Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Jan 14)

The Detroit Red Wings had a costly day out in an afternoon tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins, losing the game 4-1, and losing a couple of players, including pool forward Justin Abdelkader.  Abdelkader was lost to the team, due to a lower-body injury, and was not expected to play in this afternoon's game against the Blackhawks. The Red Wings called up rookie forward Dominic Turgeon to help ease the burden of the injured bodies, expecting him to dress today against Chicago.

Abdelkader was a Waiver Draft pickup for Neil's team this year and he hasn't quite panned out very well, although he does have 4 points since being activated, which is still better than the 1 point that Zach Parise has got, since his return to the Wild lineup.  Neil's team will miss Abdelkader though, as his team currently sits as the Basement Dweller for the current week.

Scary moment in the Montreal/Boston game last night, as Canadiens forward Phillip Danault took a Zdeno Chara slapshot to the back of the head, in the process of blocking the shot, and the damage was quite severe. Danault had to be stretchered off the ice and was sent to hospital for tests. The good news, released not too long ago, was that Danault was released from hospital this morning and is back home resting, so it sounds like he's in the clear for anything major. No timetable for a return yet, obviously.

Mike's team hasn't had a good week in Week Fifteen, as they were only 2 points clear of the Basement Dweller nod at the start of play today, but the Canadiens don't play again this week, so this injury won't have any effects going forward.  It might be a week or two on the shelf, as they go through all the tests, so it could have a lasting effect for a while yet.

The Philadelphia Flyers were in New Jersey last night, but they had no problem with the Devils, winning 5-3, even without star defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who was held out, due to illness.  The bug is running through the league and hitting some pretty good players, but it doesn't seem to be as serious as some flu bugs we've seen in seasons past, where players would miss two or three games.  The Flyers play again on Tuesday on Broadway, I would expect the scoring blueliner to be back for that game.

Kristy & Don's team had a mediocre week in Week Fifteen, having only 14 points before the start of play on Sunday.  Their team dropped a spot, from 4th to 5th, but are still right there in the mix.  One game without Gostisbehere isn't the end of the world.