Update: Spezza may not be back until after the Olympic break. They’re talking eight weeks, which at that point he may as well take a few more days off and then get the extended break to be sure.

The Flyers have claimed Michael Leighton. That sounds much better than John Grahame. However, until Boucher starts losing again (he’s coming off a win), don’t expect Leighton to start anything other than one of back-to-back game nights.

Update: Spezza has suffered a knee injury and will be out for “WEEKS” according to the Ottawa Sun. This opens the door for the likes of Ryan Shannon to get some ice time, though I wouldn’t act on that unless I saw him get 17 minutes and two points next game. I can’t see it being beneficial for anyone else – Mike Fisher is already doing well.

The Isles got hammered but the line of Joensuu, Hunter and Schremp struck again for a goal. Very promising, and could turn things around for Schremp and could kick off Joensuu’s NHL career for good. It’s early yet, but I’ll be watching this line.

Running the report generator on our Frozen Pool feature (you can access this via “fantasy tools” on the left, or at the top in the banner) – the top producers of the past month are:
Weiss 22 pts in 18 gms
Thorton 22 pts in 14 gms
H.Sedin 22 pts in 13 gms
Crosby 21 pts in 13 gms
Horton 21 pts in 18 gms

The combo of Weiss and Horton has really been on fire. Weiss is the subject of my Hockey News article today.

While those guys have been hot, Steven Reinprecht has been relied upon much less. He has just two points in his last seven contests and will continue to slow down until he is back to his 40-point self.

Brian Boucher stopped 26 of 27 last night for the win.

Rick DiPietro has suffered a setback. He removed himself from the last AHL game he started and will miss his next scheduled start due to tightness. They are being careful with him. Don’t expect to see him before mid-January (my words, not the official word).

Tyler Seguin was among the cuts for Team Canada’s WJC team. He has 51 points in 29 games for Plymouth of the OHL, which is third behind Taylor Hall, who has 59 points in 34 games. There was some discussion that perhaps Seguin could go before Hall in next year’s draft, but Hall is still with Team Canada… so that should close that discussion.

Mike Grier returned to the Buffalo lineup last night and so Mark Mancari was sent back down. That implies that Nathan Gerbe will also be sent back down when he recovers from his groin injury. Great cup of coffee this time though.

Brandon Dubinsky was back in the Rangers lineup, and thrown right back on Marian Gaborik’s line. They had a pilon on the other wing. Oops, I mean Chris Higgins – sorry about that, pilon. Dubinsky played 24 minutes, so it’s clear that the team will be relying on him to step it up quickly.

Other Ranger line combos: Drury with Prospal and Callahan; Anisimov with Avery and Kotalik; Boyle with Lisin and Brashear.

The love affair with Lisin is quite obviously over – in the last seven games, Lisin has been scratched four times and has played a combined 13 minutes over the course of the other three games. Easy prediction here for Lisin in 2010-11: 17 goals, 11 assists and 28 points in the KHL. Lisin had eight points in 12 games to start the season, which gave the Rangers the depth needed to win hockey games. Now the depth guys like Lisin and Kotalik aren’t scoring to save their life so the Rags are struggling.

Afinogenov has managed just one point in his last seven games. He is a minus-9 in that span. Now John Anderson knows what drove Lindy Ruff nuts.

Johan Hedberg is 5-1-0, 0.944 SP in his last seven contests. And you wonder why Pavelec isn’t getting starts anymore? Hedberg is 9-3 vs. Pavelec 8-8-3

Steve Sullivan has 17 points in his last 16 games. Prior to that he had five points in 17 games and we were all worried…weren’t we? He leads the Preds in scoring now and will continue to post a point per game.

Nick Spaling has been recalled by the Preds, as Jordin Tootoo is out for 3-4 weeks. Spaling has yet to play an NHL game.

Jason Spezza left last night’s contest with a lower body injury. Bruce Garrioch reports that he was nowhere to be seen this morning in practice. Josh Hennessy has been recalled.

Sully’s hat trick – real quick: