Elliotte Friedman noted this a few days ago – if things go as expected during the first round of the OHL playoffs, Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall will face off in round two. You can bet the Oilers and Bruins will be watching that series very, very closely.

As many as six NHL teams are seriously pursuing Norwegian Olympic star Mats Zuccarello Assen. He is expected to sign with a team at some point in the next few weeks.

Kevin Bieksa has been cleared to return and will play tomorrow night against Ottawa.

Jonathan Bernier was the first goalie off the ice during the morning skate today, which means he will get the call tonight in between the pipes for LA.

Sean Avery will be a healthy scratch for the Rangers tonight.

Flames goalie coach Jamie McLennan, assessing Vesa Toskala, "There are a lot of teams that would love to have him as their No. 1. He’s an excellent goaltender, he’s got a great demeanour, he handles the puck well and his skill set is really good.” Good thing he isn't a scout!

Maxim Afinogenov is pointless in four games. He already has 50 points this season, which is more than Atlanta probably anticipated when they signed him for under a million bucks last summer. His pace has obviously slowed since the Ilya Kovalchuk trade.

Maksim Mayorov played only three minutes last night – he clearly won't get a shot to produce right now for the Blue Jackets.

The Avalanche have two lines firing right now offensively, which is a necessity in the playoffs. Stastny and Stewart combined for four points last night, and Galiardi brings a lot of speed and defensive awareness to that line. On the second unit, Matt Duchene has found chemistry with newcomer Peter Mueller, and Milan Hejduk brings some pop on the other wing. Mueller had an assist last night, and has yet to go pointless in a Colorado sweater.

Chris Higgins has now scored in consecutive games for the Flames. He is an interesting case – only two years ago many in Montreal were expecting him to develop into a Selke-calibre winger capable of scoring 30 goals every season. Obviously the lofty comparisons went to his head, as his work ethic (once his strong suit) went down the tube. He has a lot of motivation down the stretch here, as the Flames are in a dogfight for the final playoff spot, and he is slated to become a free agent this summer. Could be worth a pickup if you need a few goals.

San Jose scored eight goals last night (including six in the final frame), but that is more of a reflection of how bad Nashville played then how dominant the Sharks were. Joe Pavelski, who was benched at times during the first two periods for poor play, had four points in the final frame alone.

Ryan Suter pulled his best Tiger Woods impression (no, not in the bedroom), finishing the game with a dreadful minus-6 rating. Shea Weber was only marginally better at minus-5. I am sure there are a few of you that own both of them… ouch!

One bright spot for the Predators was the play of Colin Wilson. He had two points, finished the game with an even plus-minus rating, and played close to 20 minutes. He has flown under the radar this season because he missed some time with a groin injury, but he is fully healthy now. He could be centering Nashville's top line as early as next season.

Patrik Berglund has eight points in his last 10 games. His upside is huge (90+ points). It may take him a few years to get there, but he should have significant value in all keeper league formats.

I am continually dumbfounded how such a talented Flyer squad can struggle to score goals. Carter, Richards, Hartnell, Gagne, Briere, Giroux, the list goes on and on.

In Savard's absence, Bergeron had a strong game for the Bruins. He scored a goal and added two helpers. However, his ice time was below his season average. The fact that Boston was up big late in the game may have contributed towards this. David Krejci didn’t see elevated minutes either.

Brad Marchand played 11 minutes and was pointless. It was his first game with the Bruins since November. He was one of my favourite players to watch in junior hockey, and he has translated some of his successes over into the AHL (32 points in 34 games this season with Providence). It remains to be seen what kind of player he will be with the Bruins, but he has the upside to be a solid second line forward.

I am very impressed with the play of Tyler Bozak lately. He was handed a top line spot without really earning it, but he definitely is earning it now. He is a great skater and has immense offensive upside, but most of all he is a very smart hockey player. He reads the play at an elite level and that will allow him to excel. Depending on how Toronto approaches free agency, he could hit 70 points next season. That number would only be realistic if he played on the top unit with Kessel, though.

Steve Stamkos has 21 points in his last 10 games, and is on pace for approximately 55 goals this season. Those worries about him last season seem pretty comical right now.

Luca Caputi had two helpers last night. He skated on a line with Viktor Stalberg, and the two looked pretty good together. There is a lot of size on that line, as both players are 6'3". Caputi isn't as solidly built as Stalberg, but he uses his frame effectively. Stalberg has NHL size and speed, and he could become a 30 goal scorer if the hands and shot catch up.

Don't forget to join the 'Down the Stretch' Contest. Submissions for Week 1 are due on Sunday at midnight EST. The winner each week will receive an autographed photo of either Ribeiro, Sullivan, Spezza, or Boyes. DobberHockey members with over 1000 posts get a bit of a head start – nothing major but just a small way of saying thanks for helping grow the community!

Alex Goligoski was expected to be a 40 point defenseman for the Penguins this year, especially after they moved Ryan Whitney to Anaheim. However, he has missed some time due to injury, and his production has obviously suffered. Goligoski does have 30 points in 55 games, which prorates to well over 40 points in 82 games. He should hit the 50 point mark next year, and 60 may be possible depending on whether Pittsburgh brings back Sergei Gonchar.

Zach Boychuk has earned a spot in Carolina's lineup for the rest of the season, as the Hurricanes want to see what they have with him going forward. He is averaging only around 10 minutes per game, but he did find the back of the net last night. Expect his ice time to increase if he can continue to produce.

Brandon Sutter left the game in the first period with a leg injury. Apparently it isn't serious.

Andrei Markov had quite the night for Montreal on Thursday. He played over 27 minutes (including almost 10 on the power play), finishing the game with two assists, two shots on goal, and a plus-3 rating.

Andrew Cogliano scored his first goal in 21 games last night. He had back-to-back 18 goal seasons in 2007-08 and 2008-09, but will be lucky to hit 10 this year.

I didn't watch a second of the Islanders/Blues game last night, and I doubt I am alone there. Watching the highlights, both Mason and Biron had very strong starts.

Alex Steen recorded a helper and saw over five minutes of power play time. As long as he continues to see shifts with the man advantage, he will have fantasy value.

Alexei Ponikarovsky saw only 13:45 of ice time last night, and was pointless. Not sure if he got hurt or not – I am sure someone will be able to fill me in.

Marc-Andre Fleury got the night off last night, as he has been incredibly inconsistent for the Penguins over his most recent ten starts. His GAA, starting ten games ago, has gone 0.92, 4.00, 5.08, 4.78, 1.00, 2.40, 2.82, 7.31, 3.01, and 1.00.

Chris Pronger is still searching for his jock after getting dangled by Patrice Bergeron:

An absolute BEAUTY of a goal last night in the QMJHL – go to the 5:56 mark to check it out: