Ference was suspended for three games for his hit on Zack Kassian on November 1st. Ference will be paired with Justin Schultz, which means that Martin Marincin will come out of the lineup.

Ference was only assessed a two-minute minor on the play, but it was a nasty elbow to the head and has earned him a three game suspension. Ference will miss Tuesday's contest vs. Philly, Thursday vs. Boston and Friday against the Sabres. He is eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday in New York.

***PrimePucks is always striving to bring you the most current and up-to-date information so that you won't be a step behind in your fantasy hockey pool.  The 2014-2015 PrimePucks Fantasy Hocey Draft Guide has been updated with he most recent developments, and we will continue to do so up to the opening faceoff. Just go to "MY ACCOUNT" and click on the FILES tab and upload the current Draft Guide or order yours now by clicking on the link above.  Don'  t head into your draft without the most dynamic tool you will ever find! Jeff Carter lit up Anaheim goalie Federik Anderson 3 times as the line of Carter-Tyler Toffoli-Tanner Pearson combined for seven points. The trio showed plenty of chemistry as the King's dominant second line during their Stanley Cup run. They have picked up where they left off in the post season so far.. Carey Price was stellar for the Habs, stopping 29 of 30 shots in their 2-0 loss to Washington. Feel free to draft him early, as he looks fully recovered from a knee injury that ended his playoff run. Steady and elite.. James van Riemsdyk continues his brilliant preseason with another goal, while superstar Phil Kessel led the way with a goal and an assist. This duo is going to reap huge fantasy dividends, especially if van Riemsdyk takes that huge leap forward.. Edmonton captain and defenseman Andrew Ference left the game against Chicago last night with a right arm injury. Minimal fantasy implications, but it could be a huge blow to a team that desperately needs to improve on the defensive end.. The word is that Jonathan Quick could have played last night, with King's coach Brent Sutter planning to get him in 2-3 exhibition games. Quick should be drafted top-five amongst goalies, but don't expect him to get more than 60-65 games.

Jeff Carter lit up Anaheim goalie Federik Anderson 3 times as the line of Carter-Tyler Toffoli-Tanner Pearson combined for seven points. The trio showed plenty of chemistry as the King's dominant second line during their Stanley Cup run. They have picked up where they left off in the post season so far.. Carey Price was stellar for the Habs, stopping 29 of 30 shots in their 2-0 loss to Washington. Feel free to draft him early, as he looks fully recovered from a knee injury that ended his playoff run. Steady and elite.. James van Riemsdyk continues his brilliant preseason with another goal, while superstar Phil Kessel led the way with a goal and an assist. This duo is going to reap huge fantasy dividends, especially if van Riemsdyk takes that huge leap forward.. Edmonton captain and defenseman Andrew Ference left the game against Chicago last night with a right arm injury. Minimal fantasy implications, but it could be a huge blow to a team that desperately needs to improve on the defensive end.. The word is that Jonathan Quick could have played last night, with King's coach Brent Sutter planning to get him in 2-3 exhibition games. Quick should be drafted top-five amongst goalies, but don't expect him to get more than 60-65 games.

The Oilers are dropping like flies right now, but with their playoff hopes completely down the drain, it is not that big of a deal. Ference had one goal and five assists in his last nine games. Those six points make one-third of his scoring output this season -- 18 points in 71 games.

Ference has been cleared to play and will return to the lineup this afternoon after missing the last three games with a concussion injury. He will face his former team for the second time this season. Ference has totalled 10 points (2G / 8A) and leads all regular Oilers defensemen with a minus-6 in 53 games this season.

Ference left Friday's game after playing just 6:09 and did not return. The Oilers defence is already thin and losing their captain is a big loss. Nick Schultz will slide back onto the blueline Ference out.

After years of ending up in the bottom part of the standings in the NHL, the Oilers, over the past few years, have stockpiled a lot of young talent, especially on offense. Youngsters like Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and Sam Gagner have Oiler fans salivating at how good this team can be in the future.  But right now is a different story.   Edmonton missed the playoffs by ten points last season.  They were 18th in the league in goals scored with 123 and 19th in the league with 134 points allowed. But they were 7th in the league in power play percentage, and 9th in penalty kill, which shows that they have a lot of skilled offensive players. It also shows that they are bad at 5 on 5 plays.  This is because they lack depth on forward and defense.  General Manager Craig MacTavish made some subtle moves to try and improve this situation.  He brought in 29 years old Boyd Gordon as a free agent from Phoenix with a three-year deal to be the third line center.  Gordon is exactly one piece that the Oilers have been missing, a tenacious checker who is very good defensively and is great on face-offs.  In addition, he brought in defenseman Andrew Ference from Boston as a free agent with another three-year deal.  Ference is the quintessential stay at home defenseman who will bring experience, leadership and stability to the Oilers defense, and he has also played in three Stanley Cup Finals.  These were solid moves that should take some pressure off the young players as they continue to develop.  Edmonton should contend for a playoff spot this season.  They make not make it, but they should be exciting to watch. Goalies While there was a lot of talk during the offseason that the Oilers were trying to get Ryan Miller from Buffalo at this point it seems like they are going to go with Devan Dubnyk as their starting goalie. Dubnyk had a solid 2013 season with a 14-16-6 record in 38 games, with a 2.57 goals against average, a .920 save percentage and 2 shutouts.  At 27 years old, he is still learning, so he can still get better.  At almost 6'6" and 210 pounds he has the one thing you can't teach which is good size.  He has really improved his positioning over the past few years, and he has good rebound control.  He has a tendency to give up soft goals occasionally and then brood about it which can get him off his game.  He was in control a lot better this past season.  Maybe coaching is helping him in this respect.  The Oilers have two ...

Ference is a hard-nosed defenseman that bolsters the Oilers blueline. He was the top D-man on the market and this is a good signing for a team who struggled in their own zone last season. He brings 120 games of playoff experience to an inexperienced roster.

Ference missed Games 6 and 7 in the first round and he will miss Game 1 vs. the Rangers with a lower-body injury.