Fantasy Forecast for Tuesday, November 10

MONDAY'S ROUNDUP:

There are reasons to be optimistic as you set your active fantasy lineup for Tuesday's six-game slate.

Canucks All-Star goaltender Roberto Luongo practiced Monday and it sounds as if he'll be the backup to Andrew Raycroft for Tuesday's game at St. Louis Blues. Luongo (12 games, 6-6-0, 2.79 GAA, owned in 97 percent of all Yahoo! leagues), who has missed the last six games with a fractured rib, targeted this game for his return to action, but is coming off a "48-hour virus."

"Obviously there's a little soreness there because the muscles haven't been worked that much, but if it settles down in the next few hours, it will be good to get back at it Tuesday," Luongo told the Vancouver Province. "The timing is not quite there yet, being the first day with the team. I need a few more practices."

Also from Vancouver, there is hope that first-line left wing Daniel Sedin (4, 0-4-4, 96 percent) may play against St. Louis. But even if he sits out his 15th consecutive game, a return later this week is a real possibility.

"It felt good," Sedin said. "I'm a little rusty because I've been in a cast for four weeks, so the left foot is unstable. But I might as well skate with the team and see how it goes."

The Canucks visit Detroit on Thursday

Predators defenseman Shea Weber (13, 5-4-9, 95 percent), who's missed the last two games with a foot injury, participated in Monday's practice and may play Tuesday at San Jose, according to the Tennessean. The paper also reports Dan Ellis (9, 3-3-1, 2.75 GAA, 20 percent) will make his second straight start in goal. He stopped 27 of 28 shots to defeat Los Angeles on Saturday.

Weber and Ellis could be facing forwards Devin Setoguchi (11, 7-2-9, 94 percent) and Ryan Vesce (4, 3-1-4, 1 percent), who likely will be in action for the Sharks. Both players have missed the last seven games, each with a leg injury.

James Neal, the Stars' second-leading scorer, is expected to return to practice Tuesday after resting a groin injury, according to the Dallas Morning News. Neal (15, 9-8-17, 73 percent) is to return to a line with Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson.

On Monday, Blackhawks captain and center Jonathan Toews made his return from a concussion and scored in a 4-1 victory against the Kings. Toews (10, 2-4-6, 92 percent) had missed six games. Also, bruising forward Ben Eager (3, 0-0-0, 1 percent) returned to the lineup after missing 13 games with an upper-body injury. "I'm looking to improve on a lot of things I did (Monday night), but it was a good first game back," Toews told the Chicago Tribune. "It was nice to score a goal, so hopefully I can keep building on that and helping my linemates offensively a little bit more."

The Atlanta Journal Constitution makes an interesting observation -- the last seven goals for the Thrashers have been scored by defensemen. Also, in their last six games -- since Ilya Kovalchuk went down with an injury -- the defensemen have outscored the forwards, 12-7. The seven blue-line goals have come from Tobias Enstrom (2), Pavel Kubina (2), Zach Bogosian, Christoph Schubert and Ron Hainsey. The last Atlanta forward to score was Bryan Little, against Columbus last Thursday.

The skate-cut injury that will keep Hurricanes starting goalie Cam Ward (15, 2-9-3, 2.97 GAA, 84 percent) out of the lineup for up to a month was the ticket back to the NHL for a veteran netminder. Carolina signed former Stanley Cup-winner Manny Legace on Monday. The biggest concern to fantasy owners, however, is how the team plans to split time between Legace (5 percent) and Ward's primary backup, Michael Leighton (3, 0-2-0, 5.11 GAA, 4 percent), who was a very popular free agent pickup in leagues over the weekend once it was determined Ward would be out long term.

"We've got lots of hockey here in the next month or so before we expect Cam's return," coach Paul Maurice told the Raleigh News and Observer. "There's going to be enough net for both guys, but clearly if either one of them gets on any kind of roll, we'll run him."

Legace was 2-2-1 with a 3.21 GAA in six games for Chicago of the AHL this season. The Hurricanes next play Wednesday at home against Los Angeles.

The Penguins, already without Sergei Gonchar, now will have to do without another critical offensive defenseman. Kris Letang (17, 1-6-7, 33 percent) suffered a shoulder contusion Saturday against San Jose and will miss at least two weeks. Pittsburgh plays at Boston on Tuesday.

"I know some people have said, 'What's wrong with him, because he's not getting as many points as he should?' But if you look at from an overall standpoint -- defensively and transition-wise -- this is by far his best year," teammate Brooks Orpik told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, though those words are of little