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The Red Wings, a month into the season, still have the same problem that they had in September. And that is too many bodies up front. Unlike seemingly most years, Detroit has been pretty healthy. And now with Darren Helm back and Johan Franzen‘s illness behind him, I have to think that pressure is mounting to make a roster move. The simple solution of sending Tomas Tatar to the press box is no longer simple considering he has points in each of his last three games and is a plus-4 in that span. And Gustav Nyquist is a Top 10 scorer in the AHL, where he’s just wasting his time in a league that he’s already conquered. So who gets benched? Probably Mikael Samuelsson again, as well as Jordin Tootoo and Patrick Eaves (who shouldn’t have been signed to begin with). I suspect that they will sneak Eaves through waivers to Grand Rapids the way they did with Cory Emmerton.

Detroit’s line combos from last game, courtesy of Frozen Pool:

Here were the PP lines:

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Tyler Toffoli is still only owned in 3% of Yahoo leagues. You should get on that, because he’ll produce and make it hard for LA to send him back down even after Jeff Carter returns in what could be anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks.

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Really like Alex Killorn on that top line in Tampa. I gave my Twitter followers a heads up to that on Friday, so hopefully at least some of you were able to act on that Before Saturday’s three points.

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That hunch that I had and mentioned last Wednesday about Mats Zuccarello sure came to pass. He’s playing with the top center on the Rangers (it’s not Richards, don’t kid yourself) and the chemistry is undeniable. What tipped me off was how much ice time Zuccarello was getting despite not producing and not having a big contract (i.e. no “Golden Boy” status). Alain Vigneault was playing him a lot and there had to be a reason. The scoring leaderboard on the team is already starting to shift away from the established Brad Richards towards the next wave of stars – Stepan, Zuccarello and Chris Kreider. And as long as Rick Nash remains out, look for Richards to continue posting merely ‘modest’ points.

Nash by the way is out long term. The team has already said that November 7 is unlikely, but I question if we see him in November at all.

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Over at the Hockey News last Thursday, I posted Part 1 of my “all cap hit” fantasy team here. Look for the other half of that piece later today.

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Buy low on Ray Whitney now. Owned in just 10% of Yahoo leagues. Sure, he’s 41 – that’s why everyone in your league has given up on him because he only has seven points in 14 games. But I don’t believe his decline will happen as sharply as this. So while he won’t be the point-per-game player that he’s been the last couple of seasons, I don’t believe he’ll be a 40-point guy either (current pace). In between the two. Which is why he is worth the cheap price you’ll pay.

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Craig Anderson didn't finish the game Sunday because of this collision with Valeri Nichushkin. Should Nichushkin be suspended? Anderson is said to have a “stiff neck” and won’t play Tuesday. But I get the feeling he’ll be back by next weekend. That being said, I still benched him for the week in favor of Ben Bishop, even though TB plays only twice this week. Here is the incident:

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I was among those who felt that the Sens paid a little too much for Kyle Turris (and that was the majority of the thinking on that one) – David Rundblad and a 2012 second rounder. Actually, read through some of the chatter in that link and “little too much” was putting it mildly (statements such as “yikes” and “hahahaha” and “overrated”, etc). Now 23 months after that trade and things could not have turned out better for Ottawa. Turris is a true No.2 center and still has upside as a No.1 guy and he has 14 points in 14 games (Rundblad has just eight points in his entire NHL career and is a minus-20). The second round pick went to Columbus along with McElhinney and a fourth for Antoine Vermette. Then that pick went to Philadelphia along with two other picks for Sergei Bobrovsky – the Flyers took Anthony Stolarz.

It just goes to show you that you can disagree with things that GM’s do. Disagree vehemently. But keep the window open a crack, to allow for that tiny chance that the GM could be right. Ditto for fantasy hockey. I know an owner who almost always makes deals that strike me as terrible. And more often than not, he looks like a genius a year or two later.

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Cory Conacher was down to 7:50 of ice time. In fact, it was his second consecutive game that saw a pretty hefty decline in ice time. From a high level perspective, he was a 14-minute player for the first seven games, a 12-minute player for the next five – and is now an eight-minute player. Next stop: press box. I expressed reservations on him preseason and in the Guide – he’s not a Paul MacLean guy. I really like Conacher, but would only acquire him if he were cheap and it would be in the hopes that he gets traded. I just don’t think it’s gonna happen in Ottawa.

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Conacher got me thinking of other former and current TB prospects, which reminded me to jot this little tidbit down for you – Nikita Kucherov, an AHL rookie, leads the league in scoring with a whopping 20 points in just 10 games. In fact, he was pointless in his first game, so that means he has 20 in his last nine. With three four-point games out of the 10 that he’s played, he’s already outgrown that league. Steve Yzerman traded Cory Conacher to clear room for some forwards he saw as NHL-ready. He may have to do so again. Address a weakness by trading a Panik or a Palat, and then keep Kucherov and Brett Connolly up.

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Reto Berra got his first NHL taste Sunday and stopped 42 of 44 shots to beat the best team in the league in OT when the pressure was highest. He stole the game, plain and simple. With Joey MacDonald now in the minors, I think the Flames will ride Berra. They put a lot of effort into acquiring and signing Berra, and I noted this last summer and made him a goalie to stick on your radar. I can see he and Ramo sharing duties, but Berra could pull away quickly if he keeps this up. Just one game, but couldn’t have gone any better.

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Joe Colborne continues to get lots of ice time. And for the same reason I noted with Zuccarello, I have a hunch on him. He doesn’t have the upside of a Zuccarello – not even short term. But at 16-plus minutes, many of which with Mike Cammalleri, he is one to watch. I’m only cautious with him and his upside because Brian Burke recently compared him to David Steckel – and fantasy owners had…somewhat higher hopes for him than a “Steckel”.

With the OT winner Sunday, Kris Russell has points in four straight and he has eight points in his last nine games. Giordano is out, Russell is getting the ice time – if you haven’t acted already, it’s possibly too late.

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Brandon Pirri has been shutout in five of the last six games and Sunday he saw just 10 minutes of ice time. Puck needs to go in the net soon for him or it will be another AHL stint.

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Jon Merrill left Sunday’s contest with a laceration on his face. It was five minutes into his NHL debut.

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Adam Proteau has an interesting explanation/take on Ray Emery not getting suspended for assaulting Braden Holtby. He was told by an NHL insider that basically it forces the pro-fight group to live with it and face it. The pro-fight group wanted it suspended so that they can continue to tout how the system works and fighting can continue. But by not suspending Emery, because there is “no rule” for it, the pressure is mounting to make a rule. By not suspending Emery, it pretty much forces a new rule to be created which would actually be the first step towards eliminating fighting altogether. Never thought of it that way.

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Nino Niederreiter has found his confidence at the NHL level. His three points last night give him four in two games and he’s plus-4 in his last four. That’s much better than the last time he was in the NHL and went minus-29 with the Islanders.

Josh Harding has won four games in a row, including two shutouts. He’s also averaged just 22 shots faced in those four games, which is par for the course when it comes to the Wild.

Mikael Granlund‘s first goal of the season after an entertaining scramble: