David Clarkson's 10-game suspension has been served. Now, he can go back to serving fantasy owners with top-notch category coverage.

The Toronto Maple Leafs power forward will be in the lineup Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets in what will be his first regular-season game with his new team. Clarkson, who signed a seven-year contract with the Maple Leafs in free agency, can finally put the preseason incident that led to his suspension behind him.

If you were one of the wise fantasy owners to select Clarkson in the late rounds of your draft and store him on your bench, this 29-year-old should give your team an immediate lift. On the flip side, if you chose to play it safe and leave Clarkson on the waiver wire, the clock is ticking.

There are plenty of great storylines to follow early in the 2013-14 NHL season. A number of teams and players have been getting lots of attention, and deservedly so, for their great performances so far. But there are a couple of teams in particular who I actually think might not be getting enough attention.

I was thinking about this Saturday when I spoke to Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks after his team's 6-3 win against the Calgary Flames. Joe was telling us on "Hockey Night in Canada" how impressed he was by that Flames team. Two nights later, Calgary scratched out a big victory in Los Angeles against the Kings.

Calgary started its current five-game road trip 1-3-0, so the question is, "Are they for real?" You know what? I think that their approach is for real. Sean Monahan, their first-round pick, has been awesome. But more than anything they're a team that competes hard and plays an honest game. They're starting to believe in themselves. It was doom and gloom in Calgary last season, but now these guys are having some success. They're starting to believe in themselves. Much of the focus early this season has been on the Colorado Avalanche and their incredible turnaround. But the Flames are also worth a look.

E.J. Hradek Game Picks Thursday October 24th:

San Jose Sharks vs Boston Bruins - Sharks

Vancouver Canucks vs New Jersey Devils - Canucks

New York Rangers vs Philadelphia Flyers - Flyers

Anahein Ducks vs Montreal Canadiens - Ducks

Chicago Blackhawks vs Tampa Bay Lightning - Lightning

Winnipeg Jets vs Nashville Predators - Predators

Carolina Hurricanes vs Minnesota Wild - Wild

Calgary Flames vs Dallas Stars - Flames

Washington Capitals vs Edmonton Oilers - Capitals

Phoenix Coyotes vs Los Angeles Kings - Kings

E.J.'s Season Record: 57-27-5

It only has been four days since the Winnipeg Jets last played the Nashville Predators, and the bad taste from their 3-1 home loss Sunday remains in the mouth of coach Claude Noel.

The Jets were frustrated much of the game despite outshooting the Predators 39-26. Nashville scored three times in the second period to take a 3-0 lead before Evander Kane scored the Jets' lone goal in the third.

The Predators will be without goaltender Pekka Rinne, who is out with a hip injury. But that hardly should matter to Winnipeg, which faced backup goaltender Carter Hutton in their previous Central Division matchup.

"Their other goalie played against us [Sunday] and played fine. We just didn't get enough traffic in front of him," Noel said Thursday. "But they'll be ready for us because they didn't play well in Minnesota [on Tuesday]. They had the same problems we had. They're not happy either."

A big night in the NHL on Thursday as 10 games are on the schedule and NHL Live, at 5 p.m. ET on NHL Network, will also be celebrating Hockey Fights Cancer. We'll get live reports from Kenny Albert in Philadelphia, Billy Jaffe in Boston and Eddie Olcyzk in Tampa Bay.

Also, we'll get a full preview of the Minnesota Wild vs. Carolina Hurricanes game as Wild forward Jason Pominville will join us. Minnesota has won four straight against Carolina. On the Canes' side, defenseman Justin Faulk will join us as he returns to his home state, where he also starred for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He's also expected to go head-to-head against his former Bulldog teammate Justin Fontaine, who is skating on Minnesota's top line.

Remember to submit your #AskEJ questions through Twitter via @NHLNetwork or @EJHradek_NHL, and join the conversation on Twitter as we ask you to pick the game of the night.