Boston Bruins stopped the red-hot Blues 2-0 behind Tuukka Rask's 33-save effort. Rask also stopped red-hot players such as Jori Lehtera, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko which has been no small feat lately...Patrice Bergeron continued with his 4th goal and 9th point in 8 November games. His goal was the game-winner.  Bergeron is the definition of pure consistency and leadership..... Marc-Andre Fleury notched his fourth shutout on the season, blanking the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre 4-0. Not really known as A shutout goalie, Fleury has raised his game over the past two seasons, so look for his strong play to continue....Beau Bennett had a goal and 2 assists in the game, showing signs that he is getting his game in order. Bennett is still not getting a lot of ice time, but as long as he continues to have games like this, he will be relied upon more.  Remember that this is only his fourth game back after missing the start of the season.  Perhaps he will be the winger that the team needs to fill out their top-six.....Sidney Crosby scored his first goal in 9 games. That's sort of news.... Jimmy Howard continued his 2014 resurgence with a 5-0 shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Red Wings played a solid game without their superstar center Pavel Datsyuk who is sidelined again with a groin injury. Age is catching up to the talented Centerman, but is still very productive when in the lineup...5 different goal scorers for the Wings, most from their young forward core; Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco and Sheahen all scoring for the Red Wings.... The New York Islanders turned the page on the Tampa Bay Lightning who beat the NY Rangers 5-1 last night but lost to the Isles 5-2. There was an emotional letdown for the Bolts and the Islanders took full advantage by beating ex-Islander goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who only saw his 4th start of the year... Like the Red Wings, the Isles had 5 different goal scorers and what was surprising was that John Tavares was held off the score sheet. Nothing to worry about though..... Buffalo did it again to the San Jose Sharks, beating them for a second time this season, this time by a score of 4-1. Sabres' starter Michal Neuvirth (LBI) had to leave the game and Jhonas Enroth held the Sharks at bay. Brian Gionta was the scoring star with 2 goals and an assist, but I would steer clear of any Sabres until you see more stability from the team as a whole.... The days of being a defensive-style team is long gone as the Nashville ...

Just as Tuesday night was good to be the home team with 10 of 11 teams winning at home, Friday night was good to be out on the road with 5 of the 6 visiting teams taking home the 2 points. The night was sandwiched around shutouts, first by New Jersey's Cory Schneider who seems to be getting into a groove after a rough 4 game stretch and then by, of all goalies, Arizona's Devan Dubnyk. I'm not too surprised by Schneider's 1-0 blanking of the Washington Capitals but Dubnyk?  I guess with the way Mike Smith has been playing of late, even last year's Holey Goalie was a better option. I would continue starting Schneider but don't have a lot of faith in Dubnyk.  Dubnyk may have earned another start, but Smith will be their starter....Schneider played well but the Devils caught a break when Mike Cammalleri intercepted a pass from Washington G Braden Holtby and fired the miscue into the net for his seventh goal and the game-winner. Cammalleri has provided the offense the Devils were lacking last year.  Good signing Lou!.... Arizona D-man Keith Yandle continues to be a somewhat undervalued beast on defense as he scored a goal and 2 assists and now leads the Coyotes in scoring with 14 points in 17 games. Yandle has led the team in scoring the past two seasons and it looks like he is heading for the trifecta....Hats off to Martin Hanzal who had a hat trick in the 5-0 pasting of the Vancouver Canucks. Hanzal is a decent depth fantasy forward but that's about it....I guess you could say that Vancouver's G Ryan Miller was due for a clunker after an 11-2-0 start. Expect Miller to return to form in his next start..... IT was quite a matchup between two teams who have been frequent exchangers of players over the past few years. Steve Mason didn't fare as well as he would have liked against his former team, losing 4-3 and only stopping 34 of 38 SOG. Mason has not fared as well as last season, but the young goalie should shake off the inconsistency.... Jakub Voracek, another ex-Blue Jacket, had a better game with goal and an assist to continue his torrid start to the 2014 season. He now has 24 points in 17 games and is 1 point behind league leader Sidney Crosby. WOW!...Ex-Flyer Scott Hartnell tried his darnedness to get on the score sheet as he took 6 SOG, but Mason gobbled those up....Ryan Johansen had a 4 assist night and along with Nick Foligno (2G, A) are your best options for offense on Columbus....Blue Jacket D-man James Wisniewski scored his first 2 goals on the ...

Datsyuk missed the Red Wings last two games with a groin injury that he suffered in Friday's game day skate. The Wings are off until Friday so Datsyuk has four days to recover, so the team is expecting him back Friday or Sunday.

While I am a bit skeptical of Ryan Callahan continuing his strong play for the Lightning for the long-term, he is being utilized in a very fantasy-friendly fashion so far. The feisty winger collected two more assists last night in the SO win over Detroit, giving him 11 points in 10 games. Playing alongside Steven Stamkos could result in career numbers if he can stay healthy, but I am loving the supreme dose of power-play time that he has been receiving, Five of his 11 points have come on the man-advantage, so you need to start Callahan right now as he has been sizzling.. Winger Gustav Nyquist will have to wake up for Detroit and take a permanent step forward if the Red Wings are going to withstand the latest injury to Pavel Datsyuk. Good sign for fantasy owners as he responded last night with a goal and an assist. 11 points in 14 games, but young Gustav is on a 40-goal pace to start the year.. Despite losing three of his previous four starts, Chicago goalie Corey Crawford has been "money" for his fantasy owners in the early going. After stopping 32 of 34 shots in the 5-2 triumph over San Jose, his peripheral stats are now 1.75 GAA and .932 SP. Even with Taylor Hall out, Ryan-Nugent Hopkins has been remarkably consistent for the Edmonton Oilers, gathering points in 8 of his last ten games. RNH was the fantasy star of the night in the Oiler's road win at MSG, collecting a goal and an assist. Look for his numbers to soar by mid-season with Hall back in the line-up and the chemistry fully intact.

Datsyuk will miss his second straight game with a groin injury that he suffered on Friday before their win vs. the Devils. "I have no idea when Pav will be back," coach Mike Babcock said Saturday. After Sunday, the Wings don't play again until Friday, so he will have a full week to heal.

Datsyuk was a late scratch for Friday's game against the Devils and might not play tomorrow vs. the Lightning either. He took part in the morning skate on Friday, but developed a sore groin before game time. Rather than risk anything long term, it was decided to scratch Datsyuk, whose availability is day-to-day.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE The Carolina Hurricanes, behind goaltender Cam Ward's 4th straight win, have risen from the bottom of the Eastern Conference by switching places with the team they beat last night in the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 in overtime, who now share that dubious distinction with the Buffalo Sabres. There was a lot skepticism that Ward would not be able to return to form as Carolina's no. 1 net minder especially after how backup Anton Khudobin filled in during his injury last season. After a rough start to this season, and perhaps needing time to build up his strength, the Hurricane goalkeeper has flashed his past form during this modest 4-game winning streak and claiming the starter's job.  Holy glove save Batman! Ward is back....One Cane that is playing strong of late is C Elias Lindholm who has 6 points in the last 4 games with 3-game winners. He has been getting considerable power play time so he is definitely worth a pickup while he is hot...Columbus has now lost 7 straight after a fabulous pre-season record and a 4-2-0 start to the season.  Look for the Blue Jackets to turn their season around as they start to get players back from injury.... The Edmonton Oilers stopped a 4-game losing streak but it was against the lowly Sabres, but it was a win nonetheless and the Oil needed it badly but changes are probably in the works as their lead scorer Taylor Hall is out for a few weeks with a leg injury. Things have not progressed the way Edmonton would have liked, so there are rumors floating around that big changes are on their way..... Detroit halted their three-game losing streak with a win over the New Jersey Devils as they returned home. Jimmy Howard didn't have to do much as he only faced 17 shots from a Devils team that has been beset by injuries of late.  The Devils have now lost 3 in arrow and G Cory Schneider has looked very human in the past 2 games.....Pavel Datsyuk hurt his grown in practice earlier in the day and did not dress. Expect Datsyuk to miss a few games at the least..... The Washington Capitals scored three late 2nd period goals to wipe out a 2-0 deficit and held on for the 3-2 victory. G Braden Holtby stopped 38 of 40 to raise his record to 4-3-2. The Caps need more games like this from Holtby if they are going to make a run for the playoffs.  Marcus Johansson and Andre Burakovsky were the catalyst on offense along with D Matt Niskanen's 2 assists. Burakovsky holds a lot of promise but the other 2 are mainly support/depth...

The trio of Pavel Datsyuk (2G, A), Henrik Zetterberg (2A) and Gustav Nyquist (2 PPG, A) proved to be too much for the LA Kings as they combined for 8 points in the 5-2 win. Tomas Tatar also scored showing that the changing of the guard in Detroit is well underway... Jimmy Howard is playing like a man possessed as he is putting last year's off-year behind him, posting a line of 5-1-2 with a 1.97 GAA and .929 SP, making him one of the top goaltenders so far this year. This could be his best year yet.... The injuries are starting to take their toll on the Columbus Blue Jackets as they dropped to 4-6-0 after a 7-1-0 pre-season. Ryan Johansen and Cam Atkinson are their main offensive weapons up front but until players like Sergei Bobrovsky, James Wisniewski, Boone Jenner and Artem Anisimov return to the lineup, it will be tough sledding.... Anaheim's Frederik Andersen raised his record to 7-1-0 with a 2-1 overtime win against Dallas on the road. It was a big win for the Ducks, and especially Andersen who seems to be in a sharing situation with rookie John Gibson even though his numbers are worthy of a no. 1 status. It appears that this will be a platoon situation as they don't want either young goaltender to ride the pine for too long, with both needing to play to get into any rhythm. Calgary 4-Nashville 3:  Some things to bring out of this contest is that Nashville's James Neal is getting comfortable playing alongside Mike Ribeiro & Company as he potted 2 goals last night, giving him 7 on the year....Calgary's T.J. Brodie scored his 4th goal of the year giving him 9 points in 12 games, already matching last year's goal production. Brodie is the real deal....At 4-2-1 with a 1.82. GAA and .941 SP, Jonas Hiller is going to make playing the Flames very tough this year.....Both Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist apiece against Nashville showing that Calgary has a bright future in front of them, and if they can just prove to be a bit more consistent, that future can be later this year.

All signs were pointing to Datsyuk playing tonight on Monday, but head coach Mike Babcock just confirmed that he will be in. Datsyuk's return is a huge boost to the Red Wings offence, which is currently ranked 26th (2.20 G/PG) and power-play which is 24th, clicking at just 9.5%. Get Datsyuk in all of your lineups.

Datsyuk is skating in a regular jersey for the first time since suffering a second-grade shoulder separation in the preseason opener. He reportedly looks great and is practicing hard this morning. All of that, plus skating with Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader are all good signs he might be ready to go tomorrow vs. Montreal.