Any FANTASY HOCKEY GUIDES that are ordered will be emailed at 9am on Saturday (EST).

Confirmed now – Rinne has been sent to Milwaukee. Ellis the backup. 

Unconfirmed report – Pekka Rinne has been cut and Dan Ellis wins the backup role in Nashville. I will try and get confirmation asap.  Don't say I didn't warn you – my pool guide explained why Ellis would win the backup job (one-way contract vs. two-way) and I don't know why the media continued to tout Rinne so hard. If this gets confirmed it will be one more reason to choose Dobber over the others!

Steve Downie has been suspended for 20 games. The suspension begins when he makes the team. Since the Flyers will likely cut him (now, rather than have him sit there for a month), his suspension will probably begin next year. 

From the Buffalo News: Center Tim Connolly (groin) skated on his own before practice, while wingers Maxim Afinogenov (hip) and Andrew Peters (upper body) and defenseman Dmitri Kalinin (groin) skated with the team. Forward Paul Gaustad (groin) didn’t practice but could skate today. But winger Ales Kotalik hobbled off the practice ice early. Ruff said Kotalik “tweaked his knee a little bit.

Goalie notes: Carbonneau is not commiting to Halak as the backup. Price and Halak are both 50-50 for the job it would seem, but Huet is the surefire No.1. In LA, it is looking as if Bernier will get his nine games in before his rookie contract kicks in. If he does well, he sticks, if he stumbles he goes to Manchester. Simple as that. In San Jose, Greiss is leading the way to be the backup, but Patzold is not out of it by any means. 

Brendan Morrison has a wrist injury, but it will likely not keep him out of the lineup as he looks to continue his 512-game iron man streak. 

Bryan Little has made the team. Atlanta is at 22 roster spots and Little, Sterling, Enstrom and Popovic all made the squad. Little will see at least the 10 games as the team will get a longer look at him.

Grigorenko scored the shootout winner last night, helping his cause to make the team. He will still be cutting it close though. His skating does not impress Babcock.

Kris Beech was the No.1 center last night in Columbus – and the team was shut out. It's looking more and more like Brassard will be the No.1 guy in Columbus, no matter how hard they try to not put that kind of pressure on him. He's the only one who deserves it.

Ray Whitney (groin) practiced Thursday and is expected to play tonight.

Joffrey Lupul's wrist is in fact sprained. He will be out for a week or two, but the team is hoping he can be in the lineup for the opener in Calgary next Thursday. Zero games missed.

Anson Carter returned to practice after sitting out for a week with a concussion. He is a long shot to make the Oilers.

Michel Ouellet was back in the lineup last night and scored a goal. He makes a good sleeper for 60 points.

The Pens have sent Tim Brent to the minors…but recalled Jeff Taffe. So Taffe gets a second chance, but he will likely remain on the fourth line if he sticks.

Benoit Pouliot will once again center Gaborik and Demitra tonight. Sheppard will center Rolston and Bouchard on the second line. A good performance from either could keep them on this team. But both will not stick. 

Here we go again. Havlat. Groin injury. It's not serious (apparently), but just be prepared for this crap all season long if you're a Havlat owner. 

Jose Theodore was back in practice yesterday and will start one of the games this weekend. 

If you haven't selected a site to run your fantasy hockey pool yet, take a look at this:

Blues' rearguard Jay McKee will miss the next month or so with a broken foot. His luck in St. Louis continues.

Have you used TQ Stats? Please give feedback here . Other readers have a lot of negative things to say, and I'd like to see your opinion if you've used them. 

Bought the Pool Guide? Here is a one-page supplemental sheet to give you the update.

Cuts of note from Thursday night/Friday morning:

Haydar, Kwiatkowski, Pavelec, Atlanta

Gillies, Schaefer, Minnesota

Timonen, Jonsson, Philadelphia

Lisin, Phoenix

Brent, Pittsburgh

Stastny, St. Louis 

Those of you new to DobberHockey, please note that I update the ramblings several times in a day. To read yesterday's ramblings, click "Next" below.