This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
- Huge, huge, huge games this afternoon and evening. We could feasibly see a three-way tie for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference if the Rangers earn a point and the Hurricanes beat the Sabres...OR a crazy amount of different circumstances, one of which would be burying the Canes three points back with three games left. It should be outstanding to watch.
- There is just too much news to recap after a packed night last night as well. The Caps moved into first place in the East, the Kings despite not having Anze Kopitar shuffled into fourth out West, and Montreal put the final nail in New Jersey's fading playoff hopes with a 3-1 win in Newark..
- Keep an eye on the goalie grid for the latest news on confirmed starters for today's action ... and good luck!
NY Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) vs. Philadelphia (Sergei Bobrovsky), 12:30 p.m
NY Rangers injuries:
No Significant Injury News
Philadelphia injuries:
Chris Pronger (D) - Out. Suffered a setback in recovering from a wrist injury and we'll likely only see Pronger if the Flyers make another deep run in the playoffs.
Buffalo (Jhonas Enroth) vs. Carolina (Cam Ward), 5:00 p.m
Buffalo injuries:
Ryan Miller (G) - Questionable, and we won't know much until it gets closer to game time. The Sabres have been very, very quiet as to Miller's ailment.
Mike Grier (RW) - Doubtful with knee injury.
Jochen
Around the League
- Huge, huge, huge games this afternoon and evening. We could feasibly see a three-way tie for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference if the Rangers earn a point and the Hurricanes beat the Sabres...OR a crazy amount of different circumstances, one of which would be burying the Canes three points back with three games left. It should be outstanding to watch.
- There is just too much news to recap after a packed night last night as well. The Caps moved into first place in the East, the Kings despite not having Anze Kopitar shuffled into fourth out West, and Montreal put the final nail in New Jersey's fading playoff hopes with a 3-1 win in Newark..
- Keep an eye on the goalie grid for the latest news on confirmed starters for today's action ... and good luck!
NY Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) vs. Philadelphia (Sergei Bobrovsky), 12:30 p.m
NY Rangers injuries:
No Significant Injury News
Philadelphia injuries:
Chris Pronger (D) - Out. Suffered a setback in recovering from a wrist injury and we'll likely only see Pronger if the Flyers make another deep run in the playoffs.
Buffalo (Jhonas Enroth) vs. Carolina (Cam Ward), 5:00 p.m
Buffalo injuries:
Ryan Miller (G) - Questionable, and we won't know much until it gets closer to game time. The Sabres have been very, very quiet as to Miller's ailment.
Mike Grier (RW) - Doubtful with knee injury.
Jochen Hecht (LW) - Doubtful as well for Sunday with upper-body injury.
Carolina injuries:
Jay Harrison (D) - Doubtful after missing Saturday's game due to an upper-body injury.
Minnesota (Jose Theodore) vs. Detroit (Jimmy Howard), 5:00 p.m
Minnesota injuries:
John Madden (C) - Out with lower-body ailment.
Martin Havlat (RW) - Out due to an undisclosed injury.
Nick Schultz (D) - Out, and done for the season due to post-concussion symptoms.
Marek Zidlicky (D) - Doubtful to take on the Wings on Sunday because of another undisclosed problem.
Cam Barker (D) - Doubtful as well for Sunday because of a back injury that kept him from play on Saturday.
Detroit injuries:
Pavel Datsyuk (C) - Will go on Sunday according to numerous reports.
Niklas Kronwall (D) - Questionable after being a surprise scratch on Saturday because of a shoulder injury.
St. Louis (Jaroslav Halak) vs. Columbus (Mathieu Garon), 5:00 p.m
St. Louis injuries:
No Significant Injury News
Columbus injuries:
Jan Hejda (D) - Out, serving a two-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Chicago's Marcus Kruger.
Rick Nash (LW) - Doubtful after missing the last two games for the Jackets for undisclosed reasons. This could very well be a game-time decision, so keep an eye out for any further updates.
Tampa Bay (Mike Smith) vs. Chicago (Corey Crawford), 7:00 p.m
Tampa Bay injuries:
Cedrik Desjardins (D) - Out and will most likely miss the rest of the regular season due to a shoulder injury.
Randy Jones (D) - Out with ankle injury.
Chicago injuries:
Patrick Sharp (C) - Out with knee injury.
Dave Bolland (C) - Out with concussion that he suffered the last time these two teams played.
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) vs. Colorado (Brian Elliott), 8:00 p.m
Calgary injuries:
No Significant Injury News
Colorado injuries:
Cameron Gaunce (D) - Out with a head injury.
Dallas (Kari Lehtonen) vs. Anaheim (Dan Ellis), 8:00 p.m
Dallas injuries:
Adam Burish (RW) - Doubtful after missing the last few contests with a leg injury.
Brian Sutherby (C) - Doubtful as well with a back injury that has cost him the last few games for Dallas.
Anaheim injuries:
Lubomir Visnovsky (D) - Doubtful after leaving Saturday's game with what looked like a very serious shoulder injury. A huge blow to the Ducks and to fantasy owners of Lubo.
Jonas Hiller (G) - Out. Battling vertigo and stated earlier this week that he can't see the puck...which is kind of important for a goaltender.
TRANSACTIONS
Andre Benoit (D) Ottawa - Recalled from Binghamton (AHL)
Andy Miele (C) Phoenix - Signed an entry-level contract with the Coyotes
Alexandre Bolduc (C) Vancouver - Re-assigned to Manitoba (AHL)
Sean Collins (D) Washington - Recalled from Hershey (AHL)
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Who's Hot
Jarome Iginla (RW) Calgary - He's back at it again, after having the nerve to not get a point five games ago! Since then, Iginla has been on fire, with five goals and three assists in the last four for the Flames.
John Carlson (D) Washington - Carlson is having a tidy little season for the Caps. He has played in all 79 games, scoring seven times while adding 30 assists, all while playing to a plus-21. He has a goal and four helpers in the last three for the Capitals.
Tim Thomas (G) Boston - Timmy is getting hot at the perfect time for the B's. He has four wins and only an overtime loss in the last five games. In those four victoires he has only had two pukcs get into his net.
Who's Cold
Rick DiPietro (G) NY Islanders - DiPietro has taken some of the shine off of what was a promising finish to the season for the Isles with his last two starts. RDP has lost his last two, only stopping 83% of the shots he has faced, giving up seven goals in those starts.
Mattias Ohlund (D) Tampa Bay - At some point a puck has to bang in off of a skate or something, right? Not for Ohlund who has thrown up a zero in the points column for 33 straight games for the Bolts. He actually has more dirty elbows to the back of defenseless player's heads than he does points since January.
Dustin Penner (LW/RW) Los Angeles - The big trade deadline acquisition for the Kings has been less than stellar offensively since joining LA. Granted while watching the Kings you can see that Penner definitely has a presence, going into the corners and hitting anything with a pulse more than anybody else on the ice, but it's hard to believe he has gone eight straight games without getting on the scoresheet.
Recommended Pickup
Jhonas Enroth (G) Buffalo - Ryan Miller owners especially need to consider Enroth. There are whispers that Miller may be dealing with a head injury, and being that it's the year of the head injury in the NHL, the Sabres are in no position to push it with Miller ... despite their playoff desperation. Enroth is a decent insurance plan, especially in day-to-day leagues.
