Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Jan 7)

The Carolina Hurricanes were embarrassed in Boston on Saturday afternoon and adding injury to insult, they lost the services of forward Sebastian Aho in the 1st period of that game, officially listed as a lower-body injury, but believed to be a leg injury of some kind.  There was no immediate update on his condition and the Hurricanes don't play again until Tuesday, so there will probably be a thorough evaluation about the forward's injury, before the Hurricanes say too much about it.  If it is anything more than a day-to-day issue, we'll have something pop up on the blog then.

Kristy & Don have benefited well from Aho and the Hurricanes, having 13 goals and 33 points in 41 games this season, ranking him 66th overall in pool scoring, after Saturday night's action.  The duo finished the night in 4th place, 7 points out of the money, and they'll need Aho back soon to keep up that pace.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman was held out of Friday night's game against the Golden Knights, due to an undisclosed injury, but the injury is believed to be an upper-body issue.  Hartman did return to practice on Saturday and his status for Sunday afternoon's home game against the Oilers seems a little more probable than questionable, but it's hard to say exactly.  The Blackhawks play their cards really close to their chest all the time.  Regardless, if he doesn't play, he will continue to be listed as day-to-day.

Dale B. was able to pick Hartman up in the Week Nine Waiver Draft and he has picked up 5 points since being activated, certainly providing some help to the pool's top team this year.  Dale's team has restored its 10-point lead up at the top of the standings, keeping the pace with his competitors and if he can get Hartman back, his team is only that much more better off.

Injury concerns in Detroit see goaltender Jimmy Howard on the shelf with a lower-body injury and it is unclear when and where the injury happened, but he missed Saturday's practice and was ruled out of today's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after said practice.  He's currently listed as day-to-day, but without any significant updates to the injury, speculation could run rampant for a little while.

Dale C.'s team starts Sunday only 2 points back of the Mover & Shaker lead and missing out on a key goalie start, albeit against the top team in the NHL, certainly doesn't help things out.  Dale's team has also been sitting on the fringe of the top 10 this week, after falling out two weeks ago, something that Howard could have helped as well with a win.

Lots of hush-hush from the Los Angeles Kings about defenseman Jake Muzzin, who has been placed on the Injured Reserve with an undisclosed injury this weekend and we don't really know why or for how long.  What we can say with certainty is that Muzzin will be out of the lineup for at least a week, assuming he was hurt on Friday, he would be eligible to play next on Saturday, when the Kings host the Ducks, but there is no guarantee for that right now.

Week Fourteen hasn't been too kind to Stuart's team, as his team has yet to hit the 20-point mark, but he does have plenty of projected games to play today.  His team currently sits in 6th place, 4 points out of 5th and now 23 points out of the money.  Losing Muzzin, his best defender at 23 points in 41 games, will definitely hurt moving forward, but it won't debilitate his team completely.

The New York Islanders are hosting the New Jersey Devils this afternoon and they will be without two key pieces in their lineup today, as both Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd are expected to be out today, due to injury. Bailey left Friday night's game against the Penguins with a lower-body injury and he's considered day-to-day for right now, while Ladd is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is also considered day-to-day. Details have certainly been limited, but taking these guys out is going to be a pretty big hole to fill for the home side today, especially in an afternoon game.

Bailey has been one of the best bargain picks this year, taken 161st by Benson in the draft and getting 9th overall in points for his production.  Benson's team currently sits 3rd in the standings, but won't stay there long, if one of his top guys is out for any length of time.  Stacey M., on the other hand, has Ladd on her roster and her team was on the fringe of the Mover & Shaker this week, and she'll miss out on lesser production, 18 points in 42 games, but her chances of the top weekly honour are now very limited.

The Rangers took on the Coyotes on Saturday night and they were without one of their top forwards, Mats Zuccarello, as he was feeling a bit under the weather and was ruled out of the game.  He's only day-to-day with the flu and is questionable for tonight's game in Vegas.  The Rangers were able to sneak a win out of Arizona last night, but Vegas could be a different story tonight.

Cam's team continues to struggle in the these last few weeks, as his team has now dropped down to 16th place this week, having an okay week at 21 points, but good enough to hold onto spots.  He could certainly use the Norwegian forward back in the lineup tonight, just for a little bit more security and a chance to move up again.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev hasn't had the best of luck in this 2018 season, as he had just come back from a significant groin issue, playing in a couple of games and then having a puck hit him in the face on Saturday night, forcing him from the game to get some dental work done.  Tanev had lost a number of teeth on the play and there were some gruesome details that some of the loose/lost teeth were lodged into his tongue as well.  The Canucks are in Montreal tonight for a game and it would seem doubtful that Tanev would be good to go for this one.

Scott's team has finally made it out of the pool basement this week!  His team has finally been stringing some points together and it has passed Steve's team for 24th place, but could be without one of his defenders for a little while.  He'll be considered to be day-to-day for a bit.