Noon Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 29)

The Arizona Coyotes have been busy reworking their crease, looking for that elusive first win of the season. The Coyotes acquired goaltender Scott Wedgewood from the Devils, since they didn't want to lose him for nothing through waivers, and now it sounds like Antti Raanta is getting close to a return from his lower-body injury, so Louis Domingue has now been placed on waivers, likely to be demoted once he clears.  Domingue has been carrying the load with goalie Adin Hill of late, neither could find that win, so now more options are being explored.

Stuart is certainly hoping that Domingue gets picked up somewhere, as the goalie shuffle has worked pretty well in the pool already this season.  It'll be interesting to see what team would take a flyer on Domingue, if any do.  He certainly comes at the right price, $1.05 million.

You can certainly count me among those who were really excited to see Vadim Shipachyov join the NHL, especially since the stories from the KHL were so grand. His NHL story is not one of much luck, as his contract status and his NHL club winning without him have kept him from a regular shift in North America's best hockey league and it has really soured his experience. Shipachyov has reportedly left the Golden Knights' AHL affiliate, not willing to play in the minors and now he has been suspended by the Golden Knights and it is a real stalemate.  It sounds like trade options have been explored, but no one can fit $4.5 million very easily and taking a flyer on a 2-year deal at that size is even harder.  This could result in a mutual contract termination soon, if it doesn't go anywhere soon.

Stacey M. decided to take a flyer on the Russian veteran and it hasn't been paying off yet.  She took him in the 9th round of the draft and the lack of offense from that spot has limited her team to only 11th place in the standings, after Saturday night.  If this doesn't find a way to ice-time soon, Shipachyov is going to go the way of the Waiver Draft.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 29)

The Chicago Blackhawks are still cycling through their blueliners on a regular basis and if someone is under performing, there has been no hesitation to send them up to the press box.  Last night, while visiting the Colorado Avalanche, it was Connor Murphy's turn to have a seat upstairs in the box.  Murphy has still yet to register a point in nine games played with the Blackhawks, but the team took a tough loss on Saturday night, so he might still figure back into the lineup next week.

Brian's team has dropped out of the top three this week, having only a mediocre week, but he has yet to get anything from this defenseman, so it can't be considered too much of a loss.  If Murphy can find his game here soon, Brian could be back in the money sooner, rather than later.

The Minnesota Wild have been very active with their players that don't have to clear waivers and if they have some extended time between games, they have been demoting and recalling players fairly often.  Rookie forward Joel Eriksson Ek was demoted for the first time after the Wild's game on Saturday night, possibly hoping to get him a little bit more game action before Tuesday night's home game against the Winnipeg Jets.  Eriksson Ek only has a goal and 3 points in nine games and the expectation is pretty high for the rookie forward, so a bit of a boost is required.

Clayton hasn't had a great week, but his team has kept the pace, going into Sunday's action in 9th place, now 12 points out of the money.  His team has been pushing the pace with a few rookie forwards, but this one has been faltering of late and he could really use the push.

The New Jersey Devils found themselves a leader by example in forward Marcus Johansson, who has been very good at the start of this season, scoring 3 goals and 5 points in his first nine games this season.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to dress for Saturday night's game against the Coyotes, being a late scratch after getting hurt in warm-up and the Devils are calling him day-to-day with a lower-body injury.  This could be a tough loss for the Devils, if it is a significant injury, but we don't know how bad it is quite yet.

A bad week just got a little worse for Scott B., who is in need of a miracle to not be the Basement Dweller this week, but it seems all but certain that he will be with his pool-low, 10 points.  Losing Johansson for last night's game has to hurt, especially when the Devils did well to win 4-3 last night.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere left last night's game against the Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury, not to return to the game.  Gostisbehere was reportedly hit pretty hard by Leo Komarov and that was what is believed to be what knocked him out of the game.  There has been no significant update to the condition of the scoring blueliner, but many are fearing the worst out there.  We'll have an update post in the next couple of days, I'm sure, if it is anything more serious than a day-to-day issue.

This has the possibility of being quite the harsh blow to Kristy & Don's team, which has gotten off to a very good start this year.  They finished Saturday night in 7th place, albeit having a quiet Week Four on the scoring side of things.  Things could get awfully quiet, if Gostisbehere is out long-term.

It was another baby birth holding a goalie out of the lineup on Saturday night, as St. Louis Blues backup goalie Carter Hutton left the team for another paternal situation. Hutton wasn't scheduled for the start against the Blue Jackets, nor was he going to figure into a 4-1 win, so this really is more of paper transaction than anything else.

Hutton does have a win this week for Benson's team, a team that had done really well on Saturday night, moving all the way up to 2nd place and is now challenging for the Mover & Shaker.

Goalie Announcements (Oct 28)

On Friday night, we had two key starts in the survivor pool, as we draw closer and closer to the end of the week and neither one of them could pull off a victory and that has now left both Brian and Jeremy to be without on Saturday morning.

