Player Notes

Beauchemin underwent successful reconstructive surgery on a ligament in his right knee last Thursday, the Globe and Mail reports.
Recommendation: The 32-year-old played for a month with the torn ligament in his knee, but following the Ducks' elimination from the playoffs last week, he decided to go under the knife. Beauchemin, who put up 24 points (6G, 18A) and a plus-19 rating during the regular season, hopes to return in time for the start of next season.

Lundqvist downplayed his left shoulder issue Monday, Andrew Gross of The Record reports. "Everybody's sore. It's the playoffs," Lundqvist noted. "You can't just sit out (because) it's hurting a little bit."
Recommendation: In other words, Lundqvist, who says that his shoulder issue is under control, may be a little banged up, but it's nothing that threatens his availability for Tuesday's Game 3 against the Bruins.

Handzus will be in the lineup for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals despite not practicing in the Monday morning skate, ESPN Chicago reports.
Recommendation: Handzus has missed most of the practices recently, but has still skated in the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals. The Blackhawks have not reported any injury for Handzus, but his play has not been up to par in the series against Detroit.

Crawford let in three goals on 30 shots in a Game 3 loss to the Red Wings on Monday.
Recommendation: After ending Chicago's first round series strong and beginning this series with a good performance, he has let in seven goals in two back-to-back losses. The Blackhawks may potentially be facing a second-round upset now.

The Sabres re-signed Scott to a one-year deal on Monday, the Associated Press reports.
Recommendation: Scott fills a tough-guy role and the buck ends there, as he has a miniscule five points in 180 career games. That said, he has 305 penalty minutes across that time, so you can usually be sure when he's out there that he's ready to mix it up with someone. Scott played 34 games with the Sabres last season and was third on the team with 69 PIMs.

Hemsky is not expected to be back in Edmonton next season, according to the Edmonton Journal.
Recommendation: Hemsky is due to make $5 million next season and with his history on injuries and games missed it is unlikely the Oilers would want to pay him that amount. Problem is, neither will another team. The Oilers would probably have to eat a certain portion of the contract in order to deal him.

Powe (undisclosed) skated with the Rangers' practice team Monday, the Bergen Record reports.
Recommendation: Powe participated in a contact drill around the center circle, which is a good sign if he does indeed have a concussion, as suspected. However, he did not record any points in the three playoff games he played before being injured, so his return shouldn't have a huge impact on any fantasy leagues.

Andersson picked up an assist against the Blackhawks in Game 3 on Monday. He also was a plus-1 and had two penalty minutes.
Recommendation: Andersson, a rookie with limited NHL experience, has tallied assists in back-to-back games, giving him four in 10 playoff contests.

Grabovski has reportedly admitted that he bit Montreal forward Max Pacioretty in a game on Feb. 9, reports TSN.ca, which cited Dmitry Chesnokov, a Russian-American writer with Yahoo! Sports. "(Pacioretty) was choking me and I bit him," said Grabovski. "Don't stick your hands where you shouldn't."
Recommendation: After the incident, the NHL didn't hand down any supplemental discipline because it couldn't determine if there was a bite or not. Honestly comes later, we guess. "To be honest with you he was choking me pretty hard, to the point where I really couldn't breathe," continued Grabo. "And I couldn't pull his hand away at all. I tried to hit him with my other hand, but I couldn't because he was choking me. There was nothing left to do but bite him." We wonder if the league will reconsider its stance and levy something that will be effective to start next season

Kane scored a goal on four shots on net in Monday's Game 3 loss to the Red Wings.
Recommendation: Kane didn't score in Chicago's opening series, but has now lit the lamp in back-to-back games, and he has a point in all three games of this series.

Burish (hand) is progressing, but will miss Tuesday's Game 4 against the Kings, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun reports.
Recommendation: The fact that Burish's hand will probably keep him out a little while longer and his lack of offensive production leave him with very little fantasy value.

Stalberg will return to the lineup on Monday in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Red Wings, ESPN Chicago reports.
Recommendation: Stalberg had been in Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville's doghouse after the first-round series with the Wild and was a healthy scratch for the first two games against the Red Wings. With the Hawks in need of some speed after the 4-1 loss in Game 2 to Detroit, Quenneville has turned back to Stalberg. He is expected to be skating on the third line.

Samuelsson (shoulder) will not be in the lineup for Game 3 on Monday, MLive.com reports.
Recommendation: He's listed as a healthy scratch Monday, so it may simply be a case where head coach Mike Babcock is happy with the lineup he used in the Wings' Game 2 victory on Saturday and does not feel the need to push Samuelsson back into the fold at the current time.

Clifford (undisclosed) is expected to suit up for Tuesday's Game 4 matchup with the Sharks, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports.
Recommendation: This is better news for the Kings than it is for fantasy owners, as Clifford has yet to record a point in five games in the playoffs.

Vitale (undisclosed) is expected to practice with the team Tuesday, Pens Inside Scoop reports.
Recommendation: Vitale only recorded one assist and four PIMs in four playoff games before being injured, so even when he's able to return his fantasy impact will likely be minimal.

Carcillo is not taking warm-ups for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday and will be a scratch, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Recommendation: With Viktor Stalberg dressing for Game 3, there had to be a player who will not dress and that is Carcillo. Despite playing the last four playoff games, Carcillo had not seen much ice time. He only saw a little less than eight minutes of ice time in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Moulson has earned a nomination for the Lady Byng Trophy, which is given to the NHLer who has best exhibited the combination of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and skill. Marty St. Louis of Tampa Bay and Patrick Kane of Chicago are the other nominees. It is Moulson's second consecutive nomination for the award.
Recommendation: Moulson totaled just four penalty minutes while finishing in the top three on the Isles in goals (15), assists (29) and points (44). His efforts also helped lead the team to the postseason for its first appearance in six seasons.

Howard turned aside 39 of the 40 shots he faced in a Game 3 win over the Blackhawks on Monday.
Recommendation: The Wings now have a 2-1 lead in the series, and Howard has only let in one goal in each of Detroit's last two games.

St. Louis has been named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy, given each year to the player who has best exhibited the combination of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and skill. He is up against Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks and Matt Moulson of the Islanders.
Recommendation: He is already a two-time Lady Byng winner (2009-10, 2010-11) and a finalist for the award four other times. This year, he led the NHL with 43 helpers and 60 points in 48 games to win his second-career Art Ross Trophy, all while spending just 14 minutes in the penalty box.

Marleau assisted on both San Jose goals as the Sharks edged the Kings 2-1 in Saturday's Game 3 of the teams' second-round series.
Recommendation: He has a 5-3-8 ledger after seven playoff games, with half of those points coming on San Jose power plays. There's no sign that this productivity will abate.

Glass will make his first playoff appearance since Round 1 on Sunday night against the Senators.
Recommendation: Glass has eight hits in four playoff contests and brings a penalty-killing element Joe Vitale does not offer.