My wife and I will soon be making our Thanksgiving feast for our family, so I will be somewhat brief in my remarks today. There were 10 games in the NHL last night, and I will highlight what we think were the most important events... Montreal beat the terrible Sabres 3-1, but the big news was that Canadiens forward David Desharnais had a goal and an assist in the game, and while he has only 6 points on the season he has been reunited with former linemate Max Pacioretty and he may suprise you the rest of the year.  He led the team last night with 4:55 minutes of PP time.  He is getting top quality ice time... the Islanders continue to struggle as they lose to Winnipeg 3-2.  If it wasn't for John Tavares I don't know why anyone would go to an Islanders game.  He had a goal and an assist last night and he has 29 points in 25 games.  Elite forward....Andrew Ladd had a goal for the Jets and he has 20 points on the season....Ottawa beat Washington 6-4... and as usual Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson had a big game with 2 assists. Karlsson has 26 points on the season, and this guy scores like he is a forward....Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan had 2 goals, and he is having a great year with 24 points, but we would like to highlight Kyle Turris who had an assist for the Senators, and is having a solid season with 21 points. Grab him if you can. Marek the magnificent:  With Pekka Rinne out with an injury, the Nashville Predators are relying more and more on young Marek Mazanec in goal, and he has not disappointed. Last night he had a shutout against Columbus with 19 saves.  This kid can play.  He is 5-3 on the year with a 2.01 goals against and a .935 save percentage.  Play him if you can. Boston is a no show:  The Boston Bruins decided to celebrate Thanksgiving early, as they did not show up for last night's game against Detroit.  There are games when you realize quickly that one of the teams are taking the game off.  Detroit 6 - Boston 1.  With Pavel Datsyuk out, the Wings rely on Henrik Zetterberg for leadership, and he did not disappoint last night with a goal and an assist. He has 30 points on the season, and he is a top fantasy forward.  More interesting is youngster Gustav Nyquist who had a goal and an assist. Nyquist has 4 points in 4 games since being recalled from the minors.  He has a lot of skill, and is a up and comer.  Keep an eye on him. Head of the class:  Big night for Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman as he had 2 goals and an assist in last night's ...

My wife and I will soon be making our Thanksgiving feast for our familly, so I will be somewhat brief in my remarks today. There were 10 games in the NHL last night, and I will highlight what we think were the most important events... Montreal beat the terrible Sabres 3-1, but Canadiens forward David Desharnais had a goal and an assist in the game, and while he has only 6 points on the season he has been reunited with Max Pacioretty and he may suprise you the rest of the year.  He led the team last night with 4:55 minutes of PP time.  He is getting top quality ice time... the Islanders continue to struggle as they lose to Winnipeg 3-2.  If it wasn't for John Tavares I don't know why anyone would go to an Islanders game.  He had a goal and an assist last night and he has 29 points in 25 games.  Elite forward. Andrew Ladd had a goal for the Jets and he has 20 points on the season...Ottawa beat Washington 6-4... and as usual Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson had a big game with 2 assists.  Karlsson has 26 points on the season, and this guy scores like he is a forward.  Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan had 2 goals, and he is having a great year with 24 points, but we would like to highlight Kyle Turris who had an assist for the Senators, and is having a solid season with 21 points. Grab him if you can. Marek the magnificent:  With Pekka Rinne out with an injury the Nashville Predators are relying more and more on young Marek Mazanec in goal, and he has not disappointed. Last night he had a shutout against Columbus with 19 saves.  This kid can play.  He is 5-3 on the year with a 2.01 goals against and a .935 save percentage.  Play him if you can. Boston is a no show:  The Boston Bruins decided decided to celebrate Thanksgiving early, as they did not show up for last night's game against Detroit.  There are games when you realize quickly that one of the teams are taking the game off.  Detroit 6 Boston 1.  With Pavel Datsyuk out, the Wings rely on Henrik Zetterberg for leadership, and he did not disappoint last night with a goal and an assist. He has 30 points on the season, and he is a top fantasy forward.  More interesting is youngster Gustav Nyquist who had a goal and an assist. Nyquist has 4 points in 4 games since being recalled from the minors.  He has a lot of skill, and is a up and comer.  Keep an eye on him. Head of the class:  Big night for Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman as he had 2 goals and an assist in last night's 4-2 victory over Philadelphia.  ...

Datsyuk was on the ice for the Red Wings optional skate this morning, which is a good sign, but he still won't play on Friday. The Red Wings are not sure if he will make the road trip at all, which puts his status for Sunday in doubt. Monitor his status as the week progresses.

Datsyuk rode the stationary bike today but did not skate with his teammates today. Red Wings GM Ken Holland confirmed that Datsyuk will not play tomorrow. Datsyuk was injured after being elbowed in the head by Senators defenseman Jared Cowen. Consider home questionable for Friday's game vs. the Islanders.

Datsyuk was injured on an elbow from Jared Cowen on Saturday and did not play on Sunday. The good news for the Red Wings is that the injury does not sound serious. He could play on Wednesday but it likely won't be announced until game-day.

Brent Burns-San Jose, RW (Owned in 77.4% of ESPN leagues) After missing time on the injured reserve, the winger was back on Joe Thornton's line this week with a goal and an assist in the two games. With 10 points in 10 games, the 28-year old has become a permanent fixture in the top-six and also presents the possibilty of having dual position eligibility if he is ever moved back on defense. His booming shot has made him indispensable on the power-lay, so a "healthy" Burns could be a fantasy difference-maker down the stretch. Just hope that he can stay out of the infirmiery! Gustav Nyquist- Detroit Red Wings, C (Owned in 22.1% of ESPN leagues) With the news that Nyquist will be staying up with Red Wings for the rest of the season, fantasy owners should be snatching up the talented forward on the merits of his offensive upside and potential line-mates. While return of Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson can effect his top-six status among the forwards, Nyquist will be given a shot to play a more prominent role on the offense. He scored 2 goals in his season debut against Carolina while lining up with Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen. With Pavel Datsyuk possibly dealing with a concussion, Nyquist might be relied upon even more. Kimmo Timonen- Philadelphia Flyers, D (Owned in 80.1% of ESPN leagues) Does four points in the last four games fully restore our faith in the usually consistent Finn, who did not register a single point for the first 13 games? Ouch! Not quite, but the 38-year old veteran has bounced back in a strong way, collecting five points in his last 11 games. Even with the addition of Mark Streit, Timonen has maintained his position on the Flyer's top power-play, which has vastly improved during the team's strong stretch. He might not match his numbers from last season, but he should be a lock for 30-point production. Decent "buy-low" opportunity. Andrej Sekera- Carolina Hurricanes, D (Owned in 23.9% of ESPN leagues) Despite having his goal-scoring streak snapped at two games, the defender played over 23 minutes in yesterday's 4-1 win over Ottawa, while leading the entire team in PP time with 3:28 minutes. His game has taken off since being partnered with Justin Faulk on the top pairing. With 11 points (5G/6A) in 24 games, the 27-year old is showing off some of his untapped offensive upside, but it surely helps that he is getting an uptick in minutes. Marek Mazanec- Nashville Predators, G ( (Owned in 12.6% of ESPN leagues) The Czech...

"I just texted him and he seems to be doing just fine," head coach Mike Babcock said before faceoff at the First Niagara Center. "So well see if he's available the next game." That Red Wings next game is Wednesday against the Boston Bruins at Joe Louis Arena.

Datsyuk was elbowed in the jaw by defenseman Jared Cowen with 7:48 remaining in the Ottawa Senators' 4-2 victory Saturday. Datsyuk was shaken up momentarily but got up and played three more shifts. His last shift, however, lasted only 12 seconds, and he did not play in the final 1:51. Daniel Alfredsson will take Datsyuk's place in the lineup. Alfredsson has missed five games with a pulled groin.

The Red Wings have lost seven straight games (five in OT or SO), in that span they have scored 16 goals. Datsyuk scored five of those goals and assisted on two. Datsyuk and Zetterberg have scored a large majority of the Wings goals this season. Datsyuk has 11 while Z has 10 which is 21 of Detroit's 54 goals (38.8%). Splitting them up is an attempt to spark their impotent offence.

In last night's contest between two of the "Best In The West", Oliver-Ekman Larsson scored the overtime game-winner for the Phoenix Coyotes in their 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The 22-year old is making plenty of fantasy noise in his fourth season, as he looks to be breaking out in a big way. With a goal and an assist, the rising Swede now has 15 points in 19 games, "knocking on the door" of the fantasy elite defenseman in the NHL. Last season, he scored at a .50 point-per-game clip with 24 points in 48 games, but he seems to have taken his game to a higher level in the early stages of the '13-14 season so far. His rise to stardom looks eerily similar to the path taken by fellow countryman Erik Karlsson, who wasn't exactly surrounded by elite starpower either. Forget about the fact that Ekman-Larsson plays for a presumed defensive-minded team, the Coyotes actually resemble a very competent offensive squad this year, so look for him to make a strong push for top-five defensemen scoring honors. Anyone Better Than "AO"? Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin ended the game in grand style, scoring the OT game-winner in Washington's come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Columbus. With Steven Stamkos out indefinitely after breaking his tibia, "Ovie" should coast toward winning the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals in the season. He has replicated his '13 Hart Trophy form so far, collecting 14 goals and 24 points in 17 games. With the possible exception of Sidney Crosby, he is the elite fantasy forward to own. Anderson Or Lehner? Despite Robin Lehner leading the Ottawa Senators to four straight wins and capturing Player Of The Week honors, Craig Anderson was back in the net to face the Philadelphia Flyers. The results were less favorable to say the least, as he gave up 5 goals on 31 shots in the 5-0 blowout loss. Anderson is 4-5-0 on the season with a 3.30 GAA and .906 SP. Meanwhile, Lehner posted a 3-0 record last week with a 1.33 GAA and .958 SP. The youngster has allowed two or fewer goals in six of eight starts, so he has been the far better option in goal for the Sens thus far. Anderson owners need to snag Lehner ASAP if he is still available, because he will make a strong play for the permanent starting job very soon- if not already. More Fantasy Game Notes: Ryan Miller was a world-beater in the crease last night for the Buffalo Sabres, turning away 43 of 45 shots in the Sabres 3-2 SO win over the Los Angeles Kings. Man, when he eventually gets traded...