Pittsburgh is hoping for a March return from Crosby. Hoping and March… I don’t like the sounds of that at all. Dustin Jeffrey, come on down!

Extremely timely column by duballstar014 over on the forums – Kovalev to Pittsburgh?

Malkin out for the year – fantasy impact is huge. I’ll have more in a few hours.

Jordan Eberle recorded two points in his return to the Edmonton lineup last night.

Andy McDonald also had a point in his first game back from a concussion. Look for him to have a strong second half.

Roberto Luongo was sensational last night, just like he has been over the past three months. He stopped over 40 shots, including a combined 20 from Kane, Hossa, and Sharp. His good season is due to a few reasons – more rest because of a better back up, a better team in front of him, and less pressure without the captaincy (in my humble opinion, at least).

Ovechkin and Backstrom combined for eight points last night. Is this 2009-10?

The NHL has a new scoring leader – Daniel Sedin tallied two last night to move past Steven Stamkos into first place.

There aren't many players hotter than Teddy Purcell right now.  He has nine points in his past four games. Maybe the skilled but inconsistent winger is starting to figure the NHL out?

Peter Forsberg says he is nearing a decision. Oh, the anticipation!

Travis Zajac has seven points in his last 10 games. Not overly impressive but still worth mentioning after his brutal start to the season.

Evgeni Malkin returned last night after missing a few games with a knee injury/sinus infection, but he promptly left the game after injuring his knee again in the second period.

Dustin Jeffrey scored for the Penguins and has four points in his last five games. He played over five minutes on the PP last night.

Kris Letang was pointless, but he led all Pittsburgh players with seven shots on goal.

Steve Mason played like it was December 2008 last night, stoning the Red Wings on way to his 17^th career shutout. His best game in a long, long time.

Matt Calvert has points in consecutive games for the Jackets. I'll sound like a broken record – one of my favourite prospects in the game. Don't count him out – he's skilled, tenacious, and smart. He saw a regular shift on the power play as well.

Matthew Lombardi is still experiencing post-concussion syndromes. He hasn't played since October 13^th. If it wasn't for the emergence of Colin Wilson (and Cal O'Reilly, before he got hurt), the Preds would really be missing Lombardi in the top six.

Adam Burish broke his orbital bone after getting clocked by Andrew Ference on Thursday night. Burish doesn't have much fantasy value, but that Bruins/Stars game sure was a fun one to watch!

Jaro Halak is out with an upper-body injury. Some are speculating that it may be a hand injury, but the Blues aren't saying anything. Conklin will get the starts in the meantime, and Ben Bishop has recalled.

For the life of me I can't explain why the Oilers aren't playing Dubnyk more. Khabibulin hasn't won a game since 2005 (at least it seems that way), and Dubnyk has been pretty solid this season, all things considered.

Also, one would think a young team would be willing (and more inclined) to go through the ups and downs with a younger goalie.

John Moore will play tonight for the Blue Jackets. It will be interesting to see how much power play time he gets.

Justin Bourne with an interesting column on why goalies dislike long-range shots.

Zach Hamill has been recalled by the Bruins. Look for him to skate on the third line with Wheeler and Ryder. Hamill has been a bit of a disappointment since being drafted a few years ago, but it is way too early to write him off.

Riemer is starting for the Leafs tonight. On that subject, the Leafs have sent down Jonas Gustavsson to the AHL on a conditioning stint.

Mike Fisher's NMC has expired, but how many teams out there would be interested in a decent second line center making $4.2 million per for a few more years? If Fisher was an impending free agent Washington would be a perfect fit.

One reason for Keith Ballard's strong play lately – he has moved back to the left side, where he is much more comfortable. He has been skating with impressive rookie Chris Tanev. Look for Sami Salo to slide alongside Ballard once he is ready to return.

Peter Mueller has skated on consecutive days now. Fantastic news for Colorado fans and Mueller owners. I'd pick him up ASAP and find some place to stash him (if he is available in your league, of course).

Is Washington prospect Dmitri Orlov on his way to North America? Orlov has immense upside – great skater, good shot, fantastic offensive instincts.

Dion Phaneuf has three goals in his last 61 games.

I'm not surprised Adam Burish broke his face:

The passing on this goal is absolutely sick: