After being injured on Sunday, Jones will not play on Monday and is doubtful for the back-to-back on Thursday and Friday. Michael Del Zotto will slot back into the lineup with Jones out.

Jones left Sunday's game after being crunched by Andrew Shaw. His absence this morning suggests that he will not be in the lineup tonight vs. Colorado. That would mean Michael Del-Zotto will be back in the lineup tonight.

Morning! Not a good week for defensemen in the NHL as quite a few well-known and prominent d-men went down from being hit from behind; Dan Boyle, Niklas Kronwall and Lubomir Visnovsky. I thought this hybrid icing was supposed to prevent all this? Nothing like playing against the Rangers to bring out the best in the Devils, who finally got their first win last night. Okay, so each team now has a win and regulation loss except the San Jose Sharks. You just might have seen this year's Stanley Cup matchup when Vancouver played Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon. I think it's safe to say that Sidney Crosby is heating up as he has averaged 3 points per game over the last 4 games. RNH is definitely having a bounce back season. He may have more points already than he did all of last year.   It just seems like it, doesn't it? Let's hope that Taylor Hall's knee injury isn't that serious. I like that they sent a message to Nail Yakupov by sitting him a few games. You just have to love that Colorado Avalanche team and the way Head Coach Patrick Roy has them playing. He has practically raised G Semyon Varlamov from the dead. Every once in a while Ryan Miller throws in a stinker of a game just like every goaltender, but for the most part this season, he has played fairly well. Too bad the Sabres can't score. This year's #1 overall draft selection C Nathan MacKinnon is off to a fine star with 7 points in his first 8 games. No surprise that both goals for the Nashville Predators last night came from the sticks of defensemen Shea Weber and Seth Jones. Get used to that. Brendan Gallagher is not letting the sophomore jinx play in his head as he took 9 SOG and scored the lone goal in Montreal's loss to the Preds. T-Rask showed Ben Bishop who's the boss as he blanked the Bolts last night. The B's finally offered some support by scoring 5 goals in that contest. I think Minnesota is glad to be done with visiting the Sunshine State teams now that they have lost both games there. Kyle Okposo just may have that breakout year that everyone has been waiting for. So far, and we're not even 10 games into the season, but Carolina is playing a lot better than I had thought they would. Caps Goalie Braden Holtby is starting to round into form after a shaky start to the season. I believe Chicago is really serious about winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. And they can do it. The Sharks have scored 39 goals so far. The next team is Toronto with 30.  Philly and the Rangers have scored the least ...

Ever since Ryan Suter bolted Nashville for Minnesota via free agency in '12, the Predator organization has been lacking that high-end option on the blueline to pair up with big Shea Weber. Well, until now of course! The Predators received a huge gift during the '13 NHL Entry Draft when consensus number-one ranked skater Seth Jones fell in their lap with the fourth overall pick. The 6-foot-4 defender piled up 56 points in 61 games for the WHL's Portland Winterhawks last season, and at the ripe age of 18, he was generally viewed as the most NHL-ready out of this year's rookie class. He has made his presence felt in the Predator lineup instantly, averaging more than 23 minutes in his five games. While it was expected for Jones to compete for a top-four spot immediately, unforeseen circumstances have resulted in more opportunity for Jones to grow up quickly on the job.With Roman Josi out indefinitely with a concussion, coach Barry Trotz has moved Jones up to the top pairing with Shea Weber, both on even-strength and with the man advantage. The youngster has benefited from the extended minutes, scoring his first NHL goal on Saturday night and has also picked up an assist for two points overall in five games. The goal, which was the result of a booming shot on the power-play, should have caught the attention of most fantasy owners, who should expect more of that from the talented Jones this season. Remember Buffalo's Tyler Myers, who burst onto the scene with a 48-point explosion in '09-10? It's entirely possible that Jones could get close to that point range if he stays on the top pairing with Weber for the long haul. However, unlike Myers, Jones is poised to have more long-term success because he won't have to shoulder the whole load of running the defense too early in his career, while riding shotgun to Weber.This bodes well for his keeper league owners, who are expecting Jones to be in the fantasy top ten for years to come. He hasn't arrived yet, but he is sure making his mark for Nashville in the early going. Parting Shots: Not the great start we expected from '11-12 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, who is still logging big minutes for Ottawa, but has only collected two points in five games. If you own him, be patient. If you don't and his slide continues a bit longer, try to "buy low". The points will come in bunches... The Los Angeles Kings, who have the benefit of having a surplus of offensive d-men, have scratched young Jacob Muzzin for three ...

The big story surrounding the San Jose Shark's early surge has been the stellar play of Czech rookie Tomas Hertl, who has "fit like a glove" on the first line with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns. Well, he outdid himself last night after scoring his first NHL "hat trick", plus another highlight-reel goal for good measure in the Sharks 9-2 drubbing of the New York Rangers. The 19-year old now leads the entire league with 6 goals and 7 points, while sitting second with a +5 rating. It's obviously way too early to hand him over the Calder Trophy, but his early performance should not be discounted, either. This is the type of young player with "Jaromir Jagr"-like potential, that can really motivate a veteran like Thornton to keep pushing him to new heights. He is worth an immediate waiver-wire grab in all leagues, but could end up being fantasy gold in keeper formats. Other Fantasy Notes: Roberto Luongo wins the showdown against former goalie mate Cory Schneider, stopping 21 of 23 shots in Vancouver's 3-2 OT win over New Jersey. The real fantasy star of the night was defenseman Jason Garrison, who scored the overtime goal, his third of the season, and extended his point streak to four games. He is looking very legit in the early going, but it's probably too late to pick him up.... No James Neal? No problem for the Penguins, as Jussi Jokinen scored his first career "hat trick", including two on the power-play. Even though he will lose PP time when Neal returns, it's worth noting that he has collected 14 points in 13 games since being traded to Pittsburgh. If he stays on the 2nd line, 60 pts. is a definite possibility.... Need a d-man? You were warned by us that Jamie McBain can have a fantasy impact on his new team, the Buffalo Sabres. The 25-year old scored a goal and an assist, both on the powerplay, and logged 4:24 minutes on the top PP unit. Tyler Myers has "gone south" in a hurry, so keep McBain on your radar.... John Tavares scored his first two goals and now has four points in three games, but what about that second line on Long Island? Michael Grabner, Frans Nielson, and Josh Bailey combined for 9 points in the 6-1 romp over Phoenix. I like Grabner the best out of the lot for fantasy purposes. He has 35+ goal potential.. Speaking of Phoenix, Mike Ribeiro has yet to register a single point through three games. We saw that coming. Hopefully, you read our '13-14 Fantasy Guide and did not overrate him based on his gaudy numbers with Washington last season.....

The big story surrounding the San Jose Shark's early surge has been the stellar play of Czech rookie Tomas Hertl, who has "fit like a glove" on the first line with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns. Well, he outdid himself last night after scoring his first NHL "hat trick", plus another highlight-reel goal for good measure in the Sharks 9-2 drubbing of the New York Rangers. The 19-year old now leads the entire league with 6 goals and 7 points, while sitting second with a +5 rating. It's obviously way too early to hand him over the Calder Trophy, but his early performance should not be discounted, either. This is the type of young player with "Jaromir Jagr"-like potential, that can really motivate a veteran like Thornton to keep pushing him to new heights. He is worth an immediate waiver-wire grab in all leagues, but could end up being fantasy gold in keeper formats. Other Fantasy Notes: Roberto Luongo wins the showdown against former goalie mate Cory Schneider, stopping 21 of 23 shots in Vancouver's 3-2 OT win over New Jersey. The real fantasy star of the night was defenseman Jason Garrison, who scored the overtime goal, his third of the season, and extended his point streak to four games. He is looking very legit in the early going, but it's probably too late to pick him up.... No James Neal? No problem for the Penguins, as Jussi Jokinen scored his first career "hat trick", including two on the power-play. Even though he will lose PP time when Neal returns, it's worth noting that he has collected 14 points in 13 games since being traded to Pittsburgh. If he stays on the 2nd line, 60 pts. is a definite possibility.... Need a d-man? You were warned by us that Jamie McBain can have a fantasy impact on his new team, the Buffalo Sabres. The 25-year old scored a goal and an assist, both on the powerplay, and logged 4:24 minutes on the top PP unit. Tyler Myers has "gone south" in a hurry, so keep McBain on your radar.... John Tavares scored his first two goals and now has four points in three games, but what about that second line on Long Island? Michael Grabner, Frans Nielson, and Josh Bailey combined for 9 points in the 6-1 romp over Phoenix. I like Grabner the best out of the lot for fantasy purposes. He has 35+ goal potential.. Speaking of Phoenix, Mike Ribeiro has yet to register a single point through three games. We saw that coming. Hopefully, you read our '13-14 Fantasy Guide and did not overrate him based on his gaudy numbers with Washington last season.....

With Roman Josi out with a concussion the Predators have to shake up their pairings a bit. Jones has yet to register a point but he has averaged 22:11 TOI in his first two NHL games. Alongside Weber, Jones could become a legit fantasy option in his rookie season.

Jones played over 24 minutes a night in the preseason and that workload will likely carry over into the beginning stages of his NHL career. He is expected to open the season on the Preds second-pair with Kevin Klein, as well as play next to Shea Weber on the first power-play unit. "It's been extremely easy [playing with them]. They do a lot of things that help you with your game indirectly," Jones said. The 6-foot-3, 200lbs. defenseman is an early Rookie of the Year favourite

"It looks like Seth Jones will play in their top-four alongside Weber," David Boclair of the Nashville Post said. Jones is a great puck moving D-man and playing alongside Weber makes him an intriguing late round pick.

After reaching the playoffs three straight seasons, the Nashville Predators failed to make the mark in '13. Finishing with a league worst 2.27 goals per game and All-Star goalie Pekka Rinne struggling to maintain his previous Vezina- worthy form, the team faltered badly down the stretch, going 1-8-1 in April. The acquisitions of defensively sound forwards Matt Cullen and Viktor Stalberg during the offseason, including drafting defensive stud Seth Jones, shows the Predators are still committed to maintaining their defensive identity while implementing a scoring by committee approach. Fantasy owners will steer away from any Nashville offensive players, but like always, there is great value on defense and in goal. Goalies The team's ultimate strength has been the stellar goaltending of Pekka Rinne, who has been among the NHL's best over the last four seasons. While struggling in'13 with a career worst .910 GAA , consider his last season's efforts a blip on the fantasy radar and more of a culmination of the team's overall struggles. Over the last five seasons, his .919 SP ranks fifth among goalies with at least 150 games played. Coming off hip surgery, the hope is that Rinne will again be the workhorse that started 116 of a possible 130 games in the last two seasons. There are some injury concerns, look for him to bounce back and regain a spot among the league's elite. Defense On defense, Shea Weber started off slow last season, only to finish with 27 points in the last 35 games. A legitimate contender for this year's Norris Trophy, the 28-year old may be looking at career season but his point production is severely limited by the lack of high-end offensive talent. On any other team, Weber could be good for 65+ points, but in Nashville, a 20-goal, 50- point season is way more realistic. Given the strength of his peripheral stats, he is top-five on in all fantasy formats. Roman Josi played bigger minutes last season, including a prominent role on the power-play, but he ultimately fell short in the scoring department. Look for Ryan Ellis or even rookie Seth Jones to push him for PP time. We say Josi takes a step back in '13-14. Because of his offensive potential, Ellis could turn out to be a tremendous value bargain in the late rounds of your draft. Forwards We suggest that you skip the Nashville forwards altogether, but there are a few that could merit fantasy consideration in deeper leagues. Newly-acquired Viktor Stalberg could be an under-the-radar ...