Dobber’s article today on Puck Daddy

Ryan Callahan somehow snuck back in to the Rangers lineup! Just noticed him out there on the ice. I guess he didn’t want to miss a game with whatever the injury was.

Anton Stralman is IN tonight against the Sharks (as is Derek Dorsett).

Tampa Bay has signed Mark Parrish to a PTO. Parrish was decent during the pre-season for the Canucks, and he could work his way into Tampa’s top six if he still has his hands. Fantastic PP player, I’d keep an eye on him.

Cody Hodgson has been told to stay off the ice for three weeks after receving a second opinion on his back. Hodgson was noticably uncomfortable all camp/pre-season, so expect both sides to be extremely cautios with his recovery.

Ryan Callahan sustained a minor upper body injury in practice today, and because of it Evgeni Grachev has been called up. Expect Kotalik to replace Callahan on the second line with Drury and Higgins, while Grachev will skate on the third unit with Anisimov and Lisin.

Brassard and Vermette have flipped spots for now. Vermette is centering Nash and Huselius, and Brassard is centering Filatov and Voracek. I doubt this is permanent, as Brassard is much more talented and well-suited to play with Nash than Vermette, but it should boost Vermette’s short-term production significantly.

Look for Alex Auld to get one of the two starts this weekend (Dallas plays CGY on Friday and VAN on Sunday). Marc Crawford wants him to get at least 20 or 25 starts.

Detroit has signed Brad May to a one-year, two-way contract. Should be a good veteran presence down in Grand Rapids, and may even see some NHL action closer to the playoffs.

Ilya Zubov wants to be released from the Senators, as he wants to go back home and play in the KHL. Another skilled Russian forward who wasn’t willing to put the work in to make it.

Gustavsson has indeed been placed on the IR, and Joey MacDonald has been recalled. Vesa is pretty darn lucky here, as this is essentially a second crack at earning the starting job (something he may have never gotten if Gustavsson was able to string four or five good games together). I don’t see MacDonald getting any starts unless Vesa decides to let in five or six goals in a few periods again.

As many expected Tampa is already struggling to find a winger to complement Tanguay and Lecavalier on the top line (although an argument could be made that Malone-Stamkos-St. Louis is the top line. Stephane Veilleux has been put on that line in practice, and should see a few games there. He is a tenacious two-way player, but doesn’t really have a ton of skill. Plays a bit like Ruslan Fedotenko. If he does stick, he could put up 40-45 points in a complementary role.

Bob McKenzie is speculating that Jonas Gustavsson’s groin injury is major enough to keep him out of the next Leafs game (and potentially for the entire next week).

Angus here. Only two games were on the NHL schedule last night, as the ‘Yotes shut out Pittsburgh 3-0, and the Canucks crushed Montreal 7-1.

The Canucks have sent down Sergei Shirokov. Manitoba has a string of games coming up, while the Canucks are off until Sunday. Expect Shirokov up sooner rather than later. And in case you are wondering, he has stated numerous times he is willing to put his work in down at the AHL level in order to crack the big club consistently.

Phoenix looked very, very aggressive. Dave Tippett is a huge upgrade at coach from Gretzky. Jovanovski was all over the ice, as was Radim Vrbata. As Dobber has stated numerous times, Vrbata loves playing in the desert. He should settle in nicely on the top PP unit, and he looked to have great chemistry on an all Czech line with Prucha and Lang (although the lines were mixed). Bank on 50-60 for Radim this season.

Keith Yandle was also really impressive, but only saw second unit PP time behind Jovo and Aucoin. He will be a 40-50 point guy consistently, but only once he plays on the top unit. Great keeper to own.

Pittsburgh simply didn’t match the intensity of the Coyotes, and not really much to comment on. Malkin and Sid were both going through the motions.

You will hear this a lot – Habs really miss Markov. Yannick Weber was downright awful, and Montreal could not generate anything on the rush. That top line is all about speed and the transition game, but what good is it when the d-men can’t get the puck up to them? I’d think about moving some Montreal forwards – Markov’s absence will have a team-wide fantasy impact.

Christian Ehrhoff will get 40 points (at least). I had him down for a slight drop from his San Jose numbers, but I think they merely represented an upwards trend. Fantastic skater, reads the play well, and great on the PP.

Lots of action around the league tonight – more ramblings to come as the day progresses!