Fantasy Forecast for Monday, November 2

WEEKEND ROUNDUP:

Lineup warning -- note Monday's late afternoon 5 p.m. ET start time in Philadelphia, so as not to overlap too much with Game 5 of the World Series being played across the street from the Wachovia Center.

A new month is upon us, but any hope that the injury parade to NHL and fantasy superstars would end has gone out the window now that Alex Ovechkin is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The NHL's leading scorer left Sunday's 5-4 overtime loss against Columbus early in the second period and did not return.

"You think I'm going to tell you?" he told reporters after the contest. Ovechkin (14 games, 14-9-23, owned in 99 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) said his injury was to his upper-body and he called himself day-to-day. The Capitals said no further news would be released on Monday's off-day, saying an update could come on Tuesday before or after the next team practice. Washington next plays on Wednesday at New Jersey.

Ovechkin got tangled with the Raffi Torres of the Blue Jackets about six minutes into the second period and fell to the ice. He grimaced and gingerly skated off the ice, heading straight to the locker room. Earlier in the same period, Ovechkin was bumped by Jason Chimera which led to a scrum.

Ovechkin has been remarkably durable in his career for a scorer who doesn't shy away from physical play. He has missed only four games to date -- one (groin) in his rookie season of 2005-06 and three last season (two for personal reasons, one for a heel injury).

For more on Ovechkin's injury, visit this story.

Now for some good news on the injury front -- Phil Kessel may make his season debut for the Maple Leafs on Tuesday at home against Tampa Bay.

Word began to surface late last week that Kessel (81 percent) was getting close to returning from his offseason shoulder surgery. The winger, acquired in a trade from Boston, is desperately needed by the Leafs to add scoring, change the losing culture, and, well, help thousands upon thousands of fantasy teams.

"I feel pretty good," Kessel said after practice last Friday. "But until I get out there and play in a game I have no idea how I'll be out there."

Kessel's original timetable to make his 2009-10 debut was late November.
"Obviously you don't want to come back too early and re-injure it," Kessel said. "I don't want to be out another six months so I'm going to take my time and whenever (the team doctors) clear me and say I'm ready to go, I'll be ready."

Last season with Boston, Kessel scored 36 goals and 60 points in 70 games.
"Phil hasn't played in six months," coach Ron Wilson told the Globe and Mail. "I know everybody is going to think he'll score six goals in the first night.

"I don't expect that of him if he does play [Tuesday]. He hasn't even had an exhibition game. He's way behind the eight ball. We'll be patient when he does play."

According to a report in the Raleigh News and Observer, Hurricanes center Eric Staal will be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury suffered in Sunday's loss to San Jose. If Staal (12, 3-2-5, 97 percent) does not appear in Carolina's next game on Wednesday at Florida, which appears likely, it will snap his streak of 349 consecutive regular-season games. Staal left the game against the Sharks in the second period. "When things go wrong, they go wrong," GM Jim Rutherford said. "All teams have to deal with injuries. We have enough players to step up but we'll have to do it with confidence at an all-time low."

The broken wrist of Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula means fantasy studs Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk will no longer play on the same line, according to the Detroit Free Press. Zetterberg will center Dan Cleary and Jason Williams, and Datsyuk skates between Todd Bertuzzi and Tomas Holmstrom.

After a rough preseason and an even rougher start to the regular season, Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (4-3-0, 2.63 GAA, 66 percent) is in a groove and riding a four-game win streak. In those four contests he permitted only seven goals and shutout the Blackhawks last week.

The Los Angeles Times reports right wing Justin Williams is scheduled to return to action for the Kings on Monday at Phoenix. He missed five games with a lower-body injury. Williams (9, 3-6-9, 34 percent) will resume his role on the No. 1 line with Ryan Smyth and Anze Kopitar.

The Flyers, who lost Simon Gagne to a double hernia last week, received more bad news last weekend when Daniel Briere (10, 5-2-7, 61 percent) was first diagnosed with a groin strain, but on Sunday the diagnosis was updated to a pull to the inner thigh area, below his quad muscle. He is listed as day-to-day. This injury is not related to the groin/abdominal injuries Briere suffered last season.

A possibly related Flyers tidbit in the Philadelphia Daily News states that team scout Ilkka Sinisalo is going to Finland to watch Peter Forsberg play for Sweden in the Karjala Cup leg of the Euro Hockey Tour, a four-nation tournament that includes the Czech Republic, Finland, and Russia. The paper also states that a team source said in September that the Flyers had no interest in Forsberg, but that was before Gagne and Briere went down. Get ready to take a fantasy flier if you're desperate for offense.

