Pekka Rinne – another shutout and he is 6-0-0. I can't stress enough that I feel he will steal this No.1 job in Nashville. He has started three straight and four of five. He has saved 81 of the last 83 shots.

One of the most extreme streaky players out there is Alexander Frolov – and he's hot right now. When he gets rolling on these 10-game spurts, even the likes of Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin would have trouble keeping up. He could be starting one of those runs, even though he was shutout last night. He has six points in his last five, and goals in six of eight contests. The downside to being this streaky is the painful cold spell that he is guaranteed to hit.

Interesting thing about Gilbert Brule – he is currently suspended in the AHL for four games for hitting from behind. He played 8:41 for the Oilers last night and did not see PP time. He probably thought he was in Columbus.

Chicago rearguard James Wisniewski is eyeing Friday to make his season debut. He showed a lot of offensive promise for Chicago last season, but that was prior to Brian Campbell. He is worth a flyer, but don't get your hopes up – he won't get onto the top power play. If he does, it will be at the expense of Cam Barker.

Janis Sprukts was in the Florida lineup last night, but did not see any PP time and was held pointless. He and Shawn Matthias played just over 12 minutes each.

David Krejci is on an eight-game points streak and has 14 points in that span. This guy is unbelievable.

Owen Nolan (leg) missed last night's game and Krys Kolanos took his spot.

The Isles have sent Jeff Tambellini to the AHL and have recalled Blake Comeau.

Nate Gerbe was a plus-2 in 15 minutes of ice time last night in his NHL debut, and he picked up two PIMs.

Drew Stafford has seven points in his last five games.

Another sub-11 minute game for TJ Oshie, as he gets eased back into the St. Louis lineup.

The highly-skilled Carlo Colaiacovo has four points in his last four games for the Blues and has seen his ice time slowly creep up. This guy would be a top-scoring defenseman if it wasn't for his fragility. If you have flexible waiver rules, pick him up and enjoy the points while he is healthy.

Meanwhile, the line on Alex Steen as a Blue: six games, zero points, minus-2, 14-19 minutes of ice time per game.

For those of you who may have been worried about Sergei Samsonov's ice time under a new coach – relax. He has two points in two contests under Maurice, and his ice time was 19:51 first game and 22:07 second game. He only saw that kind of ice time five times in 25 prior contests. He has seven points in his last nine games.

Only five players in the Islanders lineup were not in the minus last night – and 18-year-old Josh Bailey was one of them. This kid has a bright future, perhaps even brighter than Okposo's.

All five of Nathan Oystrick's points have come in his last seven games. He is an offensive d-man who is manning the second PP unit for Atlanta.

Washington rookie dman Karl Alzner has three points in his last two games – his first three NHL points, actually. He does not have GIANT offensive potential from the blue line, but pair him up with a Mike Green type and he should contribute 45 points a season. I don't expect that to happen for two years though.

Neil vs. Godard: