Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 1)

The Detroit Red Wings representation in the hockey pool isn't very helpful to start Week Twenty-Two, as forward Teemu Pulkkinen was a healthy scratch for a second straight game and then you can add defenseman Brendan Smith to that list as a healthy scratch as well.  On top of the scratches, goaltender Jared Coreau was called up to back-up Jimmy Howard, as Petr Mrazek was feeling the ill effects of a tender groin on Monday night.  The groin injury doesn't sound too major, as Mrazek did practice in the morning, so it may be a precautionary move to rest him, when they didn't need him.

We all know about how helpful Pulkkinen has been to Kristy & Don, now Smith is not being very helpful for Eric's 9th place team, while Tony is missing out on the number one goalie of his 18th place team.  These Red Wings... boy, they are just not very helpful.

There was some minor league housecleaning done with a number of clubs, as they demoted some players to keep their playoff eligibility for their AHL affiliate and the Oilers did so with defenseman Darnell Nurse.  It was a purely paperwork transaction and Nurse isn't expected to miss time with the big club.

Don't panic, John S., your team won't suffer any more than it already is.

The same goes for Joseph Blandisi of the New Jersey Devils.  He was another one of those AHL players this year that got the call up and has stuck with the big club.  The Devils may or may not make the NHL playoffs, but even if they were eliminated early, Blandisi would still be eligible to play with Albany this Spring.

Blandisi was a Week Eighteen Waiver Draft pick-up for Troy this year and has been a good improvement for his team, 2 points and 10 PIM better than his dropped counterpart, Jason Zucker of the Wild.

For the New York Rangers, forward Jesper Fast managed to play through a broken nose that he suffered in practice over the weekend, but on Monday night, a bout of the flu was enough to sideline him for the game against the Blue Jackets.  It would be pretty tough to play through a broken nose, let alone the tribulations of having the flu on top of that.  He's currently day-to-day at the moment.

Another Week Eighteen Waiver Draft pick-up, this time for Dale B., on the shelf briefly this week.  For Dale, Fast has been good, compared to who he was dropped for, Matt Moulson of the Sabres.  In the first few weeks, Fast has 1 point more than Moulson, so that's a plus.

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