Wait for it. . .

Hello Poolies: I figure I've kept you in suspense long enough. With the third round about to begin, it's about time I chime in with a player side update. The team side was updated a few days ago and you can see the standings here.

The third round pits the Dallas Stars against the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference. The biggest subplot on the player side are the few poolies who took a flier on some Stars. Brendan Morrow, with two overtime goals already, Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards and Mike Modano have all been great selections so far and will likely get even more points in the conference final. By contrast so many people took players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg that it will be tough to make up any ground. Although Johan Franzan could be the real wild card.

The same is true in the Eastern Conference where the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Evgeni Malkin, Sindey Crosby and Marian Hossa were all popular picks. Daniel Briere, Mike Richards and Vinny Prospel only appear on a few rosters. No one, not even the one poolie who loaded up on Flyers, took a chance on Canadiens' killer R.J. Umberger.

Strange pool fact: After Round 1, Don McGowan was one of only two poolies to have zero players eliminated. After Round 2, Mr. McGowan is one of only two poolies to have 16 of his 17 players eliminated. Although 2004 champions Chris Chapman and Jeff Sandelli are the first poolies to lose all 17 of their players.

1) Brad Bouzane 163 Eight players eliminated
2) Sean Hutchinson 160 Ten players eliminated
3) Justin Lee 158 Eleven players eliminated
4) Jason Anthony 157 Nine players eliminated
5) Cliff Hosfield 155 Eight players eliminated
T6) Mike James 152 Four players eliminated
T6) James Peters 152 Nine players eliminated
T8) Terry James 151 Five players eliminated
T8) Mary Kay Hosfield 151 Seven players eliminated
T8) Dale Oviatt 151 Fourteen players eliminated
11) Rob Shaw 150 Ten players eliminated
12) Mark Brennae 149 Thirteen players eliminated
13) Arthur Casement 148 Nine players eliminated
14) Richard Warnica 147 Eleven players eliminated
T15) Lloyd Mack 145 Seven players eliminated
T15) Jordan Stein 145 Seven players eliminated
17) Steve McKinley 144 Eleven players eliminated
18) Ryan Plesko 142 Twelve players eliminated
19) Kim Landon 141 Nine players eliminated
20) Liam Lynch 140 Eleven players eliminated
T21) Jennifer Hosfield 137 Ten players eliminated
T21) Dave Washburn 137 Eleven players eliminated
23) David Forbes 136 Eleven players eliminated
24) Ron Strate 135 Eight players eliminated
T25) Colleen Turnbull 134 Ten players eliminated
T25) Julianna Nowaczek 134 Eight players eliminated
27) Jack James 133 Ten players eliminated
28) Don McGowan 129 Sixteen players eliminated
T29) Adam Fulton 126 Twelve players eliminated
T29) Neil MacKinnon 126 Thirteen players eliminated
31) Barry Horeczy 125 Twelve players eliminated
32) Colleen Racine 122 Eleven players eliminated
33) James Gordon 120 Fourteen players eliminated
34) Chris Chapman 117 FROZEN!
35) Scott McCleery 115 Eleven players eliminated
36) Jeff Sandelli 107 FROZEN!
37) Debb Coghlin 105 Sixteen players eliminated
38) Peter James 99 Nine players eliminated
39) Janet Chapman 90 Ten players eliminated