THANK YOU DobberHockey readers (and contributors)! I have achieved my goal of sending 50 kids to an AHL game here in Toronto on March 27. You guys really stepped up. I’ll be finalizing the arrangements with the Children’s Aid Society and with the Marlies today and will fill you in on details as they come in. But bottom line – 50 tickets bought and donated by the DobberHockey community. These are kids who would otherwise not be watching any professional hockey games this year (if ever).

If you haven’t picked it up yet, THN’s Future Watch is out. I always enjoy that issue.

Mikhail Grabovski is expected back in Toronto’s lineup tonight. Look for him to possibly get a crack on a line with Kessel.

You could see Mathieu Schneider in the Phoenix lineup sometime this week. He’s probably worth a gamble, although his best days are obviously behind him. With Aucoin, Yandle and Jovanovski already in the lineup, it will be interesting to see who suffers as a result.

The Caps have been rotating Theodore and Varlamov, and it has been clear that Theodore has been the better netminder. However, he has had his hot spurts in the past and much as the team would like to ride their higher paid goalie into the playoffs, I predict that Varlamov will again be their man in the end.

‘Miss the Net’ Modin has three points in three games for the Kings after posting two last night. After seeing his first game that he played just 10 minutes in, I had not expected this. But his ice time has inched up past the 16 minute mark and he has been playing with Wayne Simmonds and Michal Handzus. On the second PP unit he is out there with Dustin Brown and Alex Frolov.

Speaking of Frolov, he has 13 points in his last nine games. One of the streakiest players in the league, you had to know that his 45-point pace wasn’t going to last. He’s a 60 to 70-point player so this streak should continue for a few games yet, as his current pace is 56.

Modin, by the way, was acquired by the Kings for nothing. If the Kings win the Stanley Cup, then Columbus gets a seventh-round draft pick. Interesting…

The Bruins are using the “S” word when discussing possibilities for Marc Savard. As in “Season”.
Ottawa has extended d-man Brian Lee for another two years. At 22, he still has four or five years before putting up the 50 points I think he can reach. In the meantime, just sticking in the NHL full time would be a nice step.

Rick Nash suffered a lower body injury last night that apparently is related to his time in the Olympics, according to Puck Rakers. He left the game against the Kings and will probably not play in their next game.

With Kristian Huselius out with a hand injury and Nash leaving the game, it was interesting to see Jakub Voracek’s ice time remain steady at 16:25. Also interesting that last night was the first game in seven in which he didn’t record a point. He had eight in six games before that.

Steve Mason stopped just nine of 13 shots before getting the hook. He was on fire heading into the Olympics, but as Goldman preaches a lot on this site  – goalies need rhythm. The two weeks off killed his turnaround and he is winless since the break. He has allowed 10 goals on 88 shots.

Denis Grebeshkov will be out 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury. With Shea Weber also doubtful, the team recalled Alexander Sulzer.

The Tennessean reports these line combos: Arnott with Wilson and Erat; Goc with Hornqvist and Sullivan; Legwand with Ward and Smithson; and then four players (Dumont, Boyd, O’Reilly, Tootoo) rotating on the fourth line. Not good news for Dumont owners.