Afternoon Player Notes in the Playoffs (Apr 13)

Time hasn't been on my side these days, so entries into the pool are slowly coming in, but are being closely monitored for their eligibility.  I don't need any of these late entries this year.

Play kicks off tonight with three games and we've got a little bit of news in each match-up, so we'll get it started here.

The injury situation for the Lightning is the biggest factor in this series and leading up to Game 1, they have their fair share, if not more than.  The Bolts had an optional skate this morning, where Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, each were concerns at the end of the season, were on the ice, which is good news for the team, heading into Game 1.  Ryan Callahan and Victor Hedman are both question marks still, so we'll see if they dress tonight.

For Detroit, we know for sure that it will be Jimmy Howard in net for the Wings, but I can confirm, as of this morning, no one had taken Petr Mrazek in Box 24, so that isn't a pool concern.  That's until more teams get entered, I suppose.

This series kicks off all proceedings down in Tampa Bay with a 5pm MT start and can be seen on CBC tonight.

Big news for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as their number one goalie is now listed as a game-time decision, heading into Game 1 against the New York Rangers. Marc-Andre Fleury has been back at practice this week and he could be good to go at the Igloo tonight.  He has been dealing with concussion symptoms for the last couple weeks and will be needed, if the Penguins are going to get at it this year.

I can confirm in the early entries, that Fleury has picked up a following, so he will play an important role in the hockey pool as well.

Ryan McDonagh is still not expected to play tonight, while Dan Girardi's status is still a bit cloudy, through reports I've seen, but I would imagine he'll be out there, like the warrior he is.

Puck drop is at 6pm MT to start this series, it should be a doozy!  You can find this one on the main Sportsnet channels.

Oh boy!  I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to this series.

The Blackhawks are expecting to have all but Duncan Keith in their lineup for Game 1 tonight, Keith has one more game to sit from his suspension, so the team will have to do without for a few more periods.

The Blues will have Jake Allen on the bench as the back-up tonight, but no one has opted for his services quite yet, so that might be a non-factor in the pool this year.  The other injury concern heading into tonight is David Backes in Box 2 and he is expected to be back in the lineup, setting the Blues participation levels up to snuff.

This one will start on Sportsnet 360 tonight, starting at 7:30pm MT.  It's a good thing they have so many channels, now we don't have to worry about interrupted coverage for overtimes and such.