Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 9)

Montreal Canadiens forward Phillip Danault sat out of Thursday night's game against the Florida Panthers, due to some neck stiffness and headaches and is currently listed as out day-to-day.  Danault already missed a significant stretch of time this season, due to vertigo symptoms, but returned to action a couple of weeks ago.  It sounds like these two injury items are somewhat related, so it will be interesting to see if the Canadiens shut him down for precautionary reasons, since they don't have a lot left to play for.

Mike's team currently sits in the Basement Dweller spot for Week Twenty-Three, only collecting 8 points through Thursday night's action.  His team isn't short on projected games for the rest of the week, but his players will have to make good use of them.

Well, maybe the Predators are indeed giving nights off to certain players, as Kyle Turris did return to the lineup on Thursday night and Kevin Fiala came out for a rest against the Anaheim Ducks.  Fiala has reportedly been dealing with some kind of nagging issue, so the night was was likely going to be very good for him.  He's considered day-to-day, but could also miss another game, if whatever ails him hasn't sorted itself out with an extra day off.

Stacey M.'s team is currently sitting in 11th, but is 19 points back of the top 10 and her team has done well in the week, picking up 16 points, through Thursday night's action, but it isn't really closing the gap too quickly. 

The St. Louis Blues had prepped the emergency backup goaltender on Thursday night in San Jose, as projected starter Carter Hutton wasn't able to play, due to an apparent neck injury, which forced Jake Allen into action on the night, a 2-0 loss to the Sharks. The Blues made a recall of Ville Husso, but he wasn't going to make it to the Shark Tank on time, so hence the emergency goalie was prepped and ready to go, if needed. There was no word on the severity of Hutton's injury, but he has now missed a start, for what it's worth and he's currently considered day-to-day.

Benson's team isn't going to make up any ground on 2nd place, if he doesn't have his surprise goalie working for him going forward. His team now sits 13 points back of 2nd place, but still safely 39 points ahead of 4th place, so there's no reason to panic... yet!

Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday night against the Rangers and that injury was enough to keep him out of the lineup on Thursday night, when his side took on the Devils, pulling a 3-2 victory out in his absence.  The injury isn't considered to be too serious, as the top centre on the team is still traveling with the team, but he's on the questionable side of the ledger, heading into Saturday afternoon's game against the Flyers.  Scheifele is officially day-to-day for now.

Brian's team currently holds the equator spot in the standings, currently 13th, 6 points out of 12th and only 4 points up on 14th.  It's a far cry from where he saw his team in the early parts of the season, but injuries were the crux to his season and it looks like another one may hamper his side a bit more.

In last night's game between the Sabres and Senators, Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo collided with Bobby Ryan, suffering an upper-body injury and was forced to leave the game. The team had no immediate update on the rugged forward, but they said that he will be reevaluated before the weekend's game, Saturday afternoon against Vegas. Until further notice, Okposo will be considered to be day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Wes' hold on the PIM pool title for the 2018 season looks to be rather safe, at this point in time, even with Okposo going down. Okposo has posted 32 minutes in penalties this season, so he's by no means a goon, but he does contribute from time-to-time. Not every game has been counted for PIM this week and Wes currently carries an 83-minute lead over Grant's team through Thursday night.

Backes Suspended for Three Games

On Wednesday evening, the NHL Department of Player Safety came down on Boston Bruins forward David Backes, giving him a 3-game ban for his high, late hit on Detroit Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen on Tuesday night.  Nielsen was forced from the game with an upper-body injury and as of Thursday morning, the Dane is not expected to be in the Wings' lineup that night.

Backes will miss tonight's game against Philadelphia, Saturday afternoon against Chicago and then the return game of a home and home on Sunday afternoon in Chicago.  Backes will be eligible to return on Tuesday, when the Bruins visit the Hurricanes.

In 47 games this season, the 33-year old has 11 goals and 27 points for the Bruins, currently ranking 280th in pool scoring. 

Neil's 17th place team will be without this forward for a bit, as his team currently is aiming for 13th place in the standings, where his team sits 7 points back.  It's not much, but at least its something.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 8)

A lower-body injury, some muscle tightness, is keeping Arizona Coyotes keeper Antti Raanta from play, as he has now missed two starts this week, because of the injury. Raanta was able to dress on Monday night against the Oilers, but only served as a backup, but on Wednesday night in Vancouver, he didn't even dress. There's no timetable for a return, but with the Coyotes in the Western Conference basement, there is no hurry for his return either.

Unless you are talking to Ryan, that is, as his team struggles to keep any self-respect in 23rd place. His team is doing alright to start the week, 10 points through Wednesday night's action, but one good slip and he could be battling for last place in the standings.  It's a slippery slope.

Last we checked in with Penguins forward Dominik Simon, he was sent down to the AHL, but that stint in the minors was a brief one, as he was brought back up on the weekend. On Wednesday night against the Flyers, the 23-year old left the game in the 2nd period with a lower-body injury. There was no update on his condition after the game and the Penguins don't play again until Saturday evening, so details may be a bit scarce until then.

The gamble to pickup Simon in the Week Eighteen swap wasn't a bad calculated guess by Kristy & Don, since he was playing with Sidney Crosby at the time, but only 3 points in 12 games, since his activation, means that the gamble hasn't exactly paid off.  Their team currently sits in 6th, only 5 points out of 4th.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 7)

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was feeling under the weather on Tuesday and it was decided that he would get the night off from action, when his team took on the Vegas Golden Knights at home. The team performed admirably in his absence, beating the Western Conference juggernauts, 4-1, giving Joonas Korpisalo the win instead. Bobrovsky is day-to-day for right now and he is likely probable for Thursday night, when the Jackets host the Avalanche.

I'm sure Derek B. would have liked that win in his point total, just for the sake of those points. There isn't too much left for his team to play for, unless he can get back to the equator of the standings, as his team now stands 2 points out of 13th, down in 16th. The 25th ranked hockey pool player has been pretty good for Derek this season, but he was picked 5th overall, so maybe not producing to the highest of expectations.

The Nashville Predators opted to give forward Kyle Turris the night off on Tuesday, making him into a healthy scratch or so we are to believe. We were under the impression that Roman Josi was getting some extra rest last week, but it did turn out that he had an upper-body injury and he's still sitting out. Now, all we've seen is that Turris is getting a rest and maybe he is, but we'll keep an eye on this, just in case.

Troy's team is also looking at the equator of the standings with his pool team, as he head down the home stretch to the playoffs.  Troy's team finished up Tuesday night in 19th place, only 10 points back of 13th.

It sounds like Mika Zibanejad was also feeling under the weather on Tuesday night, as he was held out of the Rangers/Jets game at Madison Square Garden. The flu bug that has been traveling through the league hasn't been that bad, only lasting for one game on average, so I would expect the Swede back in the lineup on Thursday in Tampa Bay.

Brian's team is not off to the best of starts this week, having only 2 points after two nights, tied with Scott's team for the Basement Dweller lead and missing out on Zibanejad's contributions certainly didn't help his cause.  Thankfully, Brian's team appears to have plenty of games left to rectify this issue.

The injuries seem to be mounting for the Vegas Golden Knights, as they also lost the services of forward Reilly Smith against the Blue Jackets last night. Smith left in the 2nd period, after taking a hit and went off the ice, favouring his left side, according to one report.  There was no update after the game and we'll probably have to wait until either later on today or just before their next game, Thursday night in Detroit.  If there's no update on the blog, consider him day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

It's a pretty good bubble that Stacey C.'s team currently occupies.  9 points back of 21st and 10 points up on 23rd, but losing one of his more consistent scorers, a Week Nine pickup in Smith, who has 39 points in 40 games since being activated, could burst that bubble in a hurry.

Boeser Back Injury Sidelines Him Indefinitely

The rookie class is all of a sudden falling apart!

An unfortunate series of events on Monday night against the Islanders saw Canucks forward Brock Boeser fall awkwardly into an open door at the bench, injuring his lower-back.  Boeser went to the hospital for some immediate scans and the results were mostly soft tissue with a small fracture, but nothing too serious.  Rest and recovery for the rookie may end his regular season prematurely, as the timetable is about 4-to-6 weeks.

Boeser leaves the regular season in 53rd in hockey pool scoring, scoring 29 goals and 55 points in 62 games this season, which was also good enough for 2nd in rookie scoring, at the time of his departure.

This now becomes a huge hole in Dale B.'s lineup, as he tries to catch up to Stuart in 1st place or keep Benson down in 3rd place.  After Monday night, Dale's team sits 22 points back of 1st and 8 points up on 3rd, but this is a very consistent scorer on his team, now likely done for the season.  Now, it will be a matter how much Dale's team suffers with this injury.

McAvoy Set to Miss Four Weeks

On Tuesday morning, the news came down that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will now be out of the lineup for upwards of four weeks, as the lower-body injury he suffered is a sprained MCL in his left knee.

McAvoy has been in the conversation for the Calder Trophy, as the league's best rookie, albeit in a supporting fashion, but there's no denying that he is quite the talent.  In 59 games this season, the 20-year old has 7 goals and 32 points, ranking 217th among all players in scoring, 31st among all defenseman, after Monday night's action.

If this was to affect anything, it would be Cam's spot in the rookie scoring race, which doesn't pay out.  Cam's team is currently tied with Clayton's team with 90 freshman points this season and Chris' team is not too far behind at 88 points.  That's about all that he has left to play for and it doesn't even pay any money.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 6)

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski was excused from action on Monday night, when his team took on the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, as his wife was giving birth on the night.  The Coyotes may have missed their number two defenseman, as they dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to their division rivals.  I think it's fairly safe to assume Goligoski should be back for the team's next game, Wednesday in Vancouver.

Goligoski has been a pretty good offensive player for Benson's 3rd place team this year, picking up 30 points in 63 games, but he has been a bit of a defensive liability, with a -22 rating in the plus/minus department.

It was a rough night for the Dallas Stars, in terms of pool players, as they announced that forward Radek Faksa and defenseman Esa Lindell would miss Monday night's game against the Senators due to a foot injury and illness, respectively. Both players are considered to be day-to-day, neither appear to be very serious. Then in the game, goaltender Ben Bishop was forced from action after the 1st period with a lower-body injury and the update from the team on Tuesday morning is that Bishop is expected to miss the next two games, at least.

So, let's go down the line... Faksa belongs to Stacey M.'s 12th place team, Lindell is a part of Troy's 17th place team and Bishop is one of the goalies for Kristy & Don's team, which currently sits in 7th after Monday night.  No real money implications here.

The struggles of the Edmonton Oilers has meant that the roster is in a constant state of flux and on Monday, with the Coyotes in town, Zack Kassian was one of those fluctuated players, moving from the lineup to the press box as a healthy scratch on the night.  Kassian only has 16 points in 63 games this season and didn't fit the coach's plan to play against the dogs, so up he went.  It's hard to say what the plan is for him moving forward, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was scratched more moving forward.

Wes has to be somewhat disappointed in Kassian, since picking him up in the Week Eighteen Waiver Draft, as he wanted him for his penalty minutes and since the start of Week Nineteen, the agitating forward has only been to the box once for 2 PIM.  Go figure!  Wes still leads the PIM pool by a fair margin, but it should be by such a larger margin by now.

Pacioretty's Season Likely Done

Now that we've reached the back end of the season, five weeks left to play in the regular season, those long-term injuries are now becoming season-ending injuries and that appears to be the case for Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, as the team has announced that he will be missing the next 4-to-6 weeks with a knee injury. The team also announced that rookie defenseman Victor Mete would also be shut down to a broken finger, but he's not a pool player, so we won't focus so much on him, despite it being a pretty good hit to their blueline.

Pacioretty hasn't quite been the offensive force this season, scoring 17 goals and 37 points in 64 games and that has been one of the leading causes for the lack of success in Montreal this season.  The goal scoring should be much better than that, but you can't drop all the fault on his shoulders, but a good chunk of it will fall to him, especially in the summer, when everyone expects the Habs to retool their lineup.

Mike took the Habs captain with the 66th overall selection this season, but he currently ranks 157th in pool scoring, almost a four round difference in value from his pick.  Now, with this injury, likely shutting him down for the rest of the year, that stock will just drop.  Mike's team is hanging on to some side bets with his table mates, I do believe, so here's hoping that this loss won't sink his team.

Week Twenty-Two Newsletter

The Colorado Avalanche revival has been built on the shoulders of Nathan MacKinnon, as the 2013 1st overall pick has been putting together the season that we have all expected from him for a while now.  His Week Twenty-Two was the best of the season, so far, and the Avalanche are only a point out of the Western Conference playoff picture, only a season after being the laughing stock of the league last year.  MacKinnon posted 11 points, the 2nd 11-point week of the year (pool-wide), leading his Avalanche closer and closer to that playoff appearance.

On Monday, he posted a couple of goals and an assist against the Canucks, a goal and an assist against the Flames on Wednesday, a pair of goals in a 5-point night against the Wild on Friday and then capped it off with an assist on Sunday against the Predators.  His 5 goals and 6 assists now brings his totals up to 31 goals and 77 points in 57 games this year, good enough for 8th overall in pool scoring.

There's no doubting that MacKinnon had it in him, but his stock was quite low at the start of the season, especially since Tony was able to snag him with his 3rd round pick, 75th overall, so he's turning out to be quite the bargain pick this year.  Buy low, collect high!  The Avalanche star was doing a great job keeping Tony in the Mover & Shaker race this week, but it just wasn't to be.

No, the Mover & Shaker race, as good as it was, got a stunning finish from Eric's team, which dominated Sunday's play and finished off with 43 points, the only team in the week to finish above the 40-point plateau, and was 5 points better than his team's nearest competition.  The big week also got his team on the move, as it finally broke free of the shackles of 21st place, where it sat for a few weeks, jumping up to 19th and now has eyes on 15th place, assuming it can continue this roll.

It was a complete effort from Eric's team in the week, as his side was able to post points from all 14 active players, so it should come as no surprise that his team was able to take top spot in the weekly scoring.

Evgenii Dadonov of the Panthers led the way with 6 points in the week, which is pretty good for his Week Eighteen pickup.  Evander Kane's move to San Jose has been profitable for Eric's team, as he was next on the scoring list with 5 points, a very positive move at the trade deadline, indeed.  Five more players each finished with 4 points a piece and he was also able to get a win from both of his goalies this week, Anton Khudobin of the Bruins and Juuse Saros of the Predators.  That's just how well things went for his team!

It's too bad Eric's team couldn't string together this kind of scoring earlier in the season, as the last few weeks have been great.  His side now ranks 4th in the final segment of the year, which started at the start of Week Nineteen.  His team has seen 127 points in the last four weeks, only 15 points off the current leader in the segment.

Eric's forwards have been good this year, also ranking 4th overall in pool scoring with 358 points, but his team has had no support from the other two positions, 19th in defenseman points and 24th in goalie points.  Either his forwards needed to do more or he needed just a little bit more from the back end.  Nevertheless, everyone came together and had a great week, so he can hang his hat on that.

It was another one of those weeks, where the hockey pool teams needed better than just a mediocre week to stay out of the Basement Dweller nod, as the tie-breaker we had to do between Steve and Wes' teams, started at 18 points, which is the 2nd-highest point total of the season in the Basement Dweller nod.  And by a 9-7 margin, Steve stayed out of the Basement Dweller nod, leaving Wes to take his sleeping bag and pillow downstairs for the week.

Unfortunately for Wes, this is his third trip down to the lower level of the weekly standings, his last trip down was back in Week Nine and his season just couldn't recover.  Wes' team finished the week in 21st place and the power outage in the scoring department could see his team drop even lower in the overall standings, as there are a couple of teams in his immediate vicinity.

