Prepping for a possible gameday absence by Scott Clemmensen (family leave), the Cats have gone the precautionary route, bringing up 22 year-old Alexander Salak from his current assignment with the Rochester Americans.

Regardless of Clemmensen's issues (and we certainly send him our best) chances were slim he'd see action against Carolina on Friday, and most definitely not during Saturday's home opener against the Devils at BankAtlantic Center (and smiles all around: I'm out of the red with them. Life is good). Tomas Vokoun is the man, Mr. 1, money-goalie, what have you; he should be in net for both games as the anthem is played. Nearly six million balloons per season can't be wrong.

However, Clemmensen would have been a way-kewl choice for Peter DeBoer to hand the starter's role over to versus his former team this weekend. Not that there's any lingering antipathy over his demotion to the "A" after saving the club's collective skin in Martin Brodeur's absence, but just in case there may be who better to go against New Jersey than their flag-carrier from 2008-09?