Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Back to Business on Wednesday Morning

Well, as the Bruins welcomed three players back to their line-up on Tuesday night, they were without two others, due to some short-term problems. Michael Ryder and Manny Fernandez didn't dress for their opening game (of the second half) against the Capitals. Ryder, a Draft pick of Dennis', sat out with the flu, while Fernandez, a soon-to-be Waiver Draft pick-up of Dale B.'s, sat out with some back spasms. Neither player looks to be sitting out for any long-term period of time, so it shouldn't be looked at too seriously.

The Blue Jackets were another team to welcome back a number of players to their line-up (Kristian Huselius, Mike Peca and Jason Chimera), but they also were without Fredrik Modin, who sat out of the game with an elbow injury. The Box 7 forward hasn't had much luck with his health this year and this doesn't change too much. Consider him day-to-day for now and if his condition worsens, it should be updated here.

The Dallas Stars might be looking up as to the standings at the moment, but they really haven't found their full-time roster. Going back up to the press box was soon-to-be dropped forward for Larry, Mark Parrish, who signed on with the Stars early on in the season. Much like the Swedish sensation that was sent down to the minors yesterday, Parrish made his debut with a bang, but really hasn't been heard from since. You may want to avoid him at all costs.

The Red Wings started the game without two of their superstars, due to an All-Star suspension, and another defenseman, Brad Stuart, to a knee injury. Stuart, a Box 13 defender, didn't play due to a knock on his knee, but is sidelined only day-to-day for the time being. During the game versus the Blue Jackets last night, the Wings lost the services of Henrik Zetterberg in the first period, due to back spasms. There hasn't been any further word on his condition as of yet.

The news on Sam Gagner's ankle was not good on Tuesday afternoon, as his MRI results came back positive. This suggests that Gagner will be out of the line-up for a minimum of 10 days, but upwards of 4 weeks. Gagner, a Draft pick of Dennis', has been playing with a bothersome ankle for sometime and only during the break did he get it checked out. This does not bode well for the young centre, who has been in a scoring funk in his sophomore season.

An injury update on Box 22 forward, Rostislav Olesz... he will be undergoing surgery for a sports hernia this week, which will keep him out of the line-up for 8-to-12 weeks. Olesz has been sitting out of the Panthers' line-up for quite some time already this season with a reported groin injury, but it has since upgraded itself to the sports hernia, which requires surgery. This should mean his season is pretty much finished.

On Tuesday, the Rangers put Box 23 forward, Dan Fritsche, on waivers, likely in order to send him down to the minors. Fritsche hasn't figured into the Rangers' line-up very often and has lost potential ice-time to Box 24 forward, Petr Prucha, who also serves as a scratch more often than not. In 16 games with the Rangers, Fritsche only has 4 points.

The Senators saw the return of Anton Volchenkov to the line-up on Tuesday night, which meant that Christoph Schubert was a healthy scratch for their game against New Jersey. Schubert has been the odd-man out this season, being the likely scratch from the blueline in quite a few games this season. Possibly look for him to be on the move here around the trade deadline.

The All-Star Break wasn't good for Dan Boyle, as he wasn't able to return to the Sharks' line-up after playing for the Western Conference in Montreal. Boyle, a Derek Draft pick, is listed as out day-to-day with an upper body injury. There is no immediate word on the extent of the injury, but I'm sure once one has come down, especially if it's worse than expected, it will be posted here.

The Leafs decided to call-up Justin Pogge from the minors on Monday to play with the team on Tuesday, which meant that Box 32 goaltender, Curtis Joseph was going to be a healthy scratch. Sure enough, in the 6-1 loss to Minnesota, those roster moves did happen, but the uneasiness did not subside in Leafland.

Click here to see an updated injury page.

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