By Paul Bruno
November 18, 2008 11:26am CST

Six weeks into the season and some players are already dealing with their second significant injuries. With so many injuries and roster shuffling, it's vital to stay fluent with the hottest players. That's why you need to read on, to get answers to who's hot and who's hurt.

Atlanta - The Thrashers split a pair of one goal games last week. Johan Hedberg was pressed into duty for both games as Kari Lehtonen is out with a minor back injury. Ondrej Pavelec was promoted from the minors to back him up and has started a couple of games with mixed results; he is clearly a stop-gap measure at this point. Ron Hainsey had developed a key role as the offensive leader on the blue-line, with 12 points and 40 shots on goal (both team highs for defenseman in Atlanta).

Boston - The Bruins parlayed a 2-0-1 week into sole possession of their division lead. Zdeno Chara led the charge with a goal, two assists and his usual team-leading ice-time totals (26:31), and Tim Thomas continues to lower his microscopic goals against average (1.76). Andrew Ference, who has been a steady and physical presence on the blue-line, will be out for two months with a broken leg. Phil Kessel is showing great versatility and a steady two-way game playing on the wing and at center, as well as sporting a favorable rating (+4).

Buffalo - After a torrid start this season, Ryan Miller has tailed off lately, surrendering 15 goals in his last four starts. Tim Connolly has scored two goals and four assists in his last four games, but had to sit out the last contest with general soreness. His inability to stay in the lineup is a real problem as the Sabres are looking for him to be a top-line center. Scoring depth has been an asset for Buffalo in the past, but Drew Stafford (two goals) and Maxim Afinogenov have really fallen off their career scoring pace and put the team in dire straits for a lack of secondary production.

Carolina - The 'Canes were 1-2 last week and credit for their lone win went to goalie Cam Ward, as the offense went dormant in the other two games, scoring just three goals. In fact, Eric Staal has only one assist in his last seven games. Carolina is looking for a boost with the return of one of their team leaders as Frantisek Kaberle is over a nagging leg injury. Fellow blue-liner Joni Pitkanen came back from the injured list last week, tallying two assists in three games. Along with Joe Corvo, he is expected to kick-start the lack of offensive focus on a struggling power-play.

Florida - Jay Bouwmeester had two assists and seems to be playing inspired. Still, the high-scoring defender has not scored a goal yet this season. Tomas Vokoun has hit a rough patch, losing five straight starts and allowing 14 goals along the way. Backup goalie Craig Anderson stepped in to pick up the slack and led the Panthers to a 2-0-1 week, allowing only three goals on 82 shots. Cory Stillman, an offensive leader, returned from the injured reserve but extended his scoreless streak to six games.

Montreal - The Habs' offense dried up a bit last week, scoring eight goals while going 2-2. Josh Gorges, who had two assists last week, will get a few more minutes of playing time as Francis Bouillon (mouth) and Mike Komisarek (upper body) will both be out of the lineup next week. Tomas Plekanec has been struggling with his offense and has been blanked in the last four games. Even star goalie Carey Price has struggled to find al level of consistency, giving up six goals in each of two games and a total of two in a pair of other starts.

New Jersey - Patrik Elias paced the Devils' offense with three goals and an assist last week as the Devils managed a win against two losses. The Devils got more bad news last week, though as Brian Rolston's ankle injury is worse than originally feared and will keep him out a few more weeks. Dainius Zubrus has been piling up penalty minutes (35) but has not scored a point in his last five games. Scott Clemmensen appeared in all three games last week, allowing eight goals in a credible bid to share the netminding duties with Kevin Weekes.

NY Islanders - Two of last year's team scoring leaders, Mike Comrie and Mike Sillinger, are both out with hip injuries. Chris Campoli picked up a pair of points and needs to be an offensive catalyst, particularly with the missing pieces up front. Joey MacDonald had a fine week in goal, winning two of the three starts, allowing only five goals out of 101 shots. Trent Hunter knocked in another couple of goals last week and is on pace for the best season of his career. This team needs to be better at even strength as Doug Weight is their only top scorer with a favorable plus/minus rating (+1).

NY Rangers - The Rangers continue to lead the East after a 2-0-1 week. They are getting lots of scoring from their defense as Daniel Girardi added three assists last week. Paul Mara also chipped in one goal and two assists. Up front they will be without top offensive center Scott Gomez for at least a week or two (with an ankle injury). Henrik Lundqvist remains a pillar of consistency, allowing two goals in each of the three games last week. After a quiet start, Chris Drury has five goals in his last five games.

Ottawa - With an 0-3 week, the Sens dropped into last place in their division. The lone bright spot is the continued strong work of Alex Auld in goal, who has allowed 14 goals in his last six starts. Jason Spezza had a goal and assist last week but seems to be a lightning rod for the team's harshest critics while being the subject of trade speculation. Alexandre Picard was brought in to provide an offensive spark from the defense, yet he is 0-for-November through the last seven games, until gaining a point on Monday. Tough guy Chris Neil (leg injury) is expected to miss a week of action, adding to Ottawa's misery.

Philadelphia - Daniel Briere is out of the lineup with a second groin injury and is expected to miss a week or two. Simon Gagne continues to enjoy a fine comeback campaign with seven points in his last four games and now leads the Flyers in scoring with 22 points. Jeff Carter tallied two more goals and has tied Gagne for the team lead with 11 markers. Andrew Alberts had his first three points of the season last week, topping last year's scoring total when he played in Boston.

Pittsburgh - Jordan Staal is carrying the hot stick in Pittsburgh with five goals and an assist and led the Pens to a 3-0 week. They also bolstered their attack by trading Darryl Sydor to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Philippe Boucher, a veteran blue-liner with an offensive upside. Petr Sykora had five assists last week as the offense was coming from all over the roster. Even pesky winger Matt Cooke added four points to the cause. The team announced that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is out with an undisclosed injury to begin this week.

Tampa Bay - The Lightning have replace coach Barry Melrose with assistant Rick Tocchet following the club's 5-7-4 start. Rookie Steve Stamkos has only four points this season, and they came in consecutive games. Veteran Mark Recchi has continued a hot scoring streak with six points in his last six games. Ryan Malone has recently started to have a bit of an impact with two goals (he has only three on the year) in his last six games. On Sunday he suffered a groin injury and is a questionable starter this week.

Toronto - The Leafs were 1-2 on a road swing to western Canada. With 10 points in his last six games, Matt Stajan gone from the doghouse to first-line duty. Tomas Kaberle added a goal and four assists as the anchor to the fourth-best power-play in the league. Converted defenseman Ian White has been on a scoring spree as a winger and added two goals and an assist along with a (+3) rating last week. Mikhail Grabovski has six goals in his last seven games, now leading rookie goal-scorers with nine markers.

Washington - After a slow start, sophomore center Nicklas Backstrom caught fire last week, piling up nine points to lead the Caps to a 3-0-1 week. Alexander Ovechkin had five goals ad five assists for his best week to date. Amid all this offense, Michael Nylander sat out two games and extended his scoreless streak to five games. Leading scorer Alexander Semin missed their last game and may miss a couple more this week with an upper body injury. Brent Johnson continued his fine play with 47 saves out of 50 shots to earn two wins before suffering a hip injury that will sideline him for the last two games.