Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Jan 31)

The Colorado Avalanche will welcome Tyson Barrie back to their lineup tonight, as he missed the last week before the All-Star break with a lower-body injury. He was back at practice on Monday and deemed ready to play, when the Avs open their schedule against the Ducks.

For Mike, that's one less concern for his team, but his side still is at the the bottom of the pool table for projected games this week, even with the return of Barrie.  His team will open the week 52 points out of the money and in need of a real boost.

Another player coming off the Injured Reserve to start the post All-Star break schedule is Detroit's Dylan Larkin, who has missed a little more than a week with an upper-body injury.  Larkin is expected to be the Red Wings' lineup tonight, when they host the Devils at the Joe.

John S. is far more interested in his goalies, having seen his team drop down to 11th, but his team is only 26 points behind and with the Waiver Draft upcoming and his pick nearly being made in the opening round, things could turn his way for the big money.

The Ottawa Senators have three goalies back in the fold again, as Craig Anderson has now returned to the team and was practicing on Monday. I don't imagine that he will be ready to start for a few days, possibly a week, but he is back and should be activated from his non-roster status. Expect Mike Condon to get the start again tonight, when the Senators open up in Florida.

For Wilton, Anderson's departure was very unfortunate and was one of the main reasons he saw his team sink so quickly down the overall standings.  Thankfully, his team still has a race to play in, but the overall race was sacrificed for a better cause.