With two shutouts to his name, Thrashers goaltender Kari Lehtonen is now leading the pool players in points with eight. Lehtonen shut out the Panthers on Saturday night and then the Lightning last night. The Thrashers were in desperate need of this kind of goaltending early last season, but Lehtonen had gone down with a groin injury that kept him out of the line-up for quite some time. Now, the Thrashers have a legitimate chance of reaching the playoffs and making a run as well. Only two teams in the pool have selected him... Clayton and Greg.
Looks like the injury bug has bitten the Bud's blueline again. Pavel Kubina (Box 22) suffered a knee injury in the game against Florida last night. Kubina, new-acquired in the off-season, joins a huge list of Leaf defenseman struggling to make it back into the line-up. Kubina will be missed from the 8 sheets he has been selected on, including the pickup that was made on the weekend.
The marquee matchup tonight sees the Flyers (0-1-1) in the Big Apple to face the Rangers (2-0-0). The Rangers have 40 selections in the pool (9 picked Martin Straka and 8 picked Jaromir Jagr)... much more than the lesser-favoured Flyers, who only have 13 (Simon Gagne, Joni Pitkanen and Robert Esche all picked twice). If the Flyers make a big game out of it, it's the sort of thing that will drive up only a few teams in the Standings rather than a big game by the Flames, which nobody gets a clear advantage from.
On television tonight, the Canucks and Wild battle for top spot in the Northwest Division on TSN tonight. That game faces off at 7pm MT. See if the Canucks can go 3-for-4 on their opening road trip or if the Wild can remain undefeated to start the season.
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For you 8 teams (you know who you are) that have incorporated the young talent, Evgeni Malkin, you're going to have to wait at least a couple more weeks before he is even re-evaluated by doctors. He had separated his shoulder when he collided with teammate John LeClair in a pre-season game a couple weeks ago. For those eagerly anticipating the favourite for the Calder Trophy... be patient. He'll arrive... and when he does... look out!
The first player to leave the ice with an injury within the pool was defenseman, Tom Preissing of the Senators. Sure, there have been a few players who were injured before Day 1 of the schedule, but this is news from the regular season. Preissing left with what was described as a "lower body" injury and there has been a player called-up from the minors today to take his spot in the line-up for the game tonight against Toronto. If he's not getting you any points tonight, this is why.
Eric Belanger and Oleg Tverdovsky were the first players to be moved on the sheet and the season hasn't even started yet. Belanger, listed as a Los Angeles King forward, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal which saw defenseman Tverdovsky go the other way. Defenseman Tim Gleason joined Belanger on the way to Carolina and future pool player, Jack Johnson also made the trip to California.
Back-up goalie in Box 12, Ty Conklin, was shipped to the minors on Friday. He wasn't able to make the cut with the Blue Jackets and will see some time in the minors until he is either dealt or there is some injury in the Columbus line-up for a mid-season call up.
Box 20 forward, Mike Riberio was dealt from the Canadiens to the Dallas Stars on Friday. The center will move over to the Western Conference and will play underneath guys like Mike Modano and Eric Lindros and should pick up some more offensive talent. Something to be considered if you are still picking your team.
Are you getting excited yet?
Don't expect to see Tim Connolly on many pool lists on draft day. His concussion symptoms are still lingering and the talented centre will be shelved until he gets clearance from doctors to start skating again. His indefinite status is a major turn-off, unless you're a huge gambler who will risk the first few weeks for a possible big remainder of the year.
The Blackhawks will be missing a couple guys at the start of the season. Newly-acquired backup goaltender Patrick Lalime will miss the first couple months of the season. It was found that he will require back surgery soon and will miss all that time. Blue-chip prospect, Cam Barker, will miss at least a month after fracturing his ankle in camp already. Barker, a promising defenseman, will have to wait until November before he gets to show his stuff again with the big club.
All you Jordan Leopold fans will have to wait a month before you see him in Avalanche colours on the ice. Leopold underwent hernia surgery and will not be skating through camp and the first month of the season.
Potential backup goalie, Pekka Rinne, will not be backing up Tomas Vokoun or have the opportunity to try until December. Rinne, a player who has flown somewhat under the radar a bit, dislocated his shoulder and will sit for quite a while until it heals.
Jason Wiemer will be sitting out until February after knee surgery. But it's nothing that you would actually consider come draft day. Actually, if you read past "Jason Wiemer," you must have a deep pool to care.
The one player who did move to the island though this week was veteran centre, Viktor Kozlov. Kozlov doesn't really feature in many fantasy places, but he may find himself on the right wing to a certain Alexei Yashin, due to nationality and desire to play again. If he does find himself playing with Yashin, there is a strong argument for more of a 35 to 40 point season, way up from his 25 last year.
Finally, Keith Primeau announced his retirement from the game today. His concussion symptoms have caught up to him and he won't be able to return to captain the Flyers this season. With the salary load the Flyers are already carrying, it's tough to think that they'd miss him too much. They played most of the year without him already and have filled gaps down the middle as it were... so as much as Primeau's size and ability will be missed as a whole, the Flyers have already moved along.
As much as he was part of the despised American Junior team, Phil Kessel remains a sleeper to make the Bruins squad and excel there. The Hockey News didn't rank him in their pool book, but if he can jump on the line with Bergeron and Boyes, Kessel could be a 70-point player. Watch him in camp.
It might be a recycling sort of year for the Detroit Red Wings as they boast a few names that have cycled around in the past, maybe not quite making big names for themselves, but you know their names. Danny Markov and Krystofer Kolanos both signed in Detroit in the off-season. Markov only had 11 points last year, but he has seen good years in season's past. If he can stay healthy on a Detroit power play, he'll be a good defenseman. Kolanos is a kid who has had quite a few chances, but has yet to produce with any of his NHL teams. He does find himself on a depleted Wings team, which might give him the opportunity and ice-time he might need to excel... if he can make it through camp.
Crosby... Malkin... not bad for the top two centres. You don't think their wingers won't cash in on this? An underrated Hockey News player, in my opinion, is Mark Recchi. They have him posted at 50 points, but let's face it... the wonderkids will increase production. Rocket science? Hardly.
If you're going to go by the list of players who played last season, here's a name you won't find on there: Alexander Semin. Semin played the last couple seasons in Europe, but will come back to a warmer climate in Washington as the ever-on-fire Ovechkin could be his linemate. 
The Flames finally added some Russian talent to their line-up as well yesterday. Andrei Taratukhin, a 2001 draft pick, was added to the Flames roster going into training camp. Taratukhin was quite the talent with Russia in the Kovalchuk days of the World Juniors, sharing a line with the dynamic forward. It's been years since I have seen much of him, but the memories of those trying years for Canada because of these guys are enough to spur some optimism for a positive season.