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| Nathan Horton , the former 1st-round draft pick (3rd overall) from 2003, blossomed into a viable NHL star last season and his stock continues to grow in 2008, posting two more goals in the Panthers’ 4-2 win over Tampa Bay. Horton now has 25 goals and 33 assists on the season, 2nd in both categories only to Olli Jokinen. |
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| Jason Spezza gathered two assists in Ottawa’s heartbreaking loss to the Toronto (4-5). Spezza leads the Senators in assists and total points, adding tonight’s helpers to get to 55 assists on the season and 86 total points. |
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| Marian Hossa put his best foot forward, posting three assists in Pittsburgh’s 7-1 win over New Jersey. The veteran isn’t having his best campaign, but nights like this show why he is so valuable to such an explosive offensive team. He now has 35 assists on the season with 62 total points to boot. |
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| Evgeni Malkin was working in top form once again in Pittsburgh’s 7-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Malkin scored two goals and added an assist, bringing him to 44 goals and 58 assists on the season. Malkin has been one of the top fantasy players this year and continues to shine even with Sidney Crosby sidelined with injury. Nights without multiple points are more shocking than games such at this in ’08. |
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| Pavel Datsyuk carried the bulk of the load for the Red Wings in their 4-1 win over Columbus today, scoring a goal and touting two assists in a dominating effort. That brings Datsyuk to 31 goals and 59 assists on the season, the top point man for the best team in the league this season. |
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| Henrik Zetterberg picked up his 40th goal of the year in Detroit's 4-1 victory over Columbus. Zetterberg is on fire, scoring four goals in as many games with three assists to boot. Tonight's net puts him in the 40-40 club (40 goals, 40 assists) for the season and has him in the good graces of every fantasy owner lucky enough to list him in the roster. |
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| Ales Hemsky put the Oilers in prime position continue their efforts for a playoff bid, putting three passes on the sticks of goal scorers in the Oilers' 7-5 win over the Avalanche on Saturday. Hemsky's three assists gives him 47 helpers on the year and a total of 67 points, a strong campaign for a rising all-around talent in Edmonton. |
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| Sam Gagner hit the net twice today, netting two goals in Edmonton's 7-5 win over the Colorado Avalanche. That brings the rookie center to 12 goals on the year and 47 total points, not bad for an 18-year-old just getting started on what could be a career to watch. |
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| Joe Sakic took another step towards the hockey Hall of Fame today, recording the 1,000th assist of his career in Colorado's 5-7 loss to Edmonton. Sakic leads all active players in assists and is one of just 11 players to achieve the feat. |
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| Dan Ellis kicked away 37 of 38 shots, including stops on two of three shootout fires, on Saturday to lead the Predators to a tight 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. This is Nashville's first win over Chicago in their last five meetings, and effort built largely on the outstanding efforts of their goalie. |
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| Mike Ribeiro recorded his team-leading 51st assist of the season in the Stars' 2-4 loss to the Kings on Saturday. Riberio now sits at 78 points on the season, one of few fantasy options of worth coming out of Dallas these days. |
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| Penguins center and captain Sidney Crosby skated before the team's practice yesterday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It was his second straight day on the ice, but the talented sniper has been ruled out for tonight's game against New Jersey.
Crosby has rested his ankle for a week, the design before activating him for ice time. Crosby is close to returning and it wouldn't surprise us to see him back in the lineup after this weekend. |
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| The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Georges Laraque is eligible to return tonight after serving a three-game suspension. The winger was suspended for an elbow that knocked Buffalo's Nathan Paetsch unconscious.
"It's been three games, a week," Laraque said. "It feels like it's been a long time. It's frustrating, but at least we won two games of the three." Laraque's 128 PIM is valuable in specific fantasy formats. |
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| Mike Komisarek will miss the next three weeks with a lower-body injury, reports TSN.ca.
The injury will keep the 26-year defenseman out of the Habs lineup for the remainder of the regular season and maybe postseason play, depending on his rehab and recovery. |
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| Joffrey Lupul, who has suffered a number of nagging injuries this season, continues to play with pain.
The Philadelphia Daily News reports that even if the discomfort level is so high he can’t even practice, he will continue to dress and play.
The winger has 42 points in 49 games this season making it obvious just how valuable he is to the team's overall success. |
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| According to the Edmonton Sun, Mathieu Garon is on the limp. There's been speculation for the last week that something was bothering Garon, but the netminder was quiet and denied he was hurting when asked about it point-blank. He missed practice yesterday with a lower body injury and is considered day-to-day. Dwayne Roloson started against Vancouver and will continue to fill the role until Garon can return. |
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| Pekka Rinne received a recall by the Predators on Friday, this according to Tennessean. Rinne might finally see some ice time with the parent club. |
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| Kyle Okposo, in just his second career game, notched his first career point when he registered a helper. The rookie followed that up with the game-tying goal in the third period. |
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| The Rangers' leading point scorer, Scott Gomez , crashed into the boards during Friday night's game and injured his shoulder. He was not able to return to the ice. Gomez reportedly hurt his ankle as well when hitting a rut on the ice. The team considers their sniper day-to-day.
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| Following up on a Friday report by TSN.ca that Chris Neil is expected back in the lineup Saturday, the Senators TV Network confirmed his return early Saturday morning. Neil has been out since tearing ligaments in his knee on February 21. |
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| Evgeni Nabokov picked up an NHL leading 43rd victory on Friday night as he stopped 12 of 13 shots that were directed at him. Amazingly, the Sharks held the Ducks without a single shot over the final 20 minutes of the game. Nabokov is 12-0-1 in his last 13 starts and he has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of those 13 games. |
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| Jeremy Roenick scored his ninth game winning goal of the season on Friday night, his NHL leading 12th game deciding goal for the Sharks. So much for retiring. Roenick might be working on the most impressive 13 goal season in league history when you consider that he has six goals on the power play, and again, nine of the 13 have gone for game winners. |
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| Jonas Hiller was a surprise starter on Friday night and he played very well stopping 41 of 43 games in a loss to the Sharks. Amazingly the Sharks held the Ducks without a single shot in the third period when Hiller made 16 saves, but it just wasn't enough to get the victory for the Ducks. |
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| Jean-Sebastien Giguere did not play on Friday night in a must win game versus the Sharks, and though nothing official has been mentioned, word in the press box is that he was injured during the pre-game warmups. For a portion of the game Giguere was not present on the bench with his teammates, so keep an eye on the injury reports later today once the team finally fesses up to up the issue is. |
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