Hall, Salming, Cataractes, Phaneuf, and Pronger.

-   Taylor Hall's much publicized skate cut to the face/head, which occurred during the pre-game warm up two nights ago, has many calling for NHL teams to make the wearing of helmets mandatory for all players when they hit the ice for the pre-game. 

   So far, Hall's Edmonton teammates have vowed to wear helmets in pre-game skates, and the Colorado Avalanche management has directed their players to do the same.The good news is that it doesn't appear as though Taylor Hall will be out of action for long. Just a question of reducing the swelling and letting the stitches heal a little and he'll be back. 

   The Oilers sure have been snake-bitten on the injury front as of late. Jordan Eberle was out for four games with a knee injury and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will be out for at least another week with a shoulder injury.

-   Older fans will remember another fairly gruesome skate vs. face incident. This one occurred back in November of 1986.

   Toronto defenceman, and Hockey Hall of Famer, Borje Salming, was struck in the face by a skate during a game against the Detroit Red Wings.The injury required 200 stitches to close, yet remarkably, the Swedish rearguard was in the Leafs' lineup just 3 days later. 

- I've seen pretty much every team in the QMJHL (haven't seen Bathurst or Cape-Breton) in action this year, and no team has impressed me more than the new look Shawinigan Cataractes. As they are hosting this year's Memorial Cup, they were intent on icing a competitive team.

   The acquisitions of Morgan Ellis and Brandon Gormley, when added to an already impressive squad headed by Mikael Bournival, have pretty much ensured that the Cats are the team to beat in the race for the QMJHL's President Cup. 

-   Is it just me or has Nick Foligno been at the centre of a few controversies this season? The latest was the submarining of Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf in the latest Battle of Ontario. 

   Foligno was assessed a two minute penalty, and while he sat in the box, many were saying that he would have to answer to Leafs strongman Jay Rosehill once he returned to the ice.

   It wasn't surprising however to see Dion Phaneuf take matters into his own hands as he dropped the gloves against Foligno, in what turned out to be a spirited scrap.

   You can count me as one of the the tens of thousands of players who have never been clipped like that, but one can easily imagine that being on the wrong end of a dirty hit of that ilk leaves one more than a little pissed off.

   The kind of thing that would leave you saying "Never mind, I've got this one" to however happens to be the designated bodyguard on your team. 

   Kudos to Phaneuf for taking on Foligno, especially when you consider that he still hasn't fully recovered from taking a shot to the face in a game against the Winnipeg Jets.

   While the Leafs did ultimately lose the game, seeing your captain go out there and "take care of business" surely must have left an impression on his teammates. I know that it did on me.

-   While were speaking about controversial defencemen, Chris Pronger, the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers is by all accounts not doing very well in his battle with concussion symptoms. You knew it had to be a serious injury for the Flyers to announce that there was no way that Pronger would be back, so early in the season. 

    Because love him or hate him, there is no denying that throughout his career Chris Pronger has shown a remarkable ability to either come back from, or play through, injuries.

   So for word to be getting out, both through his family and Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, that Pronger is not doing well, is unsettling.