Player Notes in the Draft (Jan 18)

More hush-hush injury news, this time out of Dallas, as defenseman Trevor Daley missed out on their game against the Washington Capitals with an undisclosed injury. This gave another opportunity to rookie blueliner Jyrki Jokipakka, but kept a veteran out of the lineup, as the team struggles more for points. The Stars were able to get the win against an Eastern Conference opponent, but there hasn't been any word to whether or not Daley will be in for Sunday's game in Chicago.

Not positive news for Wes, who is in the thick of the best race in the standings this year, the race for 3rd place.  Wes finished the night in 4th, 1 point back of Cam, and he has four games projected for Sunday, which includes Daley and his day-to-day injury.

There is a lot of talk about how bad the injury to Kings goaltender Martin Jones is and there is some expectation that hey may head to the Injured Reserve, although that has not been confirmed quite yet.  Jones is reportedly dealing with some back spasms at the moment, but the Kings' back-up keeper hasn't really been having many starts to miss out on, so the seriousness of the injury is debateable, by pool standards.

There is another three-team race in the pool standings, down at the bottom of the table, which Jones would be featuring in.  Jones belongs to Wyllie, who currently sits in 23rd spot, 2 points back of Ryan and 5 points back of Allan.  Each team has had decent weeks, but they are grouped together, as there is a 13-point gap above them.

Four games on Sunday, which includes an early start, playing just before the first game of the NFC Championship game. The New York Rangers will travel to Pittsburgh for an early clash against the Penguins.

In the early game, it will be the marquee matchup in goal, as Henrik Lundqivst will take on Marc-Andre Fleury, Brenda & Seward versus Clayton in the pool.  The duo are 10 points out of the top 10, while Clayton is in 5th, a point out of 3rd place.

The second game of the day will see the Stars take on the Blackhawks in Chicago.  We know that Corey Crawford will be going for the Hawks today, but we're not quite clear on who will start for the Stars, since they at home to Washington last night.  I think it would be more likely that Anders Lindback got the start, since Kari Lehtonen won the night before.  Certainly not 100%, but definitely likely.  Benson is hoping for Lehtonen start, just so he can continue to move up, while Dale C. should be confident to see Crawford in net today.

Arizona will travel to Winnipeg, in the game of old and new Jets.  Even though Arizona played the night before, this case would be more likely to see a repeat starter in Mike Smith, as their backup, Mike Lee, has yet to see any NHL action in his career.  Winnipeg will go with Ondrej Pavelec, which should make for a good game for them.  If it is Smith against Pavelec, it would be Wes versus Stacey M. in the pool, 4th versus 10th.

Finally, in the later game, the Sabres will take on the Red Wings, and there we are likely to see Jhonas Enroth for the Sabres and we'll definitely see Petr Mrazek for the Wings.  The only pool keeper of the pair is Enroth, who belongs to Wilton, while Detroit is a black hole for goalie minutes, no pool representation in their crease at the moment.

An updated list of injuries can be found here.