Lots of waiver wire action today – Zherdev, Kotalik, Rivet and Svatos all on waivers. Zherdev would garner the most interest methinks.

Getzlaf’s wife went into labor last night, he may not play…

Ray Emery has been recalled by the Ducks. Yes, I believe you can safely activate him. He won’t be a superstar, but I think he’ll get the W’s and keep the goals allowed to three or four per game right off the bat. He’s a clutch goalie, who excels under pressure.

Paul Martin is out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury. He was hit from behind by Patrick Sharp. Dustin Jeffrey and Mark Letestu have been cleared for full practice.

In the battle of “the deal”, both Erik Johnson and Chris Stewart scored for their new teams, and Kevin Shattenkirk tallied an assist. I think it will work out well for both teams, but the Avs are carrying the greater risk.

Alex Steen had seven ghots on net and added an assist. This deal is impacting him not at all. If anything, adding Stewart is helping, not hurting him. And Brad Boyes seems to be seeing less ice time, but he’s putting points on the board consistently. Only D’Agostini and Colaiacovo are negatively impacted it would seem.

Peter Budaj faced 45 shots and stopped 42 of them. Not bad for a widely considered bad goaltender.

David Desharnais doesn’t have the big contract. He doesn’t have the pedigree, and he’s not six feet tall. So despite his points-per-minute of ice time, he’s been getting nine minutes per game over the last three games. As a result, he has just one point in that span. Gilbert Dionne is rolling in his grave!

Pierre-Marc Bouchard has four points in his last three games with eight shots and is a plus-5 in that span. He’s rounding into form.

MIN lines without Koivu: Brodziak with Bouchard and Havlat; Cullen with Brunette and Miettinen; Madden with Clutterbuck and Nystrom; Bouchard/Havlat occasionally had Cody Almond with them.

So do you start Martin Brodeur? Hedberg has seven wins in a row and two shutouts in that span. In fact, he has not allowed three goals in a game in those seven games.

Devin Setoguchi continues rolling – five goals in his last two games, and 11 shots. He may be having a bad year, but he’s showing enough signs to show that he still has it.

The 21-year-old Matt Calvert of the Blue Jackets has four points in his last four games.

Daniel Cleary has 16 points in his last 17 games and 10 in his last eight.

Ignore the first 16 games of the season, and Windex Wonder Radmim Vrbata is producing like a 57-point player. Which on this team that sounds about right – about all you can expect.

So at the end of December, did you think that any goalie in the world could go on a 9-4-2 run for Toronto? That’s what Reimer is on right now. He’s allowed just two goals in his last three games.

In his first career NHL game, Jonathan Blum played 16 minutes, saw no time on special teams and was a minus-1. He’ll be a star though, in time.

Washington prospect Dmitri Orlov has signed a tryout agreement with Hershey and has crossed the pond to play here. Orlov was 86th on my defensemen prospects, but with this news he moves up into the Top 50.

With Nicklas Backstrom out for a short while with that fractured digit, look for Marcus Johansson to get a long look as the No.1 center – until they make a good strong pitch for Stephen Weiss!

Detroit is in trouble now – Chris Osgood is pain free and will practice this week. If they feel obligated to put him in for a start, then you may as well chalk up an “L”!

Despite being recalled, Kyle Turris did not get into the Phoenix lineup last night.

Jamie Benn is back in the lineup tonight, probably playing center in place of Brad Richards. Alex Goligoski is expected to make his debut with the team.

New Boston lines, with Paille getting scratched: Bergeron with Marchand and Recchi; Krejci with Horton and Lucic; Kelly with Peverley and Ryder; Campbell with Seguin and Thornton. Recchi is off the power play.

Another AHL win for Ray Emery last night – 4-3 in a shootout. Is he NHL bound soon? Anaheim needs somebody

Rick Nash being…Rick Nash:

My buddy Desharnais:

Jordin Tootoo is okay…