Angus here. Got a fantasy hockey question to ask? I’ll be answering them in this thread. The cut off for questions is 10pm EST/7pm PST.

The beginning of the end? Rod the Bod will be a healthy scratch tonight.

As is the case 48 percent of the time – my hunch was wrong. Sid the Kid WILL be playing tonight against Carolina.

Tarik El-Bashir is reporting that Mike Knuble is aiming for a Friday return.

Denis Grebeshkov is skating this morning.

Vesa Toskala will get the start for the Leafs. He’s not fully healthy IMO and we haven’t see a fully healthy Vesa Toskala in nearly two years.

Alex Goligoski is doubtful for tonight. The Pens are keeping a very tight lid on Crosby – my hunch is that he won’t play and take one more game off.

James van Riemsdyk has one point in his last seven games. He needs to dominate a game soon or risk be pigeonholed on the third line by his new coach for the rest of the year. His current pace is 64 points, but I’ll pencil him in for 59 until I see how he performs under Laviolette.

I knew it had to be a mistake – Paul Kariya has seen at least 18 minutes of ice time in eight of his last 10 games and has six points in that span. He has five points in his last five. His current pace is 39 points and that is obviously quite low. Look for 57, which means 44 in his next 55 games.

Brooks Laich went five games in a row back in October without a point. Since then, he hasn’t been shut down more than one game. He is on pace for 70, which is about where I peg his upside.

I’ve been waiting for Wojtek Wolski to stumble. Long-time readers know that I’m not the biggest fan – I don’t like his inconsistency and never thought of him as a potential star in the first place. However, color me wrong. He has points in 13 of his last 15 games and the longest stretch he has gone with goose-eggs is three games. That’s consistent enough for me. His current pace is 71, I think he’ll come in at around 65. His upside is 75…maybe 80 if he is indeed for real.

Antti Mietinen has eight points in his last six games. He is a streaky player – his streaks are usually long ones, too. He’s now back on track to top last year’s career high 44 points.

Joffrey Lupul scored his third goal in two games last night. He’s on fire playing on that top line.
Other than a horrible game on Thursday, Jimmy Howard has been decent of late, going 3-1-0 and 2.25. His season to date numbers, with virtually identical minutes played, is far superior to Chris Osgood’s.

Ray Emery is 0-4-0 in his last five games and his SP was .814. Brian Boucher will start tonight.

The Kings recalled Oscar Moller. He has 18 points in 25 AHL games and is 14th on my prospects list.
My favorite candidates to fall out of the Top 8 in the West: Nashville and Colorado, in that order. My favorite to take their place: Vancouver and Columbus, in that order. Detroit is in the mix as well, but they’ll have their work cut out for them.

In the East: Tampa Bay and Ottawa, with Philly and the Rangers getting in. OTT will be in a dogfight with BUF and NYR to stay in. Just my early thoughts, for those of you in leagues with a postseason component.
The Red Wings average 2.00 goals per game this season in the three games that they played without Rafalski. That number is nearly 3.00 when he’s in the lineup. Granted, the sample size is small, but so many good offensive players are hurt on this team that losing even one more – be it Cleary, Rafalski, Zetterberg, whatever – would have more of an impact than it normally would.

Alex Ovechkin returns from suspension tonight. Indications are that his knee is just fine – and that he’s angry.

Andrei Loktionov, ranked 82 on my prospects list, suffered a shoulder injury last week and is out for four months. I neglected to mention it her last week, but thought I would note it.

I think Angus pointed out this interview with Nikita Filatov, but I like some of this quotes. Such as: “I am almost certain that I will come to Columbus’ training camp in September.” I’m not – I believe he will be moved.

Another quote, on being a healthy scratch in Columbus: “Sometimes it’s better than getting three minutes of ice time. You changed, you’re sitting on the bench. You don’t know when you’re going to come out [on the ice], your muscles are cold. And you must not make a mistake during your shift. Anything can happen in that 40 seconds. I would be happy if I could play on the third line with Columbus, I would get some power play time. If I could actually play. And didn’t feel myself like a fool, as if you’re sitting in the stands wearing skates and jump out of there from time to time to get out on the ice with tough guys.”

St. Louis line combos, via the Morning Skate: Backes, with Kariya and Oshie; Berglund with Tkachuk and Perron; McDonald with Boyes and Winchester. McClement, with Steen and Crombeen.

After going pointless and minus-1 last game, Bryan Rodney was demoted to the AHL and Jay Harrison recalled. He needs to take more advantage of his opportunities. At 25, there won’t be too many of them left, perhaps another 18 months or so of recalls and then the team will move on to other prospects.

Carcillo’s cold-cock that got him suspended: