Goldie: Was asked about Halak’s struggles, so here’s my full-blown answer. Brodeur re-aggravated his elbow tonight. Rask pitched a 41-save shutout and Gustavsson was also brilliant. I have been stressing to owners to be patient with Rinne and he notched a shutout tonight.

How does the White trade affect McBain/Corvo? I am not sure, at this point. White is pretty solid in his own zone (not this season, though), but his value is in his passing and offensive ability.

McBain hasn’t been as productive as I had expected/hoped. His struggles aren’t a huge shock though – the young offensive defenseman is the toughest type of player to project, as so much of their production is ice time dependant (compared to other types of players).

McBain’s 2:37 power play minutes per game ranks him fourth on the team behind Corvo, Pitkanen, and Babchuk, who was traded for White.

Corvo has been decent at times – he is way more one-dimensional than White, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him continue to carry the PP duties.

It's official – the big four exists. Welcome to the club, Steven!

Dobber still disagrees with me, though.

Logan Couture has seven points in his past six contests. If he keeps playing this well, he could find his name mentioned in Calder Trophy discussions at the end of the season.

Couture is a lot like Pavelski – not overly flashy, but very strong at all aspects of the game.

Liles – two more helpers. He looks to be back on track after a brief slump. As I mentioned on the TEAM1040 on Monday, he is benefitting from lack of competition among Colorado defensemen.

Wolski has seven points in 10 games after a brutal start to the season. His goal last night was pretty weak, but his play has improved.

Speaking of competition for Liles, Shattenkirk scored his first career goal last night.

Justin Williams has goals in seven of LA’s past 10. If he can stay healthy, look for a return to the 30 goal mark.

A big reason for the improved defensive play in Anaheim – Toni Lydman's return.

Ever since his agent complained about a lack of ice time to the media, Marty Havlat has been playing a lot. Agents out there, take note!

In his last seven games, Havlat has played less than 18 minutes only twice. He has eight points in that span as well.

Cam Barker is on pace for zero goals and 15 assists. Fantasy relevance is close to none. I have never been a fan – he simply isn't a good defenseman at the NHL level.

Rafalski had three helpers last night – by far his most productive game since returning from injury.

Andy McDonald has seven points in three games. That sound you hear is the buy low window closing.

Patrik Berglund is right where I expected him to be – on pace for 20 goals and 30 assists. Anything more would be gravy.

Colaiacovo was pointless last night (after recording two in the previous game), but he has taken his spot back on the top power play group, bumping Johnson back down to the second unit.

Dan Cleary (who I just picked up in the Experts League) is on fire – 12 points in his past eight games.

Eric Staal exploded for three goals and two assists last night against the Sens. Good thing I benched Elliott in favour of Cam Ward…

The Pittsburgh game last night (I don't get to see the Penguins as much as I'd like) was a perfect example as to what Sidney Crosby could do with real wingers – Pascal Dupuis must have screwed up at least a half-dozen high quality scoring chances.

I imagine this happens on a pretty frequent basis. It isn't Pascal's fault… he simply isn't a top line player and is playing way above where he should.

Bogosian, a player who I projected for 18 goals this season, finally scored his first last night. He has been battling injury and is on the outside looking in with respect to the top PP unit (Enstrom-Byfuglien).

Byfuglien left the game after blocking a shot… no word on his injury yet.

Both Pavelec and Vokoun were awesome. It is great to see Pavelec playing so well after his scary incident last month. Mason has been struggling so I'd look for Atlanta to start leaning on him more and more.

An interesting blog about hockey in Texas – the AHL, prospects, and more. Check it out.

Fleischmann was a healthy scratch for the Caps last night.

Neuvirth had a great game – his only poor performances this season can be directly attributed to fatigue.

If he can rest every five or six games, he looks very sharp, quick, and confident in net.

Nate Gerbe played last night – he had missed eight games with a jaw injury beforehand. He's a few years and/or a few injuries away from really being fantasy relevant.

Jordan Leopold has nine points in his previous 10 games. He is fitting in well with the Sabres (and vice versa… they really needed a puck-moving defenseman after losing both Tallinder and Lydman this summer).

Leopold is playing a lot with offensive players which is the key – he has a horrible shot and will never produce offense on his own.

Johnny Boychuk sat out last night but he did take the pre-game warmup. Look for him to return to the Boston lineup next game.

The Bruins continue to impress me – top to bottom they are probably the most balanced team in the league (and this is without arguably their two best offensive players in Savard and Krejci).

Brandon Dubinsky scored a goal and played close to 23 minutes. Tortorella likes to ride his favorites hard – Dubinsky is obviously one of them.

Derek Stepan has three points in his last three games, and his ice time is creeping back up to the 15 point mark.

If you live in the Lower Mainland, make sure you clear your schedule for the evening of Thursday, December 9th. Dobber is flying out from the Center of the Hockey Universe (close enough), and he will be joining me for beer, prizes, and hockey chat at the River Rock Casino and Resort in Richmond, BC (just over the bridge from Vancouver).

Corey Perry makes a line change the hard way:

Jaroslav Halak with perhaps the strangest own goal you will ever see:

Nabokov deked out his jock strap in the KHL: