Fantasy Forecast for Thursday, March 5

A reminder -- the Yahoo! trade deadline is Thursday. A trade must be offered and accepted by 11:59 p.m. PT.

For a complete fantasy analysis of all the NHL Trade Deadline deals, click here.

WEDNESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Good thing Alexander Ovechkin suffered only a minor injury on trade-deadline day, or it probably would have been front-page news in most hockey markets. At Wednesday's practice, the NHL's leading goal scorer took a slap shot off his right foot and hobbled off the ice in noticeable pain. The Toronto Star, though, reports Ovechkin (63 games, 46-37-83, owned in 100 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) wasn't favoring his foot while talking to reporters some 90 minutes later.

"It was just a slap shot and I didn't see the puck," Ovechkin said. When asked if he was OK to play Thursday against Toronto, he responded, "We'll see."

Coach Bruce Boudreau said he's not concerned.

"I asked the trainers, they said it's hurt, it's sore, it's OK," he said.

Ovechkin did not partake in Thursday's morning skate, but is expected to play against the Maple Leafs. ...

Penguins center Sidney Crosby said Thursday morning the sore groin that has sidelined him for the last four games has healed enough to allow him to play tonight against the Florida Panthers. The Penguins went 4-0-0 without Crosby (60, 23-56-79, 100 percent) and climbed into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. ...

As expected, All-Star Thomas Vanek returned to the Buffalo lineup in Wednesday's home win against Montreal, though he was scoreless with a minus-1 in 13:42 of ice time spread over 21 shifts, well below his average of 17:48.

Vanek (55, 32-20-52, 97 percent) missed a little more than three weeks with a broken jaw, but remains among the League leaders in goals and power-play goals.

Veteran goalie Patrick Lalime (3-9-2, 2.78 GAA, 16 percent) made 38 saves to win his first game since starter Ryan Miller went down with a high-ankle sprain. ...

Not only did left wing Antoine Vermette (62, 9-19-28, 12 percent) get traded to Columbus from Ottawa on Wednesday, he gained dual-eligibility in all Yahoo! leagues and now can be played at center, the position he'll debut at with the Blue Jackets.

Coach Ken Hitchcock told the Columbus Dispatch his plan is to play Vermette at center on the No. 2 line, with left wing R.J. Umberger and right wing Fredrik Modin. ...

Red Wings star Marian Hossa did not play in Wednesday's win at Colorado because of a stiff neck and a sore knee, according to the Detroit Free Press. Hossa (62, 34-27-61, 100 percent) crashed head-first into the boards in St. Louis on Tuesday and was wheeled off the ice on a stretcher as a precaution. Hossa hurt his knee when he hit the ice before meeting the boards.

"He's got a stiff neck," Wings GM Ken Holland said, "but probably the bigger issue is he's got a bit of a bruised kneecap. His knee was pretty stiff when he got off the plane. He's day-to-day. I can't tell you he's going to play Saturday.

"His knee was starting to swell up a little bit. That, actually, is the bigger issue. We're going to see how his knee looks and feels over the next day or two." ...

According to the Boston Herald, newly acquired winger Mark Recchi may debut with the Bruins on the No. 2 line with Patrice Bergeron as his center. Recchi (62, 13-32-45, 12 percent) is expected to play Thursday at home against Phoenix. ...

Sean Avery (23, 3-7-10, 18 percent) could make his return to the NHL and the Rangers on Thursday in a hostile environment -- Nassau Coliseum, against the rival Islanders. It would be Avery's first NHL game since Nov. 30, when he played for the Dallas Stars.

At Wednesday's practice he skated on a line with Petr Prucha and Lauri Korpikoski, but the former has since been traded to Phoenix.

"I just feel like I'm just really grateful to be home," Avery said. "Obviously I want to make the best of this opportunity. I'm not perfect, but I'm going to work as hard as I can to make everyone happy, work hard and win games. That's what I can control."

Rangers coach John Tortorella would not commit to putting Avery into Thursday's lineup. ...

