Byfuglien injured, Hammond wins again, Nyquist cold and buried, and more…

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Craig Anderson was supposed to go for the Senators last night but pulled himself before making the start. He did still dress for the game and presumably could have gone if absolutely necessary but I do wonder if riding Andrew Hammond isn't the best option available on multiple fronts.

For one, Hammond is blazing hot and helping to push the Senators into the playoff race. I don't take their playoff chances too seriously. There are too many teams between them and a spot with not that much time remaining but they've got a shot if they can keep this up.

The other reason I think giving Hammond as much action as possible is smart is because he might give the team the confidence to move a goaltender this summer. Not that they necessarily need to do so but they could add an important piece for next season if they made one of Anderson or Robin Lehner available. That's not possible if they don't have confidence in another in-house goaltender.

I'm still not much of a Hammond believer but I'm open to being proven wrong. He put together another gem last night.

James Mirtle made an interesting comparison between Hammond and James Reimer's first run with the Leafs. If you recall, Reimer's roaring debut inspired my annual Autobots vs. Decepticons piece, which it occurs to me I should get cracking on shortly.

It's worth mentioning that the Senators have as many games remaining as any team in the league with 20 left to play. That makes them a good team to load up on for your head-to-head playoffs if you've got the chance.

Mike Hoffman was limited to just eight minutes of action after getting his face cut open requiring stitches. He, along with Mark Stone, Milan Michalek and Mika Zibanejad are all widely available even in leagues running 14-teams deep.

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Tough break for the Jets as Dustin Byfuglien left last night's game with an upper-body injury. No word on the severity but he'd be a loss for everyone. Byfuglien hasn't missed a game all season a real rarity for a Jet defenseman so of course he went down.

With Byfuglien out both Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba skated over 25 minutes. Myers saw the boost in power play time and was really buzzing notching a primary assist on the lone Jet goal. If Byfuglien misses time, he'd be a really smart acquisition.

We are really starting to see some pullback in the numbers from Jet goalies. Michael Huthinson's are still brilliant, mind you, but they are coming down. He's another one I'll have to look deeper into for this season's Autobots vs. Decepticons piece.

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Keith Yandle continues to be a power play fiend for the Rangers. He skated 4:57 with the man advantage last night but just 17:45 overall. Hasn't clicked yet but it seems like it's only a matter of time.

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Marek Zidlicky scored the overtime winner for the Red Wings in his debut. It was a pretty lucky goal that bounced off three separate Rangers. He got to the dirty area out front though so he gets full marks all the same.

I'm mildly concerned about Zidlicky pushing Niklas Kronwall for time on the power play but last night the two were paired together on the power play for a good chunk, which is intriguing for both.

Jakub Kindl was a healthy scratch. If you happen to be holding him it's entirely time to bail out.

Henrik Zetterberg got back into the lineup and scored a pair of assists. He was reunited with Justin Abdelkader, who scored a goal, but it was Erik Cole rounding out the line in the Johan Franzen role. That pushed Gustav Nyquist, who had spent a bunch of time on that line, back to the third line so he's a big loser in this.

Nyquist has slowed down quite a bit with just eight points in 15 games since the All-Star break. He's bordering on droppable in one-year settings. If you're looking for an excuse to hold him, Nyquist's shot rate hasn't slipped with the rest of his production having fired 36 SOG over these past 15 games. He simply hasn't found the back of the net at his usual rate with just two goals in this stretch.

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