A high ankle sprain to Jack Eichel of the Sabres has been his real crux in this last third of the season, but his week was held afloat by Mikko Koivu of the Wild, who finished with 5 points to at least get his team to the tie-breaker this week, otherwise it was going to be a disaster.

Eichel has just started skating again, so maybe his team can stay put in the standings, although it is only 9 points out of 20th, so there could be that going for his team... maybe?

The top three do seem to be rather locked in now, especially with five weeks left to go in the season.  Stuart and Dale B. each found their teams shooting out the lights, posting 38 points each and they were running away from Benson's team, which only put together a 26-point week.  Stuart still leads Dale B. by 19 points and lots can happen in five weeks, but it's looking pretty solid at the moment.

3rd to 4th place is now 38 points and Grant is the current placeholder of the top spot outside of the money.  13 points is all that separates 4th from 9th place and we all know that a really good week can really shift the balance of power in that group.  It's a good race, but it's too bad it's not worth anything in our wallets.

Remember when we thought Steve's team was absolutely locked in for the plus/minus money?  Do you also remember when I said that this statistic is extremely volatile?  No?  Well, I did and Week Twenty-Two is the proof in that giant bowl of pudding.  Steve's team was a combined -10, while Dale B.'s team was a +5 and now the lead has dropped down to only 2 points!  Hell, even Cam's team was a +10 in the week and now sits 13 points back and this race has really heated up and is far from over with five weeks to go.

Brian's team posted a +19 rating in the week, which is tied for the 3rd-best weekly rating this season.  His team jumped up to 4th in the rankings, 16 points back of Steve's team.  Very interesting!

Usually, I would want to do an entire post to the review of the last outdoor game, but I frankly, I wasn't feeling it. The Stadium Series game between the Maple Leafs and Capitals was a bit one-sided, the Capitals making good use of a quick ice surface, out-skating the Leafs and thusly, outscoring the Leafs, 5-2.  Tony's team entered the night with the lead in the non-competition and his defenseman John Carlson finished with 3 points, padding his lead and taking the honours of the best hockey pool team on outdoor ice this year with 8 points in four player appearances.  That's worth a hearty handshake next time I see you, Tony.  Well done.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

What a great week!  A new combined scoring high in the season for our modest 25-team pool, as they all combined to break the 700-point barrier for the first time this season, 708 points, to be exact.  51 NHL games were played this week, that works out to be 13.9 points per game, which is the best average since Week Fifteen.  This is all quite impressive, since our participation levels were not great, especially in goal, where we registered our 3rd-worst week in goalie minutes played.  Go figure!

NEWS AND NOTES

As it turns out, the Nashville Predators were not just resting players this weekend, rather injuries are to blame for some key players sitting. Defenseman Roman Josi is dealing with an upper-body injury, but it doesn't sound like it is anything too serious. Forward Craig Smith was getting some "maintenance days" this weekend and he didn't play again on Sunday either. I'm sure if we were in the playoffs already, both players would have dressed, but with the team firmly in the Central Division playoff picture, they're in no need of exacerbating injuries, rather they can spend some time and heal them up.

Of course, that doesn't help Kristy & Don or Dale C., but maybe down the stretch, when the games are getting into playoff mode, both players will be ready to throw down and put up some points, as they get geared up for the tougher hockey.

There's some concern that New Jersey Devils rookie forward Jesper Bratt may have hit a wall and that's a fair concern. The NHL season is a long grind and that first season can be a grind for some, so a healthy scratch isn't a horrible thing at this point. Bratt got the night off on Sunday, when they took on the Golden Knights and he could probably still get another game or two, as he tries to right the ship, both physically and mentally. It's been a great season for him regardless, 34 points in 64 games this season, no one saw that coming at the beginning of the year.

Ryan managed to pick up the Devils rookie at the Week Nine swap and he has collected 17 points in 38 games since his activation, so a quick mental reprieve could do him some good. Ryan's team sits 6th in the rookie race, only 3 points behind Eric's team for 5th in the race and Bratt has been a great add to keep Ryan's team in the race.