The Los Angeles Times speculates that newly acquired center Erik Christensen (47, 5-14-19, zero percent) might wind up on the Ducks' top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

"He's pure skill," Anaheim GM Bob Murray told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I think he's the type who can play with good players, and we have good players on our top two lines. He'll get that opportunity here." ...

Fantasy owners of Vesa Toskala (22-17-11, 3.26 GAA, 59 percent) lost a serviceable goalie during the final week and a half of the Yahoo! regular season when the Maple Leafs decided to shut him down for the season's final month. He will undergo hip and groin surgery next week in order to begin the four-month rehabilitation process sooner rather than later, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail.

To fill the crease for their final 18 games, Toronto picked up veteran Martin Gerber (4-9-1, 2.86 GAA, 30 percent) off waivers from Ottawa, and the National Post reports he'll start Thursday at Washington. His opposition will be Jose Theodore (24-13-3, 2.90 GAA, 84 percent), who has recovered from the flu, according to the Washington Post. ...

The Toronto Sun reports defenseman Tomas Kaberle (51, 4-27-31, 73 percent) had an X-ray on his injured right hand Wednesday and is expected to be out 10-14 days. Kaberle broke the same hand earlier this season and missed 13 games. He re-injured the hand in Tuesday's home loss against New Jersey.

The Sun also had Wednesday's practice line combinations in the wake of the trades that shipped out Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore -- Matt Stajan-Alexei Ponikarovsky-Boyd Devereaux; Mikhail Grabovski-Lee Stempniak-Nikolai Kulemin; and John Mitchell, Jason Blake, Jamal Mayers and Brad May comprising a four-man unit. ...

On Thursday, the Maple Leafs signed free agent forward Jeff Hamilton. The former Hurricane, Blackhawk and Islander was 16-37-53 in 50 games for Chicago of the American Hockey League. He is expected to be in Toronto's lineup Thursday night. ...

THURSDAY'S GAMES:

Phoenix (27-31-5) at Boston (42-12-9), 7 p.m. ET -- Phoenix is 10-18-3 on the road, while Boston is 21-5-5 at home. This is the teams' first meeting this season. The Bruins lead the all-time series 37-17-1 with seven ties, and are 22-4-1 with four ties in home games against Phoenix. The Coyotes have not visited Boston since Dec. 11, 2005, winning 2-1 in overtime. This season, Phoenix is 7-6-1 against the Eastern Conference, while the Bruins are 8-4-2 against the West.
N.Y. Rangers (32-24-8) at N.Y. Islanders (20-36-7), 7 p.m. ET -- The Rangers are 13-14-4 on the road, while the Islanders are 14-13-5 at home. These teams previously met Oct. 27, a 4-2 road win for the Rangers; Nov. 4, a 2-1 road victory for the Islanders; Dec. 29, a 5-4 home win for the Rangers; Jan. 13, a 2-1 road victory for the Rangers; and Feb. 18, a 3-1 home win for the Rangers. Chris Drury, Nigel Dawes and Scott Gomez have 3 goals each in the season series for the Rangers, and Markus Naslund has 2 goals, while goalie Henrik Lundqvist is 4-1-0. For the Islanders, Kyle Okposo has a team-leading 2 goals.
Calgary (37-19-6) at Philadelphia (33-18-10), 7 p.m. ET -- Calgary is 16-11-2 on the road, while Philadelphia is 18-8-4 at home. This is the teams' first meeting this season. The Flyers lead the all-time series 53-39-1 with 12 ties, and are 34-14-1 with three ties in home games against Calgary. The Flames have not visited Philadelphia since Dec. 6, 2005, losing 1-0 in a shootout. This season, Calgary is 8-2-1 against the Eastern Conference, and the Flyers are 7-5-3 against the West.
Toronto (25-26-12) at Washington (40-19-5), 7 p.m. ET -- Toronto is 14-15-4 on the road, while Washington is 25-8-1 at home. These teams previously met Dec. 6, a 2-1 road win for the Capitals; and Dec. 28, a 4-1 home victory for the Capitals. Rookie defenseman Karl Alzner led Washington with 1-1-2 in the first matchup, and Alexander Ovechkin and Brooks Laich each scored 2 goals in the second meeting. Goalies Brent Johnson and Jose Theodore each have won a game in the season series.
Edmonton (31-26-5) at Ottawa (23-28-10), 7:30 p.m. ET -- Edmonton is 16-14-2 on the road, while Ottawa is 13-12-6 at home. These teams previously met Dec. 30, a 3-2 road win for the Senators. Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza each had a goal and an assist and goalie Martin Gerber made 20 saves for the victory. Shawn Horcoff led the Oilers with 2 assists.
Pittsburgh (32-26-6) at Florida (32-23-8), 7:30 p.m. ET (RIS) -- Pittsburgh is 16-14-4 on the road, while Florida is 17-8-5 at home. These teams previously met Jan. 3, a 6-1 road win for the Panthers. Nathan Horton scored twice, Bryan McCabe had a goal and an assist, and Keith Ballard, Stephen Weiss, Nick Boynton and Cory Stillman each had 2 assists for Florida. Ruslan Fedotenko scored for the Penguins.
Columbus (31-26-6) at Nashville (31-28-4), 8 p.m. ET -- Columbus is 12-16-4 on the road, while Nashville is 20-11-2 at home. These teams previously met Oct. 17, a 5-3 home win for the Blue Jackets; Oct. 18, a 6-3 home victory for the Predators; and Dec. 11, a 2-1 home shootout win for the Blue Jackets. Martin Erat of the Predators has scored in each of the last two matchups and has 3 goals total in the season series, and goalie Dan Ellis has two victories. Rick Nash and Jason Chimera have scored twice each for the Blue Jackets, and rookie Jakub Voracek has a game-deciding shootout goal.
Dallas (29-26-7) at Los Angeles (26-27-9), 10:30 p.m. ET -- Dallas is 13-14-3 on the road, while Los Angeles is 13-13-8 at home. These teams previously met Nov. 11, a 3-2 home shootout win for the Kings; Nov. 13, a 3-2 road victory for the Kings; and Jan. 17, a 3-2 home shootout win for the Stars. Mike Ribeiro is 2-1-3 with a game-deciding shootout goal in the season series for the Stars, and teammate Jere Lehtinen has 2 goals. Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll have 2 goals each for the Kings, and goalie Erik Ersberg has two wins.
Minnesota (30-26-5) at San Jose (42-10-9), 10:30 p.m. ET (NHLN-CA) -- Minnesota is 12-15-0 on the road, while San Jose is 26-3-3 at home. These teams previously met Nov. 4, a 3-1 home win for the Sharks; and Dec. 31, a 3-2 overtime home victory for the Wild. Mike Grier and Ryane Clowe each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks in the first meeting. In the rematch, defenseman Brent Burns scored in overtime and added 2 assists for the Wild.

RECENT INJURIES:

Todd Bertuzzi, RW, Calgary: Is expected to miss about a month following arthroscopic knee surgery.
David Booth, RW, Florida: Is day-to-day with a rib injury.
Jason Chimera, LW, Columbus: Is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Martin Erat, RW, Nashville: Is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Mike Grier, RW, San Jose: Is out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury.
Niklas Hagman, LW, Toronto: Is day-to-day with a head injury.
Marian Hossa, RW, Detroit: Is day-to-day with head and knee injuries.
Trent Hunter, RW, N.Y. Islanders: Is day-to-day with a leg injury.
Tomas Kaberle, D, Toronto: Is day-to-day with a hand injury.
Andreas Lilja, C, Detroit: Is day-to-day with concussion.
Milan Lucic, LW, Boston: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Ethan Moreau, LW, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with an eye injury.
Michael Peca, C, Columbus: Is day-to-day with a head injury.
Alexandre Picard, D, Ottawa: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Tom Poti, D, Washington: Is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Jeremy Roenick, C, San Jose: Is out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury.
Jose Theodore, G, Washington: Is day-to-day with the flu.
Vesa Toskala, G, Toronto: Will miss the remainder of the regular season following hip and groin surgery.

TRANSACTIONS:

For a look at all the trades from deadline day, click here.

Anaheim Ducks: Recalled right wing Troy Bodie from Iowa of the American Hockey League; assigned defenseman Brendan Mikkelson and left wing Drew Miller to Iowa.
Atlanta Thrashers: Assigned defenseman Grant Lewis to Chicago of the American Hockey League.
Buffalo Sabres: Signed center Tim Connolly to a two-year contract extension.
Calgary Flames: Assigned right wing David Van Der Gulik to Quad City of the American Hockey League.
Chicago Blackhawks: Recalled defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and left wing Pascal Pelletier from Rockford of the American Hockey League; assigned center Tim Brent to Rockford.
Dallas Stars: Claimed center Brendan Morrison off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.
Florida Panthers: Assigned defenseman Keaton Ellerby to Rochester of the American Hockey League.
Los Angeles Kings: Assigned defenseman Tom Preissing to Manchester of the American Hockey League; agreed to terms with defenseman Sean O'Donnell and goaltender Erik Ersberg.
Montreal Canadiens: Assigned goaltender Marc Denis from Hamilton of the American Hockey League.
Nashville Predators: Assigned defenseman Alexander Sulzer and center Cal O'Reilly to Milwaukee of the American Hockey League.
New Jersey Devils: Assigned defenseman Jay Leach to Lowell of the American Hockey League.
New York Islanders: Activated defenseman Thomas Pock and center Nate Thompson off injured reserve; reassigned left wing Jon Sim to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
Ottawa Senators: Signed defenseman Filip Kuba to a three-year contract extension; recalled goaltender Mitch O'Keefe and center Peter Regin from Binghamton of the American Hockey League.
Phoenix Coyotes: Recalled goaltender Josh Tordjman from San Antonio of the American Hockey League.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Claimed right wing Craig Adams off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks; assigned right wing Miroslav Satan, right wing Bill Thomas and left wing Tim Wallace to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League; re-assigned defenseman Andy Wozniewski to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
San Jose Sharks: Assigned right wing Lukas Kaspar to Worcester of the American Hockey League.
St. Louis Blues: Recalled goaltender Ben Bishop from Peoria of the American Hockey League; re-assigned defenseman Danny Richmond to Peoria.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Claimed goaltender Martin Gerber off re-entry waivers from the Ottawa Senators and defenseman Eric Reitz off waivers from the New York Rangers; signed free agent wing Jeff Hamilton.
Washington Capitals: Activated defenseman Brian Pothier from injured reserve and assigned him to Hershey of the American Hockey League.

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

Hi,
Question about Scott Clemmensen: In my 10-team roto deep-keeper league, I picked up Clemmer off the waiver wire when Martin Brodeur went down and rode him to 25 glorious wins. Now what should I do with Clemmer? He's an unrestricted free agent this summer and he's proven he can be a good NHL starter. Should I take up one of my 15 keeper slots for him with the hope he goes elsewhere and gets a shot at starting?
Thanks,
-- Mark
Lancaster, PA
Big Flyers fan! Jimmy Dowd, you rock!

Absolutely not! Though Clemmensen was a wonderful, unexpected story, he is not the second-coming of Ken Dryden, and Martin Brodeur's return is not holding Clemmensen back from winning his first Vezina Trophy. He is what he is -- a career minor-leaguer who has played three times as many games in the American Hockey League (186) as in the NHL (68). Clemmensen (25-13-1, 2.39 GAA, 16 percent) -- who, by the way, won only 59 of those 186 games in the minors -- played way over his head for months, much the same way Warren Young did with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984-85, or John Druce for the Washington Capitals in the 1989-90 playoffs.

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello attempted to trade Clemmensen, out of gratitude, at Wednesday's deadline but didn't receive an offer that would benefit the goaltender or the team. For the time being, Clemmensen will remain in AHL Lowell. If by chance Clemmensen does hook up with another team this summer and is the front-runner for the No. 1 job, feel free to pick him in your fantasy draft somewhere around round 15. He's not keeper-worthy because of a few good months.

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