With action getting started early on Saturday, we have an early post up and running and hopefully we'll be back home in time for all the action in the evening.

We start the day with three teams looking for their wins to stay in: Brian, Jeremy and Grant.  With only two days left to go in Week Four, the question is, will they get their win... or more importantly, will they even get the chance for a win?

Ondrej Pavelec (N/A) versus Carey Price (Dale C.)
The win for Ondrej Pavelec during the week was enough for him to keep the job through the weekend, as he will now get the task of taking on the Montreal Canadiens tonight, leaving Brian's last chance at a win out in the dust and elimination is all but certain.  The slow start from Henrik Lundqvist has certainly cost him big and it has now likely cost Brian his spot in the survivor pool, as this was his last kick at the can.

Antti Raanta (Ryan) versus Cory Schneider (Jeremy)
The start for Cory Schneider tonight is still rather questionable, given that he wasn't with the team yesterday for the birth of his second child and he has been dealing with a lower-body injury.  Ideally, they would want the number one to play on the second half of back-to-backs, where the backup played last night, but it will certainly be up to his health, as to whether or not he goes.  On the other side, the Coyotes have been waiting patiently for Antti Raanta to come back to full health... is today the day?

Anton Forsberg (N/A) versus Jonathan Bernier (Scott B.)
It appears like it will be a battle of the back-ups in Denver tonight, after both the Blackhawks and Avalanche played last night.  This is most notable, as it keeps Jeremy to only one possible start tonight, making it far more difficult to move on to next week in the survivor pool.  The Blackhawks dropped a key decision last night and will now face an Avalanche team that got run over by the Golden Knights on Friday night.

Braden Holtby (Grant) versus Cam Talbot (Wes)
The Washington Capitals are traveling through Alberta this weekend, so this means Grant has a couple of chances to get his win from his two DC goalies and they will kick off against the Edmonton Oilers on the Saturday, the late game of Hockey Night In Canada.  The Capitals are on a wicked losing streak at the moment, which has Grant's team awfully nervous heading into the weekend and they'll get a tough test with Cam Talbot and the Oilers tonight.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 28)

We're awaiting some more updates on the news of Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen, who suffered a lower-body injury last night against the Blues, forcing him from the game, not to return.  The post-game interviews didn't garner any new information and his availability for Sunday evening against the Ducks is still in the air.  He will be considered day-to-day, until any further update from the team.

This now makes five players on the injured list for Ryan's team, although one or two of them could be back as soon as tonight.  Despite the bodies going down this week, Ryan's team still has managed to play a good number of games, thanks to the schedule, as his team is tied for 8th in skater games played with 23, still six games better than last place.  It hasn't translated into points though, where his team ranks tied for 20th in the weekly scoring with 11.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a number of roster moves on Saturday morning, planning for the night ahead with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Forward James Van Riemsdyk is not expected to be in the lineup for the Leafs tonight, as he is currently dealing with an undisclosed ailment, something he has tried to play through this week, avoiding practices to do so, but it doesn't seem to be paying off, so it appears to be time for a break.  Kasperi Kapanen has been called up from the minors to take his spot, for what it's worth.

Troy's team hasn't had the best of luck either this week, as Van Riemsdyk is his second player to go down during Week Four and his team has only managed to pick up 13 points, through Friday night, dropping his side down to 17th in the standings.  The rest of his team will have to pick up the slack tonight, with a busy night on the schedule ahead.

Goalie Announcements (Oct 27)

The anxiety levels are now starting to creep up in the unqualified teams in the goalie survivor pool, as Grant's team, the only one that had a goalie start last night, didn't register a win. Actually, Grant's team saw both of his goalies play in the same game, as Braden Holtby was pulled against the Canucks, leaving Philipp Grubauer to take his place for the back half of the game. Grant's team still has weekend games for the Capitals in Edmonton and Calgary, so he should have ample opportunity to get his win either Saturday or Sunday.

This still leaves Brian and Jeremy to try and get their required wins to stay in the survivor pool this week and that begins on Friday night.

Mike Condon (Brian) versus Keith Kinkaid (N/A)
The Senators are rocking the second half back-to-back games tonight in New Jersey, which means it should be the backup, Mike Condon tonight, giving Brian a clutch start.  The Devils haven't played since last week, yet they are still going to go with their backup, which has reasons that are two-fold... one, Cory Schneider is awaiting the birth of his second child and they start back-to-back nights with the Senators in town.  This should be an interesting game, given the situations for both teams.

Brian will have one more possible start on the weekend, if Condon can't get the win tonight, so you have to know the anxiousness will be up on this one.

Pekka Rinne (Dale B.) versus Corey Crawford (Jeremy)
It's a big Central Division match-up in Chicago tonight, with the Predators and Blackhawks going head-to-head.  Jeremy has a horse in this race, as he'll have Crawford going for the home side, but you know that this will be a difficult game.  The Predators will be sending out their number one for this occasion, as they start back-to-back nights, since the divisional game will be more imporant than the Islanders tomorrow.

