Thursday, March 27, 2014

Player Notes in the Draft (Mar 27)

On Thursday morning, I couldn't find anything to suggest an injury, so it is fair to confidently assert that both forward Daniel Winnik and defenseman Francois Beauchemin were healthy scratches for the game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.  The Ducks have already clinched their playoff spot for the Spring Dance, so there could be some resting of veteran players down the stretch, keeping them relatively fresh for an extended run.

The biggest impact here is Winnik, who belongs to Dale C., who finished Wednesday night in 6th place, only 4 points out of 3rd place.  If he is going to be one of those regularly rested players, that will hurt some chances down the stretch.  On the flip side, Beauchemin belongs to Doug, who continues to be in 24th place.

The last two-plus weeks remaining in the regular season will be watched from the press box for Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan, who is slated to undergo hernia surgery. Ryan, who has missed the last couple games with a lower-body injury, won't be relied upon for a playoff run, as the Senators' hopes have dwindled to just about nothing in the last couple of weeks, so the option for surgery didn't appear to be a bad one. He should be 100% when training camps open up in September.

Of course, preparing for the 2015 season will not help Brenda this season, as her team features Ryan on it and her 3rd round pick (51st overall) was going to be one of her last hopes for any chance at prizes this year.  Brenda's team finished Wednesday night in 10th place, now 22 points out of the prizes.  No Ryan for the next 16 days will likely devastate any hopes.

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