Around the League

Tm	Player	Pos	NOTES
	Mike Richards	C	Escaped the wrath of the NHL disciplinarian a won't face a suspension after driving his left shoulder right into David Booth's face, while in a vulnerable position (see below). Much to the delight of many fantasy GM's, and some unhappy ones who owned Booth. He played on Sunday against the Flyers leading the team with six shots on goal in a 4-1 loss to the Sharks.
	T.J. Oshie	C	Had an appendectomy on Saturday and will miss two weeks. Hasn't exactly lit it up this season (8-1-2-3). His ice time is slated to about 17 minutes and isn't asserting himself as he did last season. Has to commit to an inside game and get more involved in the play generally. Regardless, he's a reserve for the next two weeks.
	Ilya Kovalchuk	LW	struck in the foot with a puck in Saturday's 4-3 loss to San Jose, leaving the game midway through the first. Will be re-evaluated on Monday after swelling has gone down to decipher the extent of the damage. Until then, he's a reserve.
	David Booth	LW	Taken off the ice on a stretcher after absorbing the thunderous hit from Mike Richards (see above). Booth cut into the middle and Richards layed into him after just releasing the puck and connected square with a headshot with his left shoulder. The hit looked devastating and will likely deal a big blow to both Booth's fantasy owners and the Florida Panthers offense; a 30-goal scorer is not easy to replace.
	Jonathan Toews	C	Already off to a slow start, one goal and four assists, the young pivot likely suffered a concussion after the hit by Canucks defenseman Willie Mitchell. Uncertainty revolves here on two levels, his return and just how effective will he be once he's reinserted. He's already begun to show signs of dissipated scoring numbers in lieu of increased overall responsibilities, and enters a contract year with more negative than positive.
	J.S. Giguere	G	Left Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Blue Jackets after what appeared to tweak his already worrisome groin. He may not have recovered enough to suit up on Monday's match against the Leafs, making the call up of Justin Pogge a distinct possibility. 'Giggy' may be dealing with health issues for a longer term than first suspected so consider him a season-long injury risk.
	Paul Martin	D	Suffered a fractured left arm courtesy of a Bill Guerin shot in the third period Saturday. The extent will be evaluated Monday, but the somewhat injury prone rearguard continues his fragile ways. Seems to miss stretches with strange ailments and mysterious timelines to return to the lineup so his owners may just be better off reserving him until he's actually played a game. With an arm injury, it will hurt his stickhandling.
	Mathieu Schneider	D	Debuted in Canucks silks Sunday in the 2-0 shutout win over Edmonton. Played a second pairing role and didn't distinguish itself other than providing some stability. Will need some time to get back into game shape as age has dissipated ability. Consider him an injury risk at any time in the season and should be nothing more than depth on any roster.

Streaking ?

Tm	Player	Pos	NOTES
	Roberto Luongo	G	His 48th career shutout against Edmonton made him the highest ranked goaltender in Canucks history with 21. Shook off the slow start and has bounced back with five straight games allowing two goals or less, a big reason he recorded four wins.
	Ian White	D	Had a career high amount of shots on goal Saturday against the Canucks, while jumping into the rush trying to ignite the offense, intent on creating something from the back end on every shift. Has become a much better all-round defenseman, but has thickened up and is trying more offensively with the Leafs caught in a deep skid. Requires a fairly deep league for roster inclusion, but could pay off.
	Mike Green	D	Mike Green is 25 lbs lighter now than at the end of the season last season and is taking time to adjust to his new found body. Is firing at a 16-goal pace, just over half of his career high, and has struggled finding the space that made him successful last season. Became predictable by sneaking in on the weak side and roofing pass across, then roofing a shot, high glove hand and that avenue isn't as available this season. Improved defensive positioning and hasn't been as much of the rover he was last season.
	Michael Grabner	LW	Went on a training regimen to get bigger upper body and seemed disproportionate from upper to lower, and had to adjust his game, his skating ability, catching up the legs with the upper body. Seems to have found a good mix and was very productive on a line with Ryan Kesler and Mason Raymond Saturday against Toronto with two assists and scoring his second goal in three (3-2-2-4) game point streak.
	David Moss	RW	Returned to the lineup after missing five games due to upper-body and a foot injury, scoring on a tip in front of goaltender, Nikolai Khabibulin on the power play for his third (5-3-0-3). Power play time is a nice touch for the industrious winger prompting better chances at consecutive 20-goal seasons. Flames are unbeaten with him in the lineup, five wins and sometimes rides shotgun alongside Iginla.
	Niklas Bergfors	RW	Scored in consecutive games while skating on a second line of Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson . The first year winger has topped out at 17:47 of ice time, while still a work in progress in many aspects, especially defensively. Given the opportunity to succeed, even playing with Travis Zajac for a while earlier this season. Look at teammate Zach Parise however who is starting to heat up nice (3-4-3-7).
	Mike Cammalleri	LW	Scored his third hat trick of the career including the 5-4 OT game winner on Saturday against the red-hot Rangers. Already featured as a nice addition to the Montreal lineup but ran hot/cold game-to-game and shift-to-shift during the Habs five-game losing streak, but is a major reason in their turnaround. Can't forsee a 40-goal season, but is easing nicely into the 35-40 range with five in the last four games (4-5-2-7).
	Adrian Aucoin	D	Emerging as an offensive catalyst in the desert with two goals and four points (4-2-2-4) in the last four, with a plus-2 to boot and six points in nine games. Brings veteran leadership and presence to a group of young players, and should be on a roster in deep leagues in most formats. Big shot, lots of point presence but has a fragility streak in him and will miss games time to time. Better in rotisserie formats than in H2H.

Stinking ?

Tm	Player	Pos	NOTES
	Steve Mason	G	Struggling immensely in the last few games, including back-to-back games with six goals against twice in his past three starts. Mathieu Garon fared no better allowing six against the Oilers. The Blue Jackets rely on the goaltending and the sophomore Mason hasn't been able to make the save that keeps them in games during this stretch. He's moving slower to address shooters and second guessing his thinned defense. Mike Commodore returned and provides some defensive presence, but Jan Hejda is still sorely missed. For Mason owners, there is a light thanks to scheduling where the Blue Jackets play the next 7-of-9 game at home starting Wednesday this week.
	Cam Ward	G	Another goaltender struggling to find the handle early in the season, and hasn't won in his last six starts (6GP, 0W, 2.94 GAA, .910). Has allowed three or more in three straight, but to his credit has been one of the best Hurricanes in recent games. He struggled early last season as well, but along with Eric Staal was the biggest factor in the late season charge into the playoffs to the Conference Finals. He'll bounce back. Despite his lack of wins, the peripheral 2.78 goals-against average and .910 save-percentage aren't bad at all and not really hurting owners in those categories. Still must start although it's a tough two game stretch against San Jose and Philadelphia.
	Tomas Vokoun	G	The revolving crease stabilized with the incumbent number one taking over from back up Scott Clemmensen two minutes into a 5-2 disaster against Buffalo yet remains winless in the last seven starts and with more bad news losing Booth to injury. Florida was considered a bubble playoff team at best but Vokoun usually was good for decent goaltending category numbers. Considered second goalie on a roster, and at this point, it's a risky second option.

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