Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Dec 22)

It was an aged rest day for 38-year old defenseman Marek Zidlicky, as the Islanders faced off against the Ducks, just before the team went off on their Christmas Break.  The Islanders drew up a 5-2 win on Monday night and they won't play again until Sunday, home to Toronto, but Zidlicky got some extra rest as a healthy scratch.  He should draw back into the lineup on Sunday, as he was riding a hot hand coming into this week, but the coaching staff obviously has some concern about his durability this season.

This is definitely one of the risks you're going to run with, when you opt for a very veteran player and Benson's team is running short on time for having these risks about.  His team finished Monday night in 21st place, 59 points out of the money.

The Colorado Avalanche were shelled by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-4, last night in Denver, and it was Semyon Varlamov going the distance for the Avs, not necessarily because the coaching staff was merciless, but there are reports that back-up goalie Reto Berra suffered an ankle injury in the pregame soccer warm-up, which forced him from playing in relief on Monday night.  An MRI is scheduled for Berra on Tuesday and the team will know more about his availability during the break.  His status for Sunday is now on the pessimistic side of questionable.

This is an early lump of coal in Tony's stocking, as his 22nd place team started making some headway, trying to move up the standings this week.  His team has already picked up 5 points this week and may have to pick up their socks even more, with a Waiver Draft pick-up possibly on the shelf.

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