Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Feb 18)

Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler was held out of Saturday afternoon's game against the Minnesota Wild, due to a nagging lower-body injury.  Kesler, who got a late start to the season, due to off-season surgery, has reportedly been dealing with some kind of injury and it has caught up with him, hence the night off.  There's no word whether or not the coaching staff will give him an extended rest, but he's considered to be day-to-day right now.

Pool leader, Stuart, picked up Kesler in the Week Nine swap, has picked up 8 points in 22 games from the grinding forward, since being activated, but his scoring numbers have suffered with this nagging injury.  Stuart continues to lead, despite this injury, holding a 3-point lead after Saturday night's action.

After a mid-season deal, it looked like Anthony Duclair was finding his stride with the Chicago Blackhawks, but in recent weeks, Duclair has joined the group of players that have been on a rotation, in and out of the lineup, as healthy scratches.  Duclair was back in the press box on Saturday night, when the Hawks hosted the Capitals.  Chicago posted seven goals against the Caps on Saturday, breaking out in a big way, so it seems doubtful that the lineup will change for their next game, Monday night against the Kings.

Wilton's team has dropped down to 5th place this week, Duclair not quite helping too much these days and might not be helping him much in the near future either.  Wilton's team is in danger of dropping even further, as his team has joined a tight-knit group that extends down to 10th place in only 9 points.

An upper-body issue was the reason why Detroit defenseman Mike Green was out of the lineup against the Predators on Saturday evening.  Green has been the subject of quite a few trade rumours in recent weeks, as we lead up to the trade deadline, so there is certainly a chance that any minor issue could be rested, ahead of the deadline, making sure that their asset doesn't get hurt any further, lessening the chances of getting a deal done for future pieces.  Green is considered day-to-day.

Ottawa Senators forward Ryan Dzingel was given a leave of absence on Saturday, as he had to deal with a personal matter away from the team, forcing him out of the lineup for their game against the New York Rangers in the afternoon.  There were no details on the nature of his personal matter, but that really doesn't make any difference... that's his business and not ours.

Unfortunately for Jeremy, between Green and Dzingel, his team wasn't getting any help on Saturday, as his team remains in the Basement Dweller spot after Saturday's action, 6 points back of Steve's team to try and make it out.  Half of Jeremy's active roster has spent some time on the injury/news page this week, which is the leading reason why his team has suffered so badly.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz was a surprise scratch on Saturday night, ahead of the game against the Maple Leafs, but there was no indication from the team, as to why the oft-injured defenseman was out of the lineup, but the reports out there are assuming that he is indeed injured.  For now, we'll consider him day-to-day, until there is a better update from the team.

It's been a disappointing regular season for Schultz, which has been one of a few reasons why Ryan's season has been so disappointing as well.  Ryan's team has had a good week though, scoring 28 points, thus far, but it's still in 22nd place.

The Vegas Golden Knights continue to roll and it doesn't seem to matter who draws in or comes out of the lineup, the team is just setup so well for an everyday game.  On Saturday night, with the Canadiens in town, defenseman Shea Theodore was taken out of the lineup, due to feeling under the weather and he's considered to be day-to-day.  Even with Theodore out, the Golden Knights still thumped the Habs, 6-3.

The pool duo of Kristy & Don missed out on a skater game here and one that may have generated some points, since the Golden Knights were very potent with their offense last night.  Still, the duo hold a top 10 spot in 7th place, having a decent week of 23 points in Week Twenty, thus far.