Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 19)

The Arizona Coyotes will start a sizable road trip this week, but they finished their home stand without their captain Shane Doan, as he wasn't on the ice for the game against the Blues on Saturday night. Doan was held out of the lineup, due to a lower-body injury, but he is considered day-to-day and will travel with the club, likely questionable for Monday night in Nashville.

Benson's team had a decent week in Week Twenty-Three, but it wasn't a season-saving week, by any means.  His team ranks 13th after Saturday's action, 46 points out of the money.

It has been a decent season for Marian Hossa in Chicago, picking up 22 goals already this season, but now we head to the playoff run and the Blackhawks know, just as well as anyone else, that it will be a grind and players need to be at their best at the start, so they can make it through the entire way.  Hossa is reportedly dealing with a lower-body issue and he was held out of Tuesday night's contest against Toronto, currently listed as day-to-day.

Stacey C.'s team is 23 points out of 3rd place and really could have used a big game from Hossa last night, if there was going to be any hopes of the money still alive.  If Hossa continues to rest, it really does lessen his chances, significantly, as to whether the miracle come back can happen.

The Minnesota Wild acquired Ryan White at the trade deadline to add a little bit of grit and maybe some depth scoring as well, as they head towards the playoffs.  The Wild have all but clinched their spot in the Central, so it's a good time for the team to spread the wealth and make sure everyone is on point for the start.  We'll see if this scratch helps or hinders White, as the Wild go again on Sunday, in Winnipeg.

For Kristy & Don, this was one of their picks to try and possibly keep pace in the PIM pool and it hasn't really paid off, as they are still 80 minutes back of Marcie's team in the race.  Since being acquired, White only has 7 minutes in penalties in 19 games, which isn't going to do at all.

Nashville's Craig Smith came into the 2017 season as a quiet contributor to the Predators' offense and a decent hockey pool pick-up over the last few seasons, a 20+ goal scorer in each of his last three years. This season, he hasn't reached 20 points yet and on Saturday night, it was someone else's turn to take a spin on the ice, as Smith was made into a healthy scratch. The Predators own the last wild card spot in the West, so they need everyone sharp for the stretch run, including Smith, so this scratch might do him some good.

Smith is definitely one of the greater disappointments for Marcin's team, which sits in 11th place after Saturday night, 39 points back of the money and no hope left with only three weeks to go.