The Flyers host Tampa Bay on Monday and the Lightning will ice a top line of Steven Stamkos centering Martin St. Louis and Ryan Malone, according to the Tampa Tribune. "I'm looking for foot soldiers and there's no doubt that Stamkos with Marty and Malone has carried us," coach Rick Tocchet said. The reunited trio led to struggling center Vincent Lecavalier (11, 1-9-10, 98 percent) being dropped to a line with wingers Drew Miller and Stephane Veilleux at Sunday's practice.

The Chicago Tribune has a report on the Blackhawks' lines from Sunday's practice -- Marian Hossa, normally a right wing, centering a line with Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg; Colin Fraser skating between Ben Eager and Tomas Kopecky; John Madden flanked by Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Kane; and Andrew Ebbett centering Patrick Sharp and Troy Brouwer. As for Hossa skating as a center, coach Joel Quenneville said, "On a need basis, he was there. He looks good no matter where he plays." Captain and center Jonathan Toews remains out with a concussion.

For fantasy owners who were enjoying the surprising offensive lift from Canucks Austrian rookie Michael Grabner (9, 2-3-5, 4 percent), it's over for the time being. The right wing was felled by a severe ankle injury suffered in the hallway warm-up before Vancouver took to ice in a 3-0 shutout against Colorado on Sunday. How bizarre, but that's been the story of the early season for the injury ravaged Canucks. "He hurt himself warming up and will be out for quite some time - it's undetermined," coach Alain Vigneault told the Vancouver Province. "He flipped over on his ankle."

Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle was named the NHL's First Star for the week ending Nov. 1. He led the NHL in scoring last week with 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in four road games, including a career-high 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in a win at Anaheim. Second Star went to Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, who posted a 3-0-0 record with a 0.76 goals-against average, .968 save percentage and one shutout. Sharks goalkeeper Evgeni Nabokov earned the Third Star for going 3-0-0 with a 0.97 goals-against average and .963 save percentage.


MONDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) at NY Islanders (Dwayne Roloson), 7:00 p.m. ET
Tampa Bay (Mike Smith) at Philadelphia (Ray Emery), 7:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles (Jonathan Quick) at Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov), 9:00 p.m. ET


RECENT INJURIES:

Daniel Briere, C, Philadelphia:  Is day-to-day with a groin strain.
Matt D'Agostini, RW, Montreal:  Is day-to-day with a head injury.
Martin Erat, RW, Nashville:  Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Nikita Filatov, LW, Columbus:  Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Valtteri Filppula, C, Detroit:  Will miss 6-8 weeks with a broken wrist.
Michael Grabner, RW, Vancouver:  Sidelined indefinitely with an ankle injury.
Ron Hainsey, D, Atlanta: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Dominic Moore, C, Florida:  Sidelined indefinitely with a broken nose.
Johnny Oduya, D, New Jersey:  Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Alex Ovechkin, RW, Washington: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Jason Spezza, C, Ottawa:  Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Eric Staal, C, Carolina: Is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
Anton Volchenkov, D, Ottawa:  Is sidelined at least three weeks with a dislocated right elbow.


TRANSACTIONS:

Atlanta Thrashers:  Reassigned F Jason Krog to Chicago (AHL).
Carolina Hurricanes: Activated RW Erik Cole from injured reserve.
Colorado Avalanche:  Recalled F Philippe Dupuis from Lake Erie (AHL). Reassigned G Tyler Weiman to Lake Erie. Placed F Matt Hendricks on injured reserve retroactive to October 24. Activated D John-Michael Liles of injured reserve.
Dallas Stars:  Reassigned G Matt Climie and LW Francis Wathier to Texas (AHL).
Florida Panthers:  Recalled F Victor Oreskovich from Rochester (AHL). Reassigned F Jeff Taffe, F Michael Repik and D Keaton Ellerby to Rochester.
Los Angeles Kings:  Reassigned F Trevor Lewis to Manchester (AHL).
Nashville Predators:  Reassigned F Cal O'Reilly, F Peter Olvecky and F Andreas Thuresson to Milwaukee (AHL).
New Jersey Devils:  Reassigned RW Matt Halischuk to Lowell (AHL).
New York Rangers:  Recalled LW Dane Byers from Hartford (AHL). Reassigned F P.A. Parenteau to Hartford.
Philadelphia Flyers:  Recalled RW David Laliberte from Adrirondack (AHL).
Pittsburgh Penguins: Recalled C Mark Letestu from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
St. Louis Blues:  Assigned D Tyson Strachan and C Yan Stastny to Peoria (AHL).
Toronto Maple Leafs:  Reassigned F Jiri Tlusty to Toronto (AHL).
Vancouver Canucks: Recalled C Mario Bliznak from Manitoba (AHL). Assigned RW Sergei Shirokov to Manitoba.


NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

Week 4 final results
Rocky Trottier 6 vs. Big Skillets O'BKLYN 5
Skoula Hard Knocks 8 vs. Philly Cheesestakes 1 (2 ties)
Clown Shoes 4 vs. Hammerhead United 6 (1 tie)
Hempstead Slowpokes 2 vs. Code Monkeys 7 (2 ties)
The Birdcage 7 vs. No Shanahan-igans 2 (2 ties)
Ovi's Heroes 3 vs. Out on a Dan Hinote 6 (2 ties)

Week 5 schedule
Rocky Trottier (21-17-6) vs. Code Monkeys (25-14-5)
Skoula Hard Knocks (25-15-4) vs. Out on a Dan Hinote (28-9-7)
Clown Shoes (13-27-4) vs. No Shanahan-igans (13-25-6)
Hempstead Slowpokes (17-21-6) vs. The Birdcage (22-16-6)
Big Skillets O'BKLYN (23-17-4) vs. Ovi's Heroes (16-20-8)
Hammerhead United (18-20-6) vs. Philly Cheesestakes (8-28-8)


EMAIL OF THE DAY:

Hey,
I am having some serious goalie trouble on my three fantasy teams and could really use some advice (all leagues are head-to-head).

My first team's goalies consist of Cam Ward, Tim Thomas and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Thomas has been my strongest on this team while Ward has been going through a very rough stretch (along with the rest of Carolina), and Giguere is injured.  There is no real quality free agent available in this league (Antero Niittymaki, Brian Elliot and Dwayne Roloson).  Giguere is the only one I'd really like to replace.

My second team's goalies consist of Ryan Miller, Cam Ward, and Jonas Hiller
Miller has been life saver on this team. I had originally been going with a Miller/Ward tandem but because of his struggles I switched Ward for Hiller. Do you think I should shop Hiller or Ward?  I don't have any major needs for this team other than waiting for Marc Savard and Sheldon Souray to come back from injury.

My third team's goalies consist of Jonas Hiller, Nikolai Khabibulin and Tomas Vokoun. This team is a disaster right now (despite a very good forward collection). Khabibulin is the only one really getting any points for me and even then not too many. I have already tried to trade Joe Thornton for a stronger goalie (Tim Thomas) but have not had any luck. Vokoun would be the goalie dropped if I can trade for a better goalie. Florida has seen several offensive players injured and does not have a very strong defense in my opinion. There are no quality free agent goalies in this league so a trade is my only option.
Any advice you can offer would be appreciated.
-- Tim

It always comes down the goalies, doesn't it? Wouldn't fantasy hockey be much simpler if we drafted "team goalies" instead of individual goalies, as fantasy football owners do with a defense? But no way I'd play in a league like that.

Team No. 1 -- You're in fine shape here with Ward (2-7-3, 3.07) -- trust me, he'll come around -- and Thomas (4-5-0, 2.66). All you need to do is change your third-string goalie, and that's not heavy lifting. Giguere (0-2-1, 3.64) has to go. I took a lot of gruff for downgrading him considerably in my preseason preview, but I feel vindicated thus far. Of the three replacements you mentioned, I would rate them in this order because of projected playing time (most to least): Roloson, Niittymaki, Elliott. In your league, are all these guys taken? -- Antti Niemi (Chicago), Tuukka Rask (Boston), Alex Auld (Dallas), Jaroslav Halak (Montreal). All are dependable backups and No. 3 fantasy goalies.
I'm reading a lot of quotes from coaches that are concerned with the condensed schedule due to the two-week Olympic break, and many of them stating that their backup goalie is going to be more important than ever this season. If so, these are the backups I'd be interested in acquiring.

Team No. 2 -- Nothing to do. You're fine. Have faith in Ward, and Hiller (4-4-1, 2.91) should get better as the Ducks' offense wakes up.

Team No. 3 -- This is not as bad as you think. You keep Hiller and Khabibulin (6-5-1, 3.12) and cut ties with Vokoun (2-7-1, 3.28). As you mentioned, first try to work out a trade. If no one bites, cut Vokoun anyway. He'll probably get claimed, but that's the breaks. Thornton for Thomas is a very fair deal. Can you claim Rask as a free agent in this league? In deep leagues, he's my preferred No. 3 goalie, and I own Rask on a few teams myself. Boston has been OK at announcing goalie starts, so chances are you'll know when Rask plays and can take advantage of his starts.

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