Halak is starting tonight, and you can be sure that many NHL teams will send scouts to watch him play.

Both Toskala and Elliott let in awful goals yesterday. Vesa's was a soft wrister from way out, while Elliott had a puck ramp off of his stick and go right over his head (crossing the line in the process).

Steve Stamkos scored twice last night, and he played over 21 minutes. Still close to a 50 goal pace (47 right now).

I think it is a joke that TSN is listing Marty St. Louis as a bubble player for Canada. Are you kidding me? He is an easy lock for the team in my eyes.

Alex Picard is quietly having na fantasy worthy season. He is on pace for 10 goals and 34 points. He has just over a shot per game, and needs to fire the puck more – he possesses an absolute bomb from the point.

The majority of the Wild players lost everything in the fire, and there is a flu circulating around the team as well according to Michael Russo. Should be an easy win for the Sens (or as easy as a win in the NHL gets).

Brodeur is playing tonight. Why is this noteworthy? Because his first name is Mike! Ottawa prospect Mike Brodeur is making his NHL debut.

Does Patrice Bergeron have a shot at making Team Canada? Mike Richards may be playing himself off the team, opening up a fourth line spot.

Kari Lehtonen has begun skating and is working himself into game shape. He will most likely be sent down on a conditioning stint once he gets closer to playing.

Vesa Toskala allowed four goals on 10 shots last night. Jonas Gustavsson was good in mop-up duty, allowing only one goal on 17 shots.

Henrik Sedin pushed his point streak to nine consecutive games with an assist on Mason Raymond's second period tally.

Henrik Zetterberg is out for two weeks with a slight shoulder separation. Probably good news considering how bad he looked after being walloped by Mattias Ohlund on Thursday night.

Will be interesting to see how the Wild cope after the equipment fire yesterday. Goaltender Nik Backstrom lost everything, and all of the players have custom equipment, skates, sticks, and so on. In addition, some players lost custom-made braces. It often takes weeks to break in new equipment, so they really are behind the eight ball here. There was speculation that they may ask the NHL to postpone the game tonight in Ottawa, but it appears that they will forge on with new gear.

Steve Downie missed his second straight game last night with a head injury. Rick Tocchet denied it was a concussion – maybe neck stiffness? Not sure what else it could be.

Lukas Krajicek was sent down to the minors after clearing waivers. He was a promising prospect with Florida after being drafted out of the OHL, but besides his fluid skating he never really brought much to the table at the NHL level. Will be remembered for being involved in the Luongo trade, and that is about it.

Funny story – Victor Hedman, James Wright, and Steven Stamkos all had to be escorted through the casino in the hotel that they were staying at in Detroit. All three are under 21, and thus not able to walk freely in casinos. Hell, Friday was Hedman's 19^th birthday! Even more insane is the fact that Stamkos is still eligible to participate in the World Junior Championships this season.

Pascal Leclaire practiced with his teammates on Friday and is close to returning.

Nikolai Khabibulin is remaining optimistic about his back, and is avoiding all talk of surgery, which would probably be season ending. Right now he is waiting to see if the cortisone shots he received earlier in the week will take effect.

Trevor Daley has been placed on the IR after injuring his shoulder against the Thrashers on Thursday night.

Don Waddell has denied that contract talks with Ilya Kovalchuk have reached an impasse. Not sure what needs to be "talked" about. Thrashers hand Kovy a blank cheque, and ask him to fill it in. If he doesn't want to, you deal him. Pretty straight forward to me!

Gustavsson is backing up Toskala tonight and is slated to start tomorrow.

Andrei Markov is making an early return to the Habs lineup. He is expected to suit up tonight against the Islanders, and it couldn't come at a better time. Montreal is coming off of a stinky loss against Minnesota, and needs some offense in a big way. Markov can run a power play miles better than anyone on Montreal's roster right now, so expect his impact to be immediate. Price owners should rejoice as well – Markov is such a calming influence in the defensive zone, and this allows them to scratch a weak link (Bergeron, Weber, and so on) .

Perusing the internet yesterday, I came across a very interesting and random factoid. The 9^th round from the 1994 NHL entry draft boasts a mind-boggling seven NHL goaltenders, including Tim Thomas, Johan Hedberg, Evgeni Nabokov (who were drafted consecutively), Tomas Vokoun, and John Grahame. Absolutely insane to see so much high-caliber talent go in the 9^th round.

I have posted this already, but still find it hilarious – the Maple Leafs are paying Andrew Raycroft more than the Canucks are right now. The Leafs are on the hook for over $700,000 because of the buyout, while Raycroft is being paid the league minimum $500,000 from the Canucks.

I'll have lots of updates tomorrow! Stay tuned for some good stuff on the Saturday match-ups!