Daniel Sedin’s wife had their third child last night – he will play tomorrow in Detroit.

The Wings will be without Franzen, Datsyuk, Hudler, and probably Bertuzzi as well.

According to a Swedish paper, Marcus Kruger is going to join the Blackhawks next week. With Bolland and potentially Sharp both injured, Kruger may see some time with the big club right away.

The 20-year-old Kruger had 35 points in 52 games in the SEL this past season. He’s a good playmaker and is excellent defensively. Projects as a very good two-way center (either second or third line) at the NHL level.

The Capitals are resting a slightly injured Ovechkin for the next seven to 10 days (not games, a typo on my part). Just in time for the playoffs in many fantasy leagues…

Jordan Staal has seven points in his last four games.

Kris Letang has two points in his last 10 games. I wonder where he'd be numbers-wise had Crosby not sustained a concussion?

Nick Lidstrom had two helpers last night, his first point(s) in four games. Is he the favourite for the Norris once again this year? I may be a tad biased towards a certain other defenseman…

The fourth annual Prime Cuts team is close to being unveiled. This year, I am putting a contest together. The winner will receive an autographed 8×10 photograph (with certificate) of Teemu Selanne. More info on the contest here.

As usual, Dean Youngblood's OHL ramblings are awesome.

The Avs signed Stefan Elliott to an entry-level contract yesterday. He'll be in the NHL next season.

Last night’s Calgary/LA game was about as good as a 2-1 shootout final could be. Fast, physical, great goaltending on both sides – the game had it all.

Justin Williams and Rene Bourque both left with injuries.

No word on Patrick Sharp's injury yet. I need him healthy in a bad, bad way. My team in my H2H league has been ravaged by injuries all year and Sharp has been my offensive MVP.

The Leafs signed 22-year old Tyler Brenner yesterday. Brenner scored 26 goals this past season at RIT (the Rochester Institute of Technology). His goal total was double the next highest scorer on the team.

Another former RIT standout has made a solid impact at the NHL level this year – Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev.

Manny Malhotra is out for the rest of the regular season and playoffs with his eye injury. A huge opportunity for Maxim Lapierre, as he moves up to the third line. Cody Hodgson/Alex Bolduc are suddenly back on the radar for the Canucks as the playoffs approach.

Jimmy Howard was awful last night – his rebound control is horrendous. He gets wins and his stats are pretty solid, but I wouldn't be 100% confident with him as my goalie (even with a defense like Detroit's).

Datsyuk and Franzen both missed last night's game with lower body injuries. Hudler missed his third straight game with an upper body injury.

Mike Modano had a goal and fired seven shots on net last night for the Wings.

I have gotten a ton of e-mails on the subject already, so I’ll share my thoughts with the masses. Neuvirth, Varlamov, or Holtby? I am a Neuvirth guy today, just as I was back on day one. Why? Mental toughness.

I saw a lot of him during the AHL playoffs (he led Hershey to consecutive AHL titles). He is talented, poised, and unflappable. Varlamov may be more talented, but he is also more inconsistent and injury-prone.

Holtby throws another wrench in the decision, but his sample size as an NHL goalie is a lot smaller. He needs to prove more before he could potentially unseat either goalie in the short or long term.

I really enjoy reading Copper & Blue for all things Oilers. An excellent statistical breakdown of an underrated part of Taylor Hall’s game is broken down here.