The Vegas Golden Knights just keep on rolling, despite the injury bug still chomping away. Shea Theodore was able to return from his injury on Sunday, but it sounds like Nate Schmidt might miss some time, as there are reports that he didn't make the trip with the team on their eastern swing, due to an undisclosed injury. He's considered to be day-to-day, but it's hard to say what he's actually dealing with and how much time he'll actually miss. Stay tuned.

Chris' team is in the top 10 race these days and his team finished the week in 9th, thanks to a decent weekend. You can say that his team is still looking at that 4th spot in the standings, probably the highest anyone is going to get, since no one is going to catch the top three. Chris' team will begin Week Twenty-Three 13 points back of 4th, but he'll be down a defenseman to start. Not a horrible fate, but not great either.

Goalie Announcements (Mar 4)

Yeah, there were a few games yesterday that my educated guesses failed at, but that's why I throw the disclaimer in there. Some days, the NHL is just unpredictable... unless you're getting quotes from coaches and management, which I'm clearly not.

Only one more day left in the race for the Week-Twenty Two Mover & Shaker race and we have seven games on the schedule, which may or may not be a good hot bed for points for these teams.  First, though... let's review the teams.

Tony and Eric leapt up to the top of the standings, both teams sitting at 33 points this week and Eric's team is holding on to 11 projected games left, while Tony's team only has six.  I wonder if there are any starts in there.

Stuart and Cam's teams have 32 points heading into Sunday's action and their projected game totals are much more in line with Tony's.  Kristy & Don and Brian's teams are at 31 points, the duo up at Eric levels of action today.  Dale B. holds down the last of the possible Mover & Shaker teams at 30 points and he's not short on possible action as well.  Let's start going down the list.

J-F Berube (N/A) versus John Gibson (Tony)
In the matinee game in Anaheim this afternoon, Tony gets his only start from the Ducks, in theory, as John Gibson is expected to take to the net with the Blackhawks in town.  This would be Tony's only start of the day and it also takes away Cam's only possible start as well, which makes for a pretty good defense of the Mover & Shaker lead as it is.  The Blackhawks are on back-to-backs through California, so they'll go with their current number two today, J-F Berube.

Pekka Rinne (Dale B.) versus Semyon Varlamov (Stacey C.)
The Nashville/Colorado game would be the only possible start for Eric's team today, but he already got a start from Juuse Saros in the last few days, so the Predators will go back to Pekka Rinne, which helps the trailing team of the bunch, Dale B., in a big Central Division game here.  This is no cake walk for the Predators, as Semyon Varlamov and the Avalanche have been playing some great hockey of late.

Alex Lyon (N/A) versus Roberto Luongo (Stuart)
Stuart's team will get one start for sure and that's probably going to be it and it will come in the first game of the day, when the Flyers take on the Panthers in Sunrise. Roberto Luongo has already been tapped for the the start today, accounting for Stuart's start, while the Flyers are on back-to-back afternoons, losing in a barn burner to Tampa on Saturday, so it is expected that Alex Lyon should get the start.

Kristy & Don have no starts, Brian also has no starts and we've already covered Dale B.'s start, so I guess that's it.  That was pretty easy.  Now, we watch and wait!

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 4)

Boston Bruins rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy didn't make it very far into Saturday afternoon's game against the Canadiens, leaving early on with a lower-body injury and the team citing that he wouldn't return right away.  The team didn't have any more of an update after the game and Sunday is a scheduled day off for the club, so the expectation is that they'll have more for everyone on Monday or possibly even Tuesday, when the club plays again.  Consider McAvoy day-to-day for now, until further updated.

Cam's team is having a pretty good week this week, only 1 point back of the Mover & Shaker and you could argue that McAvoy could have had his team in a better position, if he was around for the entire game against Montreal.  Cam's team does have a shot at the plus/minus department and McAvoy is a +26 this season, a huge component to his team's success in that category.