UPDATE: Minnesota signed RW Jason Pominville to a 5-year contract extension. If I were playing on a line with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise, I'd sign on the dotted line too. After seeing his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, play last night against Detroit, he may be happier than ever with a new contract. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED--With the Detroit Red Wings moving into the Eastern Conference, people have been saying how the competition is tougher in the East. I say that the perennial powerhouse Red Wings will benefit from not having to travel across multiple time zones so many times across a full NHL season just to play a game. All that travel takes its toll on one's body and mental toughness.  You could reasonably expect better than average numbers from the Detroit players this season because of this factor, and you will probably notice the difference in their level of play as the season progresses.  Detroit finished in the middle of the pack last season in terms of Power Play ranking.  By the looks of last night's game, they are gunning for the top spot  in that category as they sported a 1st power play unit of Daniel Alfredsson and Niklas Kronwall at the points with Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk rounding out the unit. Although they were held off the board in last night's game, this group looks lethal. More Game Notes: NEW SEASON, NEW PLAYERS, NEW BEGINNINGS--New acquisition G Jonathan Bernier looked very solid in net for the Toronto Maple Leafs as he turned away 31 of 32 shots on goal to earn the road victory against Steve Mason and the Philadelphia Flyers. Bernier has stepped out from behind Jonathan Quick's shadow in Los Angeles and now battles James Reimer for playing time in TO. Bernier raised the bar with last night's solid effort.  Mason, who was acquired at the trade deadline last season, and Bernier are trying to prove to their teams that they can handle the No. 1 job and last night was a good start for both even though Mason took the loss....Speaking of new acquisitions, Leafs C David Bolland scored twice and looked like he had no trouble fitting in with the new club just 2 games into the season. Along with the 2 goals, he took 3 SOG and had 2 Hits and 1 Blocked Shot.  In the opener against Montreal, he didn't get on the score sheet, but was involved throughout the game with 2 SOG, 1 BS and 4 Hits.  Solid 5-6 forward on your fantasy squad....New Head Coach Patrick Roy may be doing wonders for Colorado Avalanche G Semyon ...

19-year old defenseman Hampus Lindholm netted the game-winning goal for Anaheim in the 4-1 win over Colorado. According to the Orange County Register, Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau has been very impressed early on with their '12 first-round pick. With Sheldon Souray out long-term, the opportunity is there for either Lindholm or Sami Vatanen to make the team right out of camp... A couple of our favorite bounce-back candidates for '13 were on the offensive last night, as Jordan Eberle(G/2A) and Marian Gaborik(2G) were dominant in victories for their respective teams, Edmonton and Columbus. The question regarding Eberle is which pivot will line up with him and Taylor Hall to start the season. Among the various options discussed by Oiler's Coach Dallas Eakins is temporarily shifting Hall to center. This situation is worth monitoring closely. Meanwhile, the "on-off" theory suggests a motivated Gaborik during his contract year should be strong after a disappointing '12-13 campaign... Carolina goalie Cam Ward played the entire game in a 5-4 loss to Columbus, stopping only 26 of 31 shots. After missing most of last season, early rust should be expected for one of the NHL's true workhorses. However, play it smart and also consider adding backup Anton Khudobin to your fantasy squads. Just in case Ward falters, the youngster has shown the abilty to be stingy in net during his time playing behind Tuukka Rask in Boston. Huge upgrade over last season's backups Dan Ellis and Justin Peters. Training Camp Update: Joffrey Lupul(back) returned to practice for Toronto. He was back on the top line with Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. Point-per-game upside, but huge injury concerns when drafting him.. One of our prime deep sleepers, Cal Clutterbuck, will be out indefinitely for the New York Islanders due to a leg laceration. He had huge success with John Tavares back in their OHL days, but we will have to wait awhile to see if the two can rekindle their past scoring chemistry.. Detroit's Johan Franzen is day-to-day with a hip injury. Until further notice, pencil him on the second line. Let's see how camp plays out. ***ATTENTION FANTASY HOCKEY LEAGUE COMMISSIONERS*** If you are the commissioner of an upcoming fantasy hockey league and will be holding a draft soon,  PrimePucks has some goodies for you to distribute to your league members.  Look even better to your league members by giving them free stuff.  Who doesn't like free stuff?  Contact cj@primepucks.com to find out more. ...

