Dobber is off in Vegas for a few days at the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Conference, so the website is mine to run this week!

Don’t forget – the funniest team name in the DobberHockey Olympic Pool gets an autographed Eric Staal Team Canada photograph – so get to it comedians!

Pittsburgh has sent both Chris Connor and Nick Johnson down to the AHL this morning.

David Bolland is taking the game day skate today. He isn’t ready quite yet, but expect him back at some point before the Olympics start.

Josh Bailey is sick and probably won’t play tonight, so adjust your lineups accordingly.

Pavol Demitra continues to look more comfortable on the ice – he is starting to click with Kyle Wellwood and Steve Bernier on the third line, and could have easily had two assists last night.

Puck Daddy weighs in on the Kovalchuk situation.

Tim Connolly extended his point streak to 16 games yesterday with an assist on a Thomas Vanek goal. Alex Burrows extended his to 11 with an assist on Henrik Sedin’s 24th of the season.

Over the last 12 months, only two players in the entire NHL have more even strength goals than Alex Burrows. Their names? Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk.

Calgary is imploding before our eyes. The Flames were shutout at home by Ty Conklin and the Blues, and have now lost six straight in regulation. With the loss they also have fallen to 29th in the entire NHL in goals for per game, with an abysmal 2.48 (only Boston is worse at 2.37).

Sheldon Souray has submitted a list of teams he would be willing to waive his NTC to go to. Most speculate that they are West Coast based teams, so Souray can remain close to his family in Los Angeles. He has been a fantasy flop this season but has the ability to be an elite defenseman. Maybe a new situation on a new team will be just what the doctor ordered? A great buy low candidate in one-year league formats right now.

Henrik Lundqvist showed last night why playing deep in the crease is not a tactic favoured by NHL goalies. He was beaten on three very stoppable shots (two by Chris Connor, who looked pretty good skating alongside Crosby and Malkin at times).

Connor only played nine minutes, but he saw quality minutes and that is probably the most important thing from a fantasy perspective.

Marc-Andre Fleury was strong for the Pens, even against the anemic Rangers offense. I sure wish I had known he was playing last night – missed out on some much needed goalie points with him on the bench!

Philadelphia has signed 2006 2nd round draft pick Dennis Bodrov to an AHL contract for the rest of the season. He fell out of favour with his KHL team and essentially hasn’t been playing at all lately. Philadelphia wants to see how he fairs at the AHL level before making any kind of decision on him.

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Funny story from Puck Daddy – Buffalo was staying at a hotel in San Jose over the weekend that also housed a mascot convention.

Here is Drew Stafford (out last night with a minor injury) with some new friends:

Drew Stafford, courtesy of Puck Daddy

A keeper to watch for – Jamie McBain. Carolina will undergo some significant changes this off-season, and expect McBain to be given every opportunity to earn a roster spot. Don’t underestimate the fact that all of Carolina’s near NHL ready young prospects (Tlusty, Boychuk, McBain, and Bowman) all play together in Albany.

Slow night in the NHL with only three games on the schedule.

A solid article on one of my favourites – Eric Fehr.

Join the DobberHockey Olympic Pool – Free to join, and there are prizes for the Top 10, including a signed jerseys and photos. More info right here. Already over 1000 have registered with over three weeks to go…

Buy the Midseason Guide here.

I’ve made mention of him before, but Justin Bourne has quickly become one of my favourite hockey writers to follow. He has a great blog that he updates daily, and he wrote a great piece on what it means to be a fan of hockey over at the USA Today.

Linus Omark once again showing his creativity. This is a move Pat Kane tried to pull off during the extremely awkawrd skills contest at the 2009 All-Star Game.