Howard has been scratched for the last three games because of a knee injury. Petr Mrazek has been reassigned to Grand Rapids which says that Howie is ready to return to the crease. Jonas Gustavsson struggled on Sunday, so there is a good chance that Howard will start in Philadelphia tomorrow.

The big news of the night was the trade of Michael Del Zotto to the Nashville Predators. The NY Rangers finally parted ways with the talented but enigmatic defenseman.  Read more about the MDZ trade in PRIME VIEWS....Without the services of Jimmy Howard and Pavel Datsyuk, both out due to injuries, Henrik Zetterberg placed the Red Wings on his shoulders and carried them to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, no small feat.  Zetts had 3 assists on the night and now has 6 points in past 3 games; 9 points in 9 January games and 12 in past 11; signs that he is heating up.  If the Red Wings hope to get back into the playoff race, they will need Zetts to burden the load until the others return to the lineup....Gustav Nyquist may be relied upon more and more down the stretch for these Detroit Red Wings. Nyquist had a goal and an assist giving him 4 points in his last 3 games.  If you are in need of a depth forward, Nyquist just might be the elixir as he will be playing with some very talented forwards in Hockeytown... More Fantasy Game Notes: The Philadelphia Flyers may have wished they played the game the night before given the results. Alex Semin continues his torrid pace with another goal. That's four goals in last 3 games for the ultra-talented but oft-injured forward.  You can probably expect a point-per-game pace as he seems comfortable playing alongside Eric Staal as witnessed by his 44 points in 44 games in last year's Lockout season. ...Last year's surprise, Jiri Tlusty, had a goal and an assist last night giving him 3 points in past 4 games. I don't know if you can expect the same production as last year's (23-15-38 in 48 games), but he may be worth a shot if you are desperate for offense and need to find a spark....Matt Niskanen is not slowing down even with the return of Paul Martin to the lineup and the Pens defense back to full strength. With 2 assists last night, Niskanen now has 11 points in past 10 games and is playing twenty minutes on average.  Martin did have an assist though....Jussi Jokinen may not break his career high in points of 65 back in 2009-2010 while with the Carolina Hurricanes, but he may get darn close playing with these Pittsburgh Penguins. Where else can you find an under the radar talent that can get you 60, maybe 70 points?

The big news of the night was the trade of Michael Del Zotto to the Nashville Predators. The NY Rangers finally parted ways with the talented but enigmatic defenseman.  Read more about the MDZ trade in PRIME VIEWS....Without the services of Jimmy Howard and Pavel Datsyuk, both out due to injuries, Henrik Zetterberg placed the Red Wings on his shoulders and carried them to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, no small feat.  Zetts had 3 assists on the night and now has 6 points in past 3 games; 9 points in 9 January games and 12 in past 11; signs that he is heating up.  If the Red Wings hope to get back into the playoff race, they will need Zetts to burden the load until the others return to the lineup....Gustav Nyquist may be relied upon more and more down the stretch for these Detroit Red Wings. Nyquist had a goal and an assist giving him 4 points in his last 3 games.  If you are in need of a depth forward, Nyquist just might be the elixir as he will be playing with some very talented forwards in Hockeytown... More Fantasy Game Notes: The Philadelphia Flyers may have wished they played the game the night before given the results. Alex Semin continues his torrid pace with another goal. That's four goals in last 3 games for the ultra-talented but oft-injured forward.  You can probably expect a point-per-game pace as he seems comfortable playing alongside Eric Staal as witnessed by his 44 points in 44 games in last year's Lockout season. ...Last year's surprise, Jiri Tlusty, had a goal and an assist last night giving him 3 points in past 4 games. I don't know if you can expect the same production as last year's (23-15-38 in 48 games), but he may be worth a shot if you are desperate for offense and need to find a spark....Matt Niskanen is not slowing down even with the return of Paul Martin to the lineup and the Pens defense back to full strength. With 2 assists last night, Niskanen now has 11 points in past 10 games and is playing twenty minutes on average.  Martin did have an assist though....Jussi Jokinen may not break his career high in points of 65 back in 2009-2010 while with the Carolina Hurricanes, but he may get darn close playing with these Pittsburgh Penguins. Where else can you find an under the radar talent that can get you 60, maybe 70 points?

This is bad timing for Howard who just started to get his game on track recently. Luckily for the Red Wings Jonas Gustavsson will return to the crease on Wednesday after missing nine games with a groin injury. Petr Mrazek will stay with the team while Howie is out.

Howard had been playing well despite allowing three goals on 25 shots. The Blues were all over the Red Wings for the large majority of Monday's contest and Howard was up to the test, until he was forced from the game with a knee injury. Howard will be reevaluated today. Howie had just started to get his game back on track, so missing any time would be a tough break for he and his fantasy investors. Jonas Gustavsson is expected to return Wednesday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, giving the Wings a tandem of Gustavsson and Petr Mrazek.

Joe Pavelski continues his elite scoring ways for the Sharks with two more goals in the 3-2 win over Calgary. With 18 goals in the past 20 games, he now has 27 on the season, tied for second in the NHL with Corey Perry. At this rate, his career-high of 31 goals will be obliterated very soon, but be wary of a point slow-down after the Sochi Olympics. A few of the "chosen ones" for Team USA have responded with above-the-norm scoring production, but it will be difficult for them to maintain that pace. In the case of Pavelski, his current point-per-game scoring pace of "50 in 50" is unchartered territory for him, as his best statistical year was his 66 points in 74 games back in '10-11. For now, enjoy the ride as few are better for fantasy purposes. USA Snub Keeps Rubbing It In: On the contrary to Pavelski, Kyle Okposo keeps putting up "monster" numbers in the face of not being selected by Team USA. He pulled off the Gordie Howe hat trick against the Flyers yesterday afternoon, including scoring the game-winner in the shoot-out. With 49 points in 50 games, he has been exceptionally sharp with 13 points (6G/7A) in the last 10 games. His scoring pace could actually remain constant, considering he is clicking with John Tavares and at the age of 25, he could be breaking out in Year 6. Plus, he will not be dealing with post-Olympic fatigue and his motivation for being snubbed will last all season long. Am loving Okposo as a solid fantasy option in the second half! More Fantasy-Game Notes: Toronto's Nazem Kadri has responded to a plethora of trade rumors with another solid effort, a goal and an assist in the 4-2 win over Phoenix. With 4 points in the last two games, he has briefly bounced back after a mediocre first half so far, but can fantasy owners trust him? He will need a few more high-scoring efforts to warrant fantasy status.. What's up with Kari Lehtonen? With yesterday's loss to Nashville, he has gone 1-6-1 in his last 8 starts. His current numbers are still better-than-average with a 17-14-8 record, a 2.69 GAA and a .913 SP. If you have a better option, sit him for now.. Watch out for Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner, who been playing at a very high level in recent games. With a goal and an assist against Nashville, the enigmatic blueliner might be worth a look if Coach Randy Carlyle keeps rewarding him with big minutes, especially on the power-play... Jimmy Howard and Jakub Voracek both left their respective games due to injury. In the case of Howard, ...

Joe Pavelski continues his elite scoring ways for the Sharks with two more goals in the 3-2 win over Calgary. With 18 goals in the past 20 games, he now has 27 on the season, tied for second in the NHL with Corey Perry. At this rate, his career-high of 31 goals will be obliterated very soon, but be wary of a point slow-down after the Sochi Olympics. A few of the "chosen ones" for Team USA have responded with above-the-norm scoring production, but it will be difficult for them to maintain that pace. In the case of Pavelski, his current point-per-game scoring pace of "50 in 50" is unchartered territory for him, as his best statistical year was his 66 points in 74 games back in '10-11. For now, enjoy the ride as few are better for fantasy purposes. USA Snub Keeps Rubbing It In: On the contrary to Pavelski, Kyle Okposo keeps putting up "monster" numbers in the face of not being selected by Team USA. He pulled off the Gordie Howe hat trick against the Flyers yesterday afternoon, including scoring the game-winner in the shoot-out. With 49 points in 50 games, he has been exceptionally sharp with 13 points (6G/7A) in the last 10 games. His scoring pace could actually remain constant, considering he is clicking with John Tavares and at the age of 25, he could be breaking out in Year 6. Plus, he will not be dealing with post-Olympic fatigue and his motivation for being snubbed will last all season long. Am loving Okposo as a solid fantasy option in the second half! More Fantasy-Game Notes: Toronto's Nazem Kadri has responded to a plethora of trade rumors with another solid effort, a goal and an assist in the 4-2 win over Phoenix. With 4 points in the last two games, he has briefly bounced back after a mediocre first half so far, but can fantasy owners trust him? He will need a few more high-scoring efforts to warrant fantasy status.. What's up with Kari Lehtonen? With yesterday's loss to Nashville, he has gone 1-6-1 in his last 8 starts. His current numbers are still better-than-average with a 17-14-8 record, a 2.69 GAA and a .913 SP. If you have a better option, sit him for now.. Watch out for Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner, who been playing at a very high level in recent games. With a goal and an assist against Nashville, the enigmatic blueliner might be worth a look if Coach Randy Carlyle keeps rewarding him with big minutes, especially on the power-play... Jimmy Howard and Jakub Voracek both left their respective games due to injury. In the case of Howard, ...

Howard allowed two goals on 32 shots in a 3-2 shootout win over the Kings on Saturday. Howard stopped all three shootout attempts as he exorcised he shootout demons as he moved to 1-5 in shootouts this season. Tonight he will face St. Louis, a former divisional foe. He was 1-2-1 with a 3.54 GAA and .875 SV% against the Blues last season.

Howard stopped 47 of 48 shots in a tough-luck 1-0 loss to the Rangers on Thursday. He has been great in his last two starts, stopping 91 of 93 shots (.979 SV%). On Saturday he will face the Kings again, he just stopped 44 of 45 shots in a 3-1 win in L.A on Saturday.

Howard stopped 44 of 45 shots in a 3-1 win over the Kings on Saturday. It was a fantastic display of goaltending on Saturday, but Howard needs to string a couple of strong outings together, he has been frustratingly inconsistent this season. Tonight he will face the Rangers for the second time, the Red Wings were defeated in OT the first time around.