Fantasy Forecast for Wednesday, Nov. 19

Don't forget to tune in to the latest episode of "NHL.com's Fantasy FaceOff Powered by Yahoo!" on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the NHL Network. You'll also be able to view the show online at NHL.com after the network broadcast. Joining host Rob Simpson this week is special guest Billy Jaffe, New York Islanders television analyst for the Madison Square Garden Network, and yours truly, the Fantasy Forecaster, with my weekly tips and matchups.

TUESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

So at the end of the day I was talking hockey with a few colleagues when the old light bulb came on: Why doesn’t Minnesota trade its oft-injured star, Marian Gaborik, to Ottawa for its under-fire star, Jason Spezza? Wouldn’t fantasy owners of these players like to see this trade actually happen? Think of the shockwaves it would create, giving life to all sorts of speculation on new lines, raising the fantasy value of other players on each team, and restoring the superstar fantasy value of Gaborik and Spezza, who are not performing to the expectations of their fantasy owners.

To my way of thinking, it would be the biggest exchange of star players since Atlanta traded Dany Heatley to Ottawa for Marian Hossa. Perhaps the person who would hate to see Spezza leave Ottawa the most is Heatley, his Pizza Line linemate. But I have a solution for that as well: Expand the trade to include Heatley going to Minnesota in exchange for Niklas Backstrom. The latter would solve the Senators’ goaltending problem, but obviously the Wild wouldn’t deal Backstrom unless they felt Josh Harding could take over full-time.

So what do the Fantasy Forecast readers think of this? Write to fantasy@nhl.com, and the best replies will be posted in future editions. …

Yahoo! fantasy hockey has its first three-position player of the season, Dustin Byfuglien (17 games, 2-4-6, owned in 57 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) of the Blackhawks. He gained right wing eligibility to go along with left wing and defense. …

Boston.com points out that goalie Manny Fernandez (4-1-1, 2.31 GAA, 20 percent) was the first Bruin to leave the ice at Wednesday's morning skate, indicating he'll get the start at home against Buffalo. …

The Vancouver Sun confirmed that goalie Roberto Luongo (10-5-2, 2.14 GAA, 99 percent) will make his 14th consecutive start Wednesday, against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He has allowed only four goals in the last six games.

The Vancouver Province wonders if coach Alain Vigneault will sit Luongo while the Canucks are on a four-game, six-day road trip. Luongo played in Monday's shootout loss against the Islanders. Vancouver plays at Minnesota on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Saturday. Backup goalie Curtis Sanford last made an appearance Oct. 17 at Buffalo.

"That (goalie decision) is not my job," Luongo said. "I stop the pucks. The coach decides the rest." …

A third of the total points recorded by Edmonton players in Tuesday’s 7-2 victory at Columbus were posted by defensemen: Tom Gilbert, Sheldon Souray and Lubomir Visnovsky each had a goal and an assist, and Jason Strudwick added an assist. …

Senators coach Craig Hartsburg told the team’s official Web site that it's "probably not realistic" that center Mike Fisher (16, 2-4-6, 8 percent) or right wing Chris Neil (17, 2-1-3, 11 percent) will be in the lineup for Thursday’s game against Montreal. Both are nursing knee injuries suffered last weekend. …

The Los Angeles Times reported coach Terry Murray is tweaking his lines. After a 2-0 loss against Anaheim on Sunday, he replaced Kyle Calder with Patrick O'Sullivan (16, 3-4-7, 39 percent) on top line next to Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. The three played together much of last season.

"We're looking for some offense," Murray said. "When we broke training camp, I felt we would have some scoring on a pretty consistent basis. I came out of that game (Sunday) thinking we had some good opportunities and came up short.

"I'm going to try to get Sully going individually and, hopefully, add something to that line to get them results."

The Kings have been shut out four times in 17 games and have scored only 17 goals in their last nine games.

The paper also reported that Murray indicated goalie Erik Ersberg (4-3-1, 1.96 GAA, 20 percent) will start his eighth consecutive game Thursday against Washington. The Swede has allowed more than two goals just once in his seven starts, and the Kings are 4-2-1 in that stretch.

"Ersberg has been good," said Murray. "He has made great stops. He has given us an opportunity in every game he's played,"

Jason LaBarbera (3-5-1, 3.01 GAA, 12 percent), the No. 1 at the start of the season, hasn't played since a 3-2 loss against Calgary on Nov. 1. …

Devils coach Brent Sutter told The (Bergen) Record he wouldn't decide until after Wednesday's practice whether Scott Clemmensen (1-2-0, 2.96 GAA, 3 percent) or Kevin Weekes (1-3-0, 3.06 GAA, 30 percent) would start in goal against Florida on Thursday. …

Islanders goaltender Joey MacDonald (7-6-2, 2.68 GAA, 29 percent) has won his last three starts. He's allowed two goals or fewer in each contest in defeating Ottawa twice and Vancouver. …

The Philadelphia Daily News reported center Daniel Briere (8, 5-4-9, 87 percent) skated for about 40 minutes before Tuesday's team practice, but did not sound optimistic about returning to action Friday in Buffalo. Briere is nursing a groin injury. …

Flyers coach John Stevens has named Martin Biron (5-5-2, 3.13 GAA, 71 percent) as his goalie for Friday's game at Buffalo, according to the Delaware County Times. …

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES:

Buffalo (9-5-3) at Boston (11-3-4), 7 p.m. ET -- Buffalo is 4-2-2 on the road, while Boston is 5-1-1 at home. The Bruins have won nine of their last 11 games, including five straight victories at home. These teams first met Nov. 8, a 3-1 win for Boston at TD Banknorth Garden with Manny Fernandez in goal. The Sabres have lost four of their last five contests. Goalie Ryan Miller is 12-4-4 with a 2.49 GAA in his career against the Bruins.
Vancouver (10-6-2) at N.Y. Rangers (14-5-2), 7:30 p.m. ET (RIS, TSN) -- Vancouver is 4-4-1 on the road, while the Rangers are 9-3-1 at home. Roberto Luongo of the Canucks leads the NHL with five shutouts, while Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers leads the League with 12 wins. Luongo has lost his last four starts at Madison Square Garden to fall to 2-7-0 with a 3.37 GAA in nine career games there, but the Canucks have won five of their last seven road games against the Rangers and 10 of 13 overall.
Washington (10-4-3) at Anaheim (10-7-2), 10 p.m. ET -- Washington is 3-4-2 on the road, while Anaheim is 5-5-2 at home. Alexander Semin, the NHL’s second-leading scorer, is questionable for the Capitals. Alexander Ovechkin scored a hat trick in Washington’s last visit to Anaheim, a 3-2 overtime victory on Jan. 13, 2006. Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere has a 1.39 GAA and 2 shutouts in five career starts against Washington.

RECENT INJURIES:

Jason Arnott, C, Nashville: Is day-to-day with a neck injury.
Francois Beauchemin, D, Anaheim: Placed on long-term injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the regular season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Dan Cleary, RW, Detroit: Is day-to-day with a left eye injury.
Mike Fisher, C, Ottawa: Is day-to-day with a right knee injury.
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Pittsburgh: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Josh Harding, G, Minnesota: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Rostislav Klesla, D, Columbus: Was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Ales Kotalik, RW, Buffalo: Is day-to-day with a hamstring injury.
Georges Laraque, RW, Montreal: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Andy McDonald, C, St. Louis: Is out 6-8 weeks with a broken left ankle.
Chris Neil, RW, Ottawa: Is day-to-day with a right knee injury.
Kyle Okposo, RW, N.Y. Islanders: Is day-to-day with an arm injury.
Fernando Pisani, RW, Edmonton: Expected to be out at least a month with a broken ankle.
Brent Sopel, D, Chicago: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Daniel Winnik, LW, Phoenix: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

TRANSACTIONS:

Dallas Stars: Recalled LW James Neal from Manitoba from the American Hockey League.
Detroit Red Wings: Placed RW Darren McCarty on waivers.
Minnesota Wild: Recalled G Nolan Schaefer from Houston of the American Hockey League; placed D Tomas Mojzis on waivers.
New York Islanders: Assigned D Brett Skinner to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
Philadelphia Flyers: Assigned C Jared Ross to Philadelphia of the American Hockey League.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Recalled G John Curry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
St. Louis Blues: Claimed RW Brandon Crombeen on waivers from the Dallas Stars.

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

Hey Forecaster,
I'm being offered Brenden Morrow, Brian Gionta and Milan Michalek in return for Vincent Lecavalier, Scottie Upshall and Brad Stuart. I don't really need to add a LW since I already own Christopher Higgins and Andrei Kostitsyn, but the potential for scoring is undeniable. The question is … how much is Lecavalier worth to fantasy owners?
The Drive for 25,
Montreal

Do not do this trade! You would be parting with the best player in the deal, who just also happens to be one of the most electrifying scorers in the NHL, though Lecavalier's start has been underwhelming thus far. Perhaps new coach Rick Tocchet has some ideas, maybe like giving Lecavalier (18, 7-6-13, 99 percent) the minutes old coach Barry Melrose promised to keep down. And let's see what super-rookie Steven Stamkos brings to the Lecavalier-Martin St. Louis line.

Morrow (17, 4-10-14, 97 percent) is a nice player, but things in Dallas just aren't right and it has to be weighing on Morrow, the team captain. Lecavalier is an annual fantasy first-rounder for a reason, and I have more faith that he will rebound from the doldrums than Morrow.

Left wing is a scarce position, and Morrow is one of the elite, but I think you'll do well with Higgins (11, 4-3-7, 24 percent), a player I hyped in my preseason preview. Too bad he began the season banged up. I was also high on Kostitsyn (15, 2-4-6, 57 percent), but his struggles are alarming, even after he recovered from a head injury a month ago. Stick with him for the time being.

Michalek (18, 6-5-11, 68 percent) is a streaky scorer who has 3 goals in his last three games. He once was part of a dominant line with Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo, but now is getting outscored by ancient defenseman Rob Blake. Gionta (16, 3-8-11, 42 percent) is as streaky as Michalek. Gionta never will be a 40-goal man again, and I say he's a longshot to get 25 this season. He's on pace for only 15.

But I have to ask, why is Stuart (16, 0-2-2, 4 percent) on your team at all? He has absolutely no fantasy value, he'll never score, and is only plus-2. Cut him already, and you might do the same with Upshall (17, 2-4-6, 3 percent) if he doesn’t get going in another week or two. Upshall is just not providing any fantasy value in his 13:43 per game. Surely you can find more serviceable players on the waiver wire. Take a chance on a rookie or snap up Mats Sundin, who could be six weeks away.

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Have a fantasy question you want answered? Want advice on a trade proposal, or have a hot tip you want to share with the NHL.com fantasy community? Write to us at fantasy@nhl.com and your question may be answered in the Fantasy Forecast.