The DobberBaseball Fantasy Guide is out now and fully updated

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Don’t forget to pick your team for tomorrow’s Draft Street contest – it takes two minutes and your odds of winning $100 are 1/300 (give or take) – and that’s just if you were in a random draw! Since this actually takes some skill, your odds will actually be better than that (assuming you know your stuff).

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I kind of expected this, and even mused on it in the ramblings (I think)…but Matt Read is ahead of schedule. He of ‘elite conditioning’ is back skating and taking light contact. I think we can expect him back in a week, which is three weeks ahead of the six-week prognosis.

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David Clarkson has gone nine games without a goal now, and just one assist in that span. Talk about a market correction, wow.

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Braden Holtby has started 10 consecutive games. I had guessed that he would pull away from Neuvirth in the Guide, but had some of that confidence shaken early on. But Adam Oates is wise to establish roles – a starter and a backup – as soon as either of them showed any kind of sign of pulling out of his weak start. No waffling, no controversy.

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The Markstrom Era is off to a nice start – Jacob stopped 30 of 31 last night in his first start since Jose Theodore went down. This is his chance to steal it – literally for the next 10 or 12 years, if he becomes the franchise goaltender we’ve all been expecting for three years now.

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I noted yesterday about Tampa Bay’s scary future with several really good offensive prospects on the way. Not several, actually, I think the number was seven. Anyway, Conacher with two helpers, Killorn with one and one, and Palat with an assist led the way to a win last night. Steve Yzerman has enough assets that he can spare moving one of them to fill any holes he sees in the lineup, no question about it. The trade deadline is four weeks from today.

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Keith Kinkaid saw the first action of his NHL career when he came on in relief of Johan Hedberg. He stopped 12 of 13 shots and was good enough, in my opinion, to earn a start if Marty Brodeur can’t go next game.

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Good thing the Isles called up Kevin Poulin. Think they’ll let him start some day?

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John Tavares had two points last night after going three games without a point. He has never sandwiched a game in which he found the scoresheet, between two games in which he didn’t. Not this season, anyway. So I’d fully expect more from him next game. I’d bet on it.

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Both Derick Brassard and Jack Johnson returned to the CBJ lineup last night, helping them to the win.

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After going 17 games without a point, Oilers rearguard Jeff Petry has five points in five games.

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The Sens have recalled prospect Mark Stone from Binghamton. He is currently second on the team down there with a plus-15, and he has 21 points in 38 AHL games.

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Brad Richards was unable to dress for last night’s contest. Still sore from the Kaleta hit.

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I come down hard on Rick Nash for being overrated in fantasy circles (he still hasn’t had an 80-point season), but whenever I get too vocal he seems to really take off, making me look bad. This time it’s three consecutive two-point games to bring him up to 18 points in 17 games.

Nash’s return has been great for Derek Stepan owners, as Stepan has tallied four points in his last three games.

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If you consider that Jakub Voracek had just three points in eight games to start the year, his 24 points in his last 16 games looks even nicer.

Simon Gagne has just one point in three games with his new/old team.

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Brandon Saad picked up three points last night and has five in his last four games. His ice time is also up a little from when he started the campaign.

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I was wondering why it was taking this guy so long to find a home. The Penguins made a great depth signing in Tom Kostopoulos, which probably makes Dustin Jeffrey expendable on the trade market. Packaging him with a blue-chip prospect defenseman (of which they have many) would land them pretty much anyone they are targeting.

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Justin Peters got the win in his season debut, stopping 37 of 40. Dan Ellis was said to be sick, but I fully expect Ellis to start a lot of games between now and the end of April. I was aggressive in my waiver bid for him in a couple of leagues – even when I didn’t need a goalie, another starter would make a great trade asset.

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I don’t hear a lot of people putting Alex Semin down these days. He has nine points in his last four games.

Jiri Tlusty has 16 points in his last 13 games.

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Stephen Weiss will undergo wrist surgery and is out for the season. It explains his terrible start, as he’s usually a steady 55-point guy. He’ll be a UFA in the summer, and I think he can do better than his usual 55 or 60 on a different team.

Lots of room for the youngsters now – because Alexei Kovalev is done too. After two points in 16 games, the team and the player have agreed to part ways.

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Probably something to do with the Kostopoulos signing, and the number of contracts etc., but Beau Bennett has been called back up by the Penguins without having played an AHL game since he was sent down.

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Jeff Angus digs deep into Derek Roy‘s performance in Dallas here.

And speaking of Roy, he missed practice to rest a sore groin that is still troubling him.

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What’s with the Kings and the onslaught of goals in the third period? That’s two straight now, where we’re “ho hum, another zero, one or two goals for LA tonight” at the end of the second…and then ‘bam’ they fire a bunch of pucks into the net in the third.

Defenseman Jake Muzzin has four points in his last five games.

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The Caps have placed Roman Hamrlik on waivers and Bob McKenzie thinks that a team will snap him up. If so, my money is on the Red Wings if he gets to them.

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Eric Fehr has 11 points in his last 10 games, thanks to his three-point effort last night.

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The Ducks have signed 21-year-old free agent Charles Sarault. He is an OHL overager who leads the league in points. I don’t expect anything from him at the NHL level within two years, if ever. But at this point it’s “top six or bust” for Sarault.

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The Flames are starting to talk about Kari Ramo on their website. And how successful he is in the KHL right now. And how his contract in the KHL is up after April 30.

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Paul Martin is back in practice for the Penguins. He has been out since February 28.

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Cory Conacher gets his bell rung:

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Ohhh man, Marc Staal. May not want to watch this…he did not return

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And Cody Hodgson, my respect for his skills just went up big time: