The Rangers Brian Boyle is one for those of you in deeper leagues to keep an eye on as after he scored last night, he now has three goals in his last six games.  His ice-time is way up lately as he didn't play more than 12 minutes in any of his first eight games this year but has been above 15 minutes in each of his last five.  He was a productive player at BC and in the AHL, so he has some skills, just has never been given much of a chance in the NHL.

Tim Thomas was pulled last night after giving up three goals on 25 shots through two periods against the Caps.  Tuukka Rask entered and after a late comeback by the Bruins he ended up taking the loss and Thomas' perfect record is still intact... figures.  This should provide Rask with a little opening to see some more action over the coming games. 

Michal Neuvirth was also pulled last night against the Bruins as he lasted 49 minutes but gave up three goals on only 14 shots.  He gave way to Braden Holtby, who was making his NHL debut, and all the rookie was asked to do was stop four shots and he picked up his first NHL win.  We wouldn't be surprised to see Holtby get a start on Sunday as there's been talk that Neuvirth is fatiguing.

Not a great start for Mike Knuble as he has only one goal this season and only two points in his last 11 games.  His ice-time has decreased as he only played 13 minutes last night after being dropped from the top line recently.  But he is shooting the puck as he's on pace for 239 shots, so we wouldn't write him off just yet.

Four point night for Loui Eriksson and that chases the three points he had in his last game.  His 16 points are good for 6th in the league right now and if he continues to link up with Brad Richards then he could be in line for a superstar breakout (75+ points for the first time) this year.

Ryan Callahan was out injured but that didn't stop his line from continuing to role as Brandon Dubinsky had another two goals to give him 7+3=10 in his last eight games and Artem Anisimov had two helpers for 2+6=8 in his last nine.

Jeff Halpern had three points last night and has 2+5=7 in his last five games.  He played 18 minutes last night, which was easily a season high as he filled in for Plekanec (flu).  I wouldn't bother to even give him a look as this little run won't last.

Scott Gomez was probably the guy that Habs fans were hoping was going to step up with Plekanec out as he's been in a horrible slump with only one assist in his last nine games.  It doesn't even look like just a string bad luck for Gomez as he's only on pace for 113 shots after averaging 237 over the past five years... so he's not the same player he was, even last year.

I really liked Scottie Upshall heading into this year as he was on a real roll before getting injured last year but the dude is in a real funk and his ice-time is suffering... no points in his last six and he's only averaging 13 minutes a game of ice-time for the season.

Lee Stempniak is also not seeing a lot of ice-time for the Coyotes, as in his last five games he's played 13, 12, 15, 12 and then 10 minutes last night.  He's still putting up some points here and there but it's going to be tough to have a productive season with limited minutes like this.

Michael Frolik has responded to being a healthy scratch last week with 2+2=4, plus-5 & 13 shots in his last three games.

David Booth is off to a fine but quiet start for the Panthers as he has 5+5=10 in 11 games so far.  He's always been a guy that shoots the puck alot but he's getting serious this season as he's on pace for 328 shots.

Tomas Vokoun was pulled last night after giving up two goals on seven shots in 10 minutes.  After back-to-back shutouts a few weeks back, he's been 2-3-0 with a 4.00 gaa & .877 sv% in his last six games.

Jiri Hudler got himself back into the lineup last night after two straight healthy scratches but was held pointless in only eight minutes of action... so he's got some more work to do to get out of Babs' doghouse.

The Rangers have waived Todd White and since they won't find any takers, he's likely headed for the AHL eventually... hopefully you dropped him a long time ago.

A few call-ups that could see NHL debuts soon... Jeremy Morin (CHI), Colby Cohen (COL) and Ian Cole (STL)... Morin is the one to watch here.