19-year old defenseman Hampus Lindholm netted the game-winning goal for Anaheim in the 4-1 win over Colorado. According to the Orange County Register, Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau has been very impressed early on with their '12 first-round pick. With Sheldon Souray out long-term, the opportunity is there for either Lindholm or Sami Vatanen to make the team right out of camp... A couple of our favorite bounce-back candidates for '13 were on the offensive last night, as Jordan Eberle(G/2A) and Marian Gaborik(2G) were dominant in victories for their respective teams, Edmonton and Columbus. The question regarding Eberle is which pivot will line up with him and Taylor Hall to start the season. Among the various options discussed by Oiler's Coach Dallas Eakins is temporarily shifting Hall to center. This situation is worth monitoring closely. Meanwhile, the "on-off" theory suggests a motivated Gaborik during his contract year should be strong after a disappointing '12-13 campaign... Carolina goalie Cam Ward played the entire game in a 5-4 loss to Columbus, stopping only 26 of 31 shots. After missing most of last season, early rust should be expected for one of the NHL's true workhorses. However, play it smart and also consider adding backup Anton Khudobin to your fantasy squads. Just in case Ward falters, the youngster has shown the abilty to be stingy in net during his time playing behind Tuukka Rask in Boston. Huge upgrade over last season's backups Dan Ellis and Justin Peters. Training Camp Update: Joffrey Lupul(back) returned to practice for Toronto. He was back on the top line with Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. Point-per-game upside, but huge injury concerns when drafting him.. One of our prime deep sleepers, Cal Clutterbuck, will be out indefinitely for the New York Islanders due to a leg laceration. He had huge success with John Tavares back in their OHL days, but we will have to wait awhile to see if the two can rekindle their past scoring chemistry.. Detroit's Johan Franzen is day-to-day with a hip injury. Until further notice, pencil him on the second line. Let's see how camp plays out. ***ATTENTION FANTASY HOCKEY LEAGUE COMMISSIONERS*** If you are the commissioner of an upcoming fantasy hockey league and will be holding a draft soon,  PrimePucks has some goodies for you to distribute to your league members.  Look even better to your league members by giving them free stuff.  Who doesn't like free stuff?  Contact cj@primepucks.com to find out more. ...

Franzen was penciled in to play left wing next to newcomers Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss.

Coming across an interesting read in the Detroit Free Press a few days back, Helene St. James speculated that Detroit's off-season acquisitions of Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson stand to benefit underachieving winger Johan Franzen the most. With the new influx of veteran scoring forwards on the Wing's roster, Coach Babcock can keep Datsyuk and Zetterberg together on the no.1 line, while the other three can form a formidable second offensive unit. Despite his tremendous upside, Franzen has yet to reach the 60 point mark in any season during his career, but perhaps this will be his best opportunity to do so. I think all three forwards will have a legitimate shot at cracking the 60-point barrier in 13/14, but if I had to choose one guy, I am going with Mr. Alfredsson. Reasons being, his motivation to earn his first Stanley Cup will help him turn the clock a few years back, while avoiding any serious injury. Also, he is a right-hand shot, which the Detroit power-play is in desperate need of. He can man the point, he could play along the boards.. You could be rest assured Coach Babcock will utilize him plenty alongside Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the top power-play unit. We have him scoring 58 points, but he does have 70-pt. upside.

Coming across an interesting read in the Detroit Free Press a few days back, Helene St. James speculated that Detroit's off-season acquisitions of Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson stand to benefit underachieving winger Johan Franzen the most. With the new influx of veteran scoring forwards on the Wing's roster, Coach Babcock can keep Datsyuk and Zetterberg together on the no.1 line, while the other three can form a formidable second offensive unit. Despite his tremendous upside, Franzen has yet to reach the 60 point mark in any season during his career, but perhaps this will be his best opportunity to do so. I think all three forwards will have a legitimate shot at cracking the 60-point barrier in 13/14, but if I had to choose one guy, I am going with Mr. Alfredsson. Reasons being, his motivation to earn his first Stanley Cup will help him turn the clock a few years back, while avoiding any serious injury. Also, he is a right-hand shot, which the Detroit power-play is in desperate need of. He can man the point, he could play along the boards.. You could be rest assured Coach Babcock will utilize him plenty alongside Datsyuk and Zetterberg on the top power-play unit. We have him scoring 58 points, but he does have 70-pt. upside.

MEET PRIMEPUCKS! If you would like to meet Mike, Ray and Steve of PrimePucks, join them at El Rio Grande restaurant and bar (located on the southwest corner of 38th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan on Wednesday, May 15th from 5:00 pm until ???. They will gladly talk pucks until your ears fall off! DETROIT vs. CHICAGO FANTASY MUST-STARTS: Chicago: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Jimmy Howard SLEEPERS: Chicago: Brandon Saad, Brent Seabrook Detroit: Damien Brunner, Dan Cleary read more

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PREVIEW DETROIT (7) vs. ANAHEIM (2) Must-Starts Red Wings: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, Jimmy Howard Ducks: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne, Francois Beauchemin Sleepers Red Wings: Damien Brunner, Johan Franzen Ducks: Bobby Ryan read more

There you have it. Babcock said that Franzen was going to be a game-time decision, but Franzen says he is in. This means Bertuzzi will not play.

Franzen was hurt last night and might miss tonight's game. We'll have to wait for an official word from the Red Wings. He has played great as of late (6 goals in his last 6 games) so this would be a big blow to the Red WIngs roster.