Jeremy will have one more possible crack at it tomorrow, if he can't get it done tonight.  Oh yeah, Schneider is his other goalie and if he is still without a new kid, Jeremy could be SOL.

Noon Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 27)

Jaromir Jagr isn't eligible to return from the Injured Reserve until Saturday, so he won't be in the lineup for tonight's game against the Dallas Stars, but it does sound like he'll be ready to go against another one of his former clubs, the Washington Capitals on Sunday. The reports are creeping out this morning that he was on the ice for Flames practice on Friday and all indications are that he's ready to return from his lower-body injury.

Ryan's team is in dire need of a boost this week, as it only has 10 points in Week Four and has dropped down to 22nd and without a good push, it could be staring down into the abyss of nothingness below it.  This should act as some sort of life preserver for the week, right?

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 27)

The learning curve for Stars defenseman Julius Honka appears to be quite steep, as he has found his way back up to the press box again on Thursday night, when his Stars took on the Oilers. Honda was a healthy scratch for the game, but could figure back in pretty soon, as the game was lost, 5-4, in a less-than-defensive effort from both sides.

The young defender has appeared in six games for the Stars and hasn't quite found his stride, not registering a point and started the week at -1 in the plus/minus department.  This certainly hasn't helped Steve's team in the early part of the season, which finished Thursday night down in 23rd.

A viral infection has sidelined Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris for the whole weekend, including Thursday night's win in Philadelphia.  The team announced before the game that the infection that Turris had suffered was quite significant and they won't go ahead and reevaluate him until Monday, ahead of their game against Montreal.  The Senators only play one more time this week and that game goes tonight in New Jersey.  That is the last game Turris is expected to miss, barring any setbacks.

Troy's team has kind of sputtered after a pretty solid start, currently sitting in 16th place, 15 points back of the money spots.  His team is tied for 10th in scoring this week, with 13 points to date, but without Turris for one more game, it could be a tough finish to the week.

Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Nolan Patrick had to sit out the game against the Senators with an upper-body injury, which is believed to be a head injury, which he suffered on Tuesday night against the Ducks.  Patrick was seen hitting his head against the glass after taking a hard hit from Chris Wagner and he was forced from the contest.  It didn't sound too serious, as Patrick was noted as being probable or a game-time decision, but he was held out of the game in the end.  He's currently day-to-day.

Cam's team was off to a very good start, hovering in the top 10, between 4th and 6th, for the first three weeks of the season, but a very slow and poor part of the schedule for his team has seen him drop down to 11th.  Patrick hasn't quite gotten off to the best of starts this year, figuring only 3 points in nine games.

The cold and flu season is starting to hit the NHL in the late part of October and it begins with some pretty top end talent in Washington's Nicklas Backstrom, who had to sit out of Thursday night's game in Vancouver.  The expectation is that Backstrom should be back in the lineup, when the Capitals continue their Western Canada road trip, which continues tomorrow night in Edmonton.  The Capitals have dropped four games in a row and are in dire need of getting back in the win column and they'll likely need Backstrom to do so.

Scott B.'s team has really struggled in Week Four, leading the charge for the Basement Dweller with only 5 points in four nights.  Scott's team has now found its way down to 25th place and the schedule isn't quite working in his favour either this week, as his team only has 12 projected games left, thanks to Vancouver already being finished for the week.

Goalie Announcements (Oct 26)

The only qualifying game from Wednesday night was a smashing success, as Jake Allen recorded the win for the Blues against the Flames and Cam became the 8th team to move on to Week Five in the goalie survivor pool.

There is a whopping 11 games on the docket tonight, but with eight of 11 teams already qualified for Week Five, that only leaves three teams left to try and earn a win over the next four nights and of those three teams, only two of those teams have a possibility of goalies playing tonight.  That drastically shortens this post, doesn't it?

Adin Hill (N/A) versus Ondrej Pavelec (N/A)
It was decided fairly early on Wednesday that Henrik Lundqvist would get the night off for the Rangers with the Coyotes in town, which takes a key start away from Brian's team in the survivor pool.  Pavelec is still available for the Waiver Draft, if he can start a hot streak, the Rangers could probably use him as a provisional number one goalie, with Lundqvist struggling early on.

Michal Neuvirth (N/A) versus Craig Anderson (Tony)
The Flyers and the Senators go in Ottawa tonight and this is another start where Brian had a possible start, but he holds the back-up for the Senators and it is always a little less likely, unless it's back-to-back nights, where he'd get the call.  Tonight is not one of those nights.  Tony gets a key start for his team in the overall standings, getting a non-pool goalie on the other side in Michal Neuvirth, another goalie worth keeping an eye on for the Waiver Draft.

Braden Holtby (Grant) versus Anders Nilsson (N/A)
The best part about Grant's situation is that he only has to focus on one team, the Washington Capitals, where he has both goalies and if one doesn't play, the other one is playing.  Perfect.  The Capitals start a road trip in Vancouver tonight, where they will kick off against the Canucks, who have been on a pretty good winning streak at the moment.