Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Nov 27)

A lower-body injury will cost Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue a week on the shelf, as the young keeper was placed on the Injured Reserve on Saturday.  It's unclear when Domingue suffered the injury, but his placement on the IR will ensure that he isn't on the ice for game action for about seven days, but with Mike Smith back in the crease, it was tough to see him playing too much anyways.

Wes is going into Sunday's action only 2 points out of the Mover & Shaker nod for the week, but would still have the 2nd pick in tomorrow's start to the Waiver Draft.  Domingue has 8 points, so far this season, which could be enough reason to be dropped, if the right player is still available.

Jimmy Howard has done such a great job to retake the number one job in the Detroit Red Wings' net, but a groin injury on Friday night has set him back and the team now expect him to miss the next 10-to-14 days with the issue.  Howard was placed on the IR on Saturday and they have called up Jared Coreau to act as Petr Mrazek's back-up for the time being.

Howard has 5 wins and a shutout for Benson this year, acting as a capable number two goalie on his pool team, but the 1st place team in the pool isn't holding on by too much and could need all the help he can get.  A couple weeks without Howard might hurt a little, but it will be better than anything he can get in the Waiver Draft.

The Los Angeles Kings are now healthy again, with Marian Gaborik coming off the Injured Reserve, just in time for the Waiver Draft.  With Gaborik coming back from a broken foot, Teddy Purcell was the odd-man out again and he was sent back up to the press box as a healthy scratch.  In 12 games this season, Purcell has 2 assists, which is certainly worthy of the scratching, with the Kings in need of some more offense from one spot or another.

Purcell has certainly worked himself into a situation where he could be dropped by Ryan next week and some added offense could certainly help his pool side, which opens Sunday in 8th place, 14 points out of the money.  Ryan also has a handful of games to play and is only 2 points back of 5th, which could worsen his draft pick in the week.

The Nashville Predators are dealing through a rash of injuries to their club, as they placed three players on the Injured Reserve on Saturday, including forward James Neal and defenseman Ryan Ellis.  On the plus side for the pool, forward Kevin Fiala was one of four players recalled from the minors to fill one of the gaps.  Ellis was hurt midweek, missed out on Friday's game and then was placed on the IR, while Neal was hurt in Friday's game and went straight to the IR.  Both suffered upper-body injuries, but there were no more details available.  Their placement on the IR means they'll be out at least a week, but with no more details, it's hard to give a projected timetable for a return.

So, this means that Tony loses a defenseman, John S. loses a forward and Stacey M. gets a forward back in all of this news.  It looks like Tony will either pick 2nd or 3rd, starting tomorrow, while John could pick in a number of places, as his team is in tight with a bunch, where a point or two could move his side up a bunch of places or even down a place.  Stacey is 11 points back of John and 16 points ahead of Tony in 15th and her team could offer some change with a good/bad scoring day on Sunday.

New Jersey forward Reid Boucher was again sent back up to the press box as a healthy scratch, as the often forgotten about player in the pool has seen a number of trips up, even for an unhealthy team like the Devils, which is not a real good sign for a pool player.  Boucher has only played in nine games and has only registered 2 points and his value has really sunk.

For Mike, Boucher was the first player that I could see him drop in my mock Waiver Draft earlier in the week and this scratch really just salts it away.  Mike's team currently sits in 6th place, 1 point out of 5th and only 3 points clear of 11th.  If there was a time to ask your team to take a night off, it could be tonight.

One of the Toronto wonder kids, rookie forward William Nylander, was held out of the Toronto lineup on Saturday night with an upper-body injury.  The young Swede has been very good already this season, scoring 6 goals and 15 points in 20 games, ranking him in the top 100 in pool scoring, but he wasn't able to play against the Capitals and is currently listed as out day-to-day.

Nylander's production has been one of the reasons why Scott's team has been battling for the money in the early part of the regular season, as his team will most likely finish the week in 4th place, 5 points out of the money and 7 points clear of 5th.  Scott has a couple of potential moves to make this week, but I don't think Nylander is going to be one of them.

Alexander Edler of the Canucks was forced to leave Saturday night's game in Colorado after blocking a shot with his hand and he was unable to return to the game in the 2nd period.  The Canucks are returning home from a 3-game road trip and he will likely have some more tests done, but the initial reports don't suggest good news is coming down the pipe.

This isn't good news for our reigning champ, as Jeremy didn't really need to have any more issues to contend with at the Waiver Draft this week.  In my mock draft, I can see him moving a couple of under-performing forwards, but an injury might change the complexion of his decision.  Jeremy's team sits in 16th, right in the middle of a schmozzle of teams, so his standing for the draft is still up in the air.

Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen suffered a lower-body injury against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night and he will be reevaluated by the team on Sunday, checking to see the severity of the issue.  There hasn't been a great deal reported about this injury either, but we should know more before too long.  Niskanen has been decent this season, picking up 9 assists in 21 games this year, not to mention his 6 PIM, so he has been a good contributor, when called upon.

For Kristy & Don, the penalty minutes might be the real key for them, as they are among the unofficial leaders in the mini-game and they could really flex their muscle at the Waiver Draft.  If Niskanen's injury is serious, there are some considerable blueliners that could help them out.