There are rumors circulating that the Hurricanes have called a press conference for later this afternoon. I doubt it is a trade, and I doubt Maurice is going to be fired. Brind’Amour retiring?

Maybe the press conference is to praise the recent play of Joni Pitkanen?!

Chris Connor is playing tonight for the Pens.

Josh Harding is starting tonight, as Nik Backstrom will sit out with a minor back injury.

Garnet Exelby wants a trade, according to Brian Burke. Rotoworld puts it best – any suitors out there looking for a sixth defenseman (a bit optimistic) that has trouble skating?

If the Rangers continue their slide, the deadline could be interesting for them. I wouldn’t expect Glen Sather to stick around past this season, although the same thing has been said many times over the past few years. The Rangers have lots of young talent ready to play in the NHL, but some awful contracts (Redden and Drury, especially) stand in the way.

Chicago and San Jose are battling for top spot in the league tonight.

Join the Olympic Pool! Tell your friends! Top 10 finishers all get prizes, including a few signed jerseys. Funniest team name gets a signed photo. Check it out!

Beauty Lecavalier goal from last night:

I did one of my “ask a question” topics over on the message boards yesterday. Answered around 60 questions. I’ll try and do it as often as I can – hoping for once a week. Seems to be popular, and I have noticed that we have a few new posters coming on to ask. Always good to convert those readers and lurkers to posters and active members!

I’ll have some more deadline stuff out this week, and then the Olympic Previews will begin! I’ll do a team-by-team breakown, with a focus on the fantasy side of things of course.

Lukas Krajicek, once a prized offensive prospect, has apparently gone MIA on the Norfolk Admirals. He failed to report to both the morning skate yesterday and the game last night. Maybe he fled for the KHL?

The Flames lost their eighth straight game, even after getting out to a 3-1 lead over the Stars. Iginla finally hit the scoresheet with a goal, his first in 12 games.

Mikael Backlund played just under nine minutes and was pointless. Was hoping for more ice time, but I guess the Flames wanted to shelter him on the road.

Olli Jokinen scored as well, only his second goal in his past 10. He is still shooting the puck a ton, with 41 shots over that span.

Chris Osgood continues to show why the Wings need to ride Jimmy Howard. Ozzie let in five on only 25 shots against the Minnesota Wild. I didn’t see the game or any highlights (yet), but I can’t imagine he played good at all.

The Caps exploded for four goals in the final frame to win their eighth straight. Shaone Morrisonn scored his first of the year. Fitting, as I was debating whether to pick him up in one of my pools – I am lacking in defensive GP and could use the +/- boost as well as the assist boost (he had three helpers over the past few games before tonight).

I forgot to mention this last night, but Kronwall’s return should have a huge impact in Detroit. They simply don’t have a defenseman as dynamic as he is. Not a great night to be praising a Detroit player with the loss, but he will definitely help them out down the stretch.

Chris Connor with a beauty in the AHL:

Antero Niittymaki, whose name I can finally spell without having to look up (don’t even get me started on Paul Szczechura…) was fantastic, stopping all 33 shots in a shutout win over the Habs.

Ryan Miller put on a clinic last night against the Devils, stopping 39 of 40 shots. Marty was just as good, stopping all but one of the 31 he faced. Low scoring games are often boring, but not with two of the world’s best playing.

As I have said before, Cam Ward is way too good of a goalie for Carolina to be the worst team in the league. Ward had 38 saves against the Rangers and is a great buy low candidate for keeper leagues. The Hurricanes will be young next year, but they have a lot of near-ready NHL talent playing on the farm.

The streaky Antti Miettinen had 10 points in his last 10 games after scoring twice last night.

The Sedins were actually held off the scoresheet for once, but Vancouver’s secondary scoring game through in a big way. Mason Raymond, who refuses to go into any sort of slump, had two goals and an assist, and Ryan Kesler had three helpers. I thought the Blues (Polak and Jackman in particular) played the Sedins very well.

Matt Beleskey is making his way on to my fantasy radar. He isn’t producing at a high rate, but is getting lots of ice time. He played over 16 minutes last night – often times with young players ice time is the first step to production.

Steve Downie is going to be an absolute fantasy monster very soon. He has a ton of offensive skill – I hate when he gets compared to Avery, Ott, and Cormier, as it really sells him short as a hockey player. Sure, he may have a screw or two come loose at times, but he is a fantastic playmaker and he really sees the ice well in the offensive zone. Rick Tocchet loves him and he has found great chemistry with Marty St. Louis and Stamkos on the Bolts top unit.

He is currently on pace for 40 points and 200 PIM, which is pretty valuable on its own. Imagine if he can become a 70 point, 200+ PIM player? Pat Verbeek-lite. Speaking of Verbeek, go check his career stats – he had some MONSTER fantasy seasons, long before I was playing unfortunately.

Eric Staal must think that being the Captain means he can only score goals! He now has seven goals and no assists in four games since getting the “C.”

Ty Conklin was decent – let in a few suspect goals though, especially the winner. It was only his second back to back start of the season.

Christan Ehrhoff scored the winning goal and played over 28 minutes. With three of Vancouver’s top four defensemen out, Ehrhoff and Edler (and Shane O’Brien) have stepped up in a big way. More ice time usually means less points for depth defensemen (more responsibility defensively, more PK minutes, etc. but Ehrhoff is finding a way to produce.

Interesting stat – Washington was scoreless last night in the second period – the first time in 13 periods that they haven’t scored a goal. Amazing!

Here are some photos of Ryan Miller’s Team USA mask for the Olympics.

Per Rich Hammond, the Kings have already sent an offer to Atlanta, and the Thrashers have countered. Things are heating up! Don’t expect a deal to go down before the Olympics (officially, at least). I doubt a team wants to be on the hook for two weeks of salary, especially considering Kovy (and any player participating in the games, for that matter) could get injured.

Scott Gomez showed something besides his ability to glide around the ice last night, for once. He got into a surprising scrum with Tampa defenseman Victor Hedman. Gomez, along with Patrick O’Sullivan, would make up two-thirds of my “pillow” line. Assuming you understand what I am getting at, who would you put with them to complete the line?

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Mark Fistric got tossed last night for hitting Eric Nystrom in the head with his own helmet during a fight. Check it out: