Tampa Bay seems unbeatable now that they have D-man Victor Hedman (3A) back in the lineup. I'm sure the NY Rangers are glad that they don't have to face the Lightning anymore after losing all three matchups against the Bolts, the latest a 6-3 drubbing on home ice.  The Lightning broke open a 3-3 game with 3 in the 3rd period showcasing their well-rounded talent up and down the lineup. This team isn't all about Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop as evidenced by their young talent producing lately. Brett Connolly scored two goals, including the game-winner, and Tyler Johnson also scored twice and added an assist. Johnson is a must-start while Connolly may be worth a shot in deeper leagues as the 2 points were the RWer's first points in past 7 games.....Bishop has now won 8 straight against the Blueshirts to remain unbeaten against them.... The Columbus Blue Jackets may be happy that November has ended as they started off December with a solid 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers halting a six-game losing streak. Sergei Bobrovsky had his best game in a while stopping 24 of 25 SOG for the win after losing 5 straight. The Jackets go as Bobrovsky goes, and while the team may have been stricken with a lot of injuries early on, if Bobber gets going, this team can be dangerous.... P.K. Subban helped Montreal keep pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Eastern Conference as he scored a goal and added an assist in defeating Patrick Roy's Colorado Avalanche. Fantasy fans are waiting for the talented defenseman to step up his game as he has been producing below expectations.  With the start of a new month, perhaps his game will start to click... Edmonton continues to flounder at the bottom of the Western Conference, and like the Philadelphia Flyers, change is coming. Arizona's Mike Smith returned to the net for the Coyotes and played as solid game to pick up his first win after 7 straight losses. He will need to string together a few good games to regain confidence among poolies with beating the Oilers a step in the right direction....Someone named Tobias Rieder scored 2 shorthanded goals at the start of the 2nd period to turn the game around. No need to rush to pick Rieder up as he sees limited action, but Rieder has shown the ability to score in the minors but you can find more reliable forward depth out there..... Anaheim G Frederik Andersen (32/34 SV) snapped a modest 2-game losing streak with a solid performance against the Boston Bruins allowing the Ducks to ...

Scandella has missed the last three games after suffering a knee injury on February 4. Scandella will join Mikko Koivu as Wild regulars returning to the lineup tonight vs. the Flames. He has three goals and 13 assists (16 points) with a plus-10 rating in in 55 games this season.

Scandella missed the last two games after suffering a gruesome looking knee injury on Feb. 4 vs. Tampa Bay. He was lucky he did not suffer a more serious injury, but is not expected to miss too much time. Consider him questionable for Friday vs. Vancouver.

On Tuesday, Scandella practiced with the Wild for the first time since suffering a knee injury three weeks ago. Scandella could play on Thursday, but his status won't be known until following Thursday's morning skate.

Scandella left Tuesday's game after playing just :55 seconds. Early reports are that he will be held out of the lineup until after the Olympics. The Wild's D-pairs will be: Suter/Spurgeon, Brodin/Prosser, Ballard/Stoner while Scandella is out.

The Wild managed to make the playoffs last year helped by the big acquisitions of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. However, they barely made it with the 8th seed and were quickly bounced out by Chicago in the first round.  With the huge contracts for Parise and Suter, as well as big money being paid to Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley, and the decrease in the salary cap from $72 million to $64 million, Minnesota looks a little top heavy with their salary structure.  They may be robbing themselves of depth and experience for pricey players, as indicated by the departure of Matt Cullen, Tom Gilbert, Devin Setoguchi, Pierre Marc Bouchard, and even the trade of Cal Clutterbuck for Nino Niederreiter.  Minnesota will have to go young this season and will likely depend on some of its young players to step up this season and fill the void.  20 year-old Charlie Coyle will probably be second line center, although he may have to fight against Mikael Granlund, also 20 years old, for the job.  One of them will likely center the second line, and the other the third.  Other youngsters, such as Jason Zucker and perhaps Niederreiter will have pressure to perform as well.  On defense Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella will be asked to contribute.  The goaltending situation is murky, as 35 years old starter, Niklas Backstrom has become injury prone, he went down in warm-ups against Chicago in the playoffs, and his body may be wearing down.  Backup Josh Harding is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, and he can't be counted on for carrying too much of the load.  The Wild have some of the league's top players, but they have lost depth and experience and need the young players to step it up for them to make the playoffs again this season. Goalies    Backstrom is slated to be the starter. He had decent numbers last season going 24-15-3 in 42 games with a 2.48 goals against average and a .909 save percentage with 2 shutouts. He needed surgery in the off-season after developing a sports hernia at the start of last season's playoffs.  Coach Mike Yeo has indicated that he might lower Backstrom's workload to keep him healthy.  This would lower his fantasy value somewhat.  The problem for Yeo is that his backup Josh Harding really cannot be counted on to share a big load because of his illness.  It will depend on how his disease progresses.  That would leave Darcy Kuemper, only 23 years old, as a potential backup.  Kuemper had good numbers in the minors, but he has only 6 games of NHL ...

Scandella posted 17 points in 45 games in the AHL this season. He recorded just one assist in six games with Wild.

Scandella scored three goals and 12 points in 63 games with the Wild.

Scandella is expected to draw back in tonight. He has three goals and 10 points in 59 games.

Scandella won't play tonight. He has three goals and 10 points in 59 games.