Player Notes in the Draft (Dec 9)

St. Louis Blues captain David Backes wasn't able to complete the 1st period against the Florida Panthers after being on the wrong end of a slap shot... or should I say his face was on the wrong end of a slap shot.   Yes, Backes left the game after taking a puck to the face and was unable to return, as the coaching staff cited that he was dealing with too much pain to return to the ice, but they are hopeful that he will be able to return for the team's next game, Thursday night, home to the Islanders.

Grant S. only got under five minutes worth of ice-time out of Backes, which wasn't nearly enough to get any points out of him, so it wasn't a great start to the second segment.  Grant didn't get off to a bad start, however, picking up 2 points on Monday night and moving within 9 points of 1st place.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to welcome Brandon Dubinsky to their lineup on Tuesday night, after some preseason abdominal surgery has kept him out for the first third of the season.  Dubinsky, who scored 50 points in 76 games last season, is expected to dress, as his team hosts the Philadelphia Flyers, as they now look towards getting healthy and back into the Eastern Conference Wild Card race.

Dale B. was unable to swap out Dubinsky in the Preseason Waiver Draft and with his imminent return, Dale opted to keep Dubinsky through the Week Nine Waiver Draft and on the first Tuesday of the second segment, he'll now have a full roster.  Dale's team is 30 points out of the money with two segments of the season left to play, so he'll definitely have a shot, if all the stars align for him.

An updated list of injuries can be found here.