Some thoughts and other odds and ends in the wonderful world of fantasy hockey…

The long-awaited injury to Carolina’s Ray Whitney has finally happened. Long have I pushed for poolies to trade him while his value was sky-high, indicating that with an injury history like he has, another one is inevitable. Whitney has missed 15 or more games in four of his last five seasons. He suffered a sprained ankle on Friday and will be on the shelf for one to three weeks (the severity has not been announced)…

Kings’ forward Michael Cammalleri continues to improve. Since December 29, the 24-year-old has been held off the scoresheet on just three occasions – a span of 25 contests. He has 36 points in that time and is likely to finish the year in the top 20 in league scoring…

With all the injuries to Predators’ forwards, rookie Alexander Radulov played 15:44 on Saturday against Los Angeles. That is an NHL career-high for the 20-year-old. He has three points in his last three games while the likes of Steve Sullivan (back spasms – back sometime this week), Jason Arnott (flu – should be back next game), David Legwand (upper body injury sustained Saturday) and Scott Hartnell (broken foot – out until April) remain out of the lineup…

Newly acquired Penguins’ forward Gary Roberts was a minus-3 in his first two games with Pittsburgh. His ice time dropped in his second game to under 14 minutes and he was removed from the top line. On this fast team, do not expect Roberts to play above the third line unless it is against a tough, punishing team…

Paul Mara is the New York Rangers new power-play quarterback. He has one point in two games with the Blueshirts and has logged an average of 22 minutes per game. The 27-year-old will thrive in New York. He still has another year remaining on his contract after this one and is worth a pickup in keeper leagues…

Bryan Smolinski logged over 21 minutes in his Vancouver debut and picked up an assist. He played on a line with Markus Naslund and Jan Bulis. Given the team’s limited options up front, Smolinski is a dark horse to compile nearly a point per game down the stretch…

Hossa has 13 points in his last 14 games and even though he was shut out of Saturday’s contest, he was still the game’s first star after potting the winner in a shootout. Did I mention it was “Marcel” Hossa…not “Marion”? The younger Hossa brother has finally found the heart and determination that had been lacking in his game. Whether he keeps it or not remains to be seen, but for the time being he is playing extremely well…

Wade Redden battled groin injuries at the beginning of the season and returned to the lineup far too soon on several occasions. Eventually, a chest injury forced him out of the lineup and he was able to properly rest his groin at the same time. Since returning from that injury, the 29-year-old Ottawa rearguard is back to his old self with 24 points in 30 games…

Buffalo’s Jochen Hecht is taking advantage of the extra power-play time left by all his injured colleagues. He has 19 points in his last 15 games and you can expect more of the same as long as all the Buffalo forwards are on the shelf. Newcomer Dainius Zubrus has already found himself on a line with Adam Mair and Michael Ryan. His fantasy value has plummeted since losing Alexander Ovechkin for a linemate…