the return of some injured bodies from their opening night line-up.  The first being Matt Stajan, who has since been a healthy scratch a couple of times, including last night against Dallas, Scratching Stajan didn't exactly help, dropping a 2-1 decision to the visiting Stars, but it does look like Stajan's stock is dropping rather quickly.

Arguably, Stajan should have been one of the players that Leo had dropped in the Waiver Draft a couple of weeks ago, as the offensive production wasn't there, plus he was injured at the time.  Sure, Leo was hopeful that Stajan could return to some red lights, but that hasn't happened... all Stajan has seen is press box popcorn.

Precautionary measures are being taken for Detroit starting goalie Jimmy Howard, as he was pulled on Thursday night on Long Island, after playing the entire 1st period and then not coming out to play in the 2nd, thanks to a lower-body injury.  Howard is now expected to miss Sunday afternoon's game, at home to Colorado and there is plenty of speculation that he'll likely miss all of Week Twelve, which has the Christmas Break in it.  Howard will be listed as out day-to-day until further notice.

Dale B. has seen some ups and some downs this season, as his side hovers around the middle of the pack all year.  His side currently stands in 15th place, but is in line for its third Basement Dweller nod of the season and without his top player, it seems all but likely now.

It sounds a lot like the stomach flu is trying to move into mumps territory these days, as a number of players have been bitten by that bug of late.  The latest being Tampa Bay's Tyler Johnson, who was forced to sit out of the game between the Bolts and the Devils in New Jersey, a game which his side lost, 3-2 in the shootout.  You have to believe that the stomach flu won't keep Johnson out much longer, but since the team is still on the road, playing on Long Island on Saturday evening, there is a fine chance that he'll sit another.  We'll call him questionable, at best, tonight.

Johnson has been one of the better bargains in the draft this season, taken 181st by Brian in the 8th round, he has been playing at a 1st round clip, picking up 33 points in 33 games for the Lightning and he currently ranks 19th overall in pool scoring.  It's no wonder why Tampa is doing so well in the standings, while Brian's luck may have started and stopped with Johnson, as he sits 17th in the pool standings.

An updated list of injuries can be found here.