Angus here with some mid-afternoon updates.

Pavol Demitra will be out for three to four weeks with torn rib cartilage. In that time he will be campaigning for VP of the Band-Aid Boy club.

His absence opens up a spot on the second line for Kyle Wellwood.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Marek Zidlicky are BOTH playing tonight for the Wild after sitting out with injuries.

Sam Gagner was back in the lineup and played over 20 minutes. Souray also returned.

The Caps have extended John Erskine. No fantasy significance…

The Ducks have signed Bret Hedican to a one-year deal. He adds some depth to a very shallow defensive group in Anaheim.

Mats Sundin is gearing up for an early December return, and is slated to begin training in Los Angeles next week. Cue up the speculation…

Kris Versteeg's assist last night was on the penalty kill. He was on the second unit of both special teams giving him added value in those leagues that give points for special team production. He is the top rookie scorer right now. He saw more ice time than Kane, Sharp and Havlat did.

Brent Sopel was finally made a healthy scratch by the Hawks last night.

Stempniak returned to the St.Louis lineup and played 22 minutes. Berglund also returned, but he says he was a healthy scratch last game.

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Hudler's ice time was down to 10:48 last night.

Henrik Zetterberg returned to the lineup and played 17:51, scoring a goal for Detroit. Brad Stuart was also back.

Hal Gill will miss today's game for Pittsburgh with an undisclosed injury. He is day to day. Sydor draws back in.

Matt Cooke is probable for tonight's contest.

Simon Gagne missed last night's game with the flu. Andreas Nodl replaced him in his NHL debut and picked up an assist. He ranks 49th on my prospects list, but is moving up.

Neither Kozlov nor Poti will play for the Caps tonight. John Erskine could miss the game, as he has a leg injury. Fedorov will play defense if Erskine can't go.

Marty Turco got the hook last night again. He is a typical slow starter and you can expect this to last for at least another month.

Mikael Tellqvist will get the start for Phoenix tonight.

Despite all the injuries up front, Petr Vrana is still playing under 11 minutes for NJ.