Jeff Tambellini has been recalled. Peter Schaeffer has been sent to Manitoba, but I hear that he will not report there. Hmmmm…

Henrik Karlsson will get the start for Calgary tonight.

Matt Stajan will not play tonight. Like I said, he was knocked into next week. The Flames seem to think he’ll be back on the weekend. Wanna bet?

Olli Jokinen will take Stajan’s spot on the top line.

Indications are that Varlamov will get the start for the Caps tonight.

Bobrovsky will get the start for Philly tonight against Minnesota, and a chance to re-prove himself, as newer goalies tend to have to do. Constantly.

OEL has been sent back to San Antonio by the ‘Yotes.

Just read that Eric Staal will play his 500th NHL game tonight. He’s only 26.

Good use of Jiri Tlusty – stick him on a line with Troy Bodie and Ryan Carter. It will be Carter’s first game with the ‘Canes.

Matt Lombardi still has not been cleared for exercise.

Dan Sexton and Nick Bonino have been yo-yoed recalled from Syracuse.

Interesting to see that Antti Niemi will get the start against the Blackhawks.

Josh Bailey has been sent “on loan” to Bridgeport of the AHL. Chris Botta reports that if he plays one more NHL game then he has to clear waivers before such a move. So the Isles do this to beat that deadline. That’s the kind of shake-up a struggling team needs, along with a new coach.

The Oilers, on the other hand, chose to shake things up by…er …sending Shawn Belle to the minors. Nice. Problems are all solved now.

The Oilers are 3-11-4 in their last 18. This team is much better than that, but it is easy to see what their weaknesses are. At this point, moves have to be made and it’s far enough into the season that it won’t be seen as “knee jerk”. One, land a couple of tough, defensive defensemen. Dubnyk is doing the trick in net, so they need a quality stay-at-home guy. Vandermeer doesn’t cut it, Belle isn’t NHL ready and Strudwick shouldn’t even be in the NHL anymore. The team needs three to replace them, plus a fourth two-way d-man who can play on occasion and make Tom Gilbert a healthy scratch. Right now, that guy needs to be punished, but they have nobody to turn to. So how can they land these defensemen? By including some of their supposed blue chips up front – Cogliano, Brule, and prospects like Hartikainen and Rajala. Don’t worry about selling their youth – they have enough youth already on the team or on the cusp. Two, they need a new coach. Even as is, this is not a team that should be in last place. Hold someone accountable. Rant out. Dobber for GM!

Two more AHL goals for Linus Omark last night. In an, um, unrelated story.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson picked up an assist in his return to the NHL. He didn’t see an PP time though, as Schlemko and Morris split the duties beyond Yandle.

Martin Hanzal has five points in his last five games. You know my thoughts on him for this season.

Note to Bruce Boudreau – putting Matt Bradley and Marcus Johnsson on Alex Ovechkin’s line is not going to shake the slump. You know that line will not last, so why kid yourself by even giving it a look?

The Kings have recalled Alec Martinez from Manchester and assigned Jake Muzzin there.

Ben Eager is currently on the top line with Nik Antropov and Alexander Burmistrov. He has four points and is plus-2 in his last eight games… but that comes at a price: he has just six PIM in that span.

Just found out that Erik Karlsson was a healthy scratch Monday. Watch him bounce back strong from that.

Nathan Gerbe practiced on the top PP unit, as Tim Connolly will be out for tonight with a groin injury (and a black eye to boot).

Also out for tonight – Ryan Miller.

The Wild sent Casey Wellman back to the minors to make room for Patrick O’Sullivan.

The Isles have recalled Travis Hamonic and the young rearguard will make his NHL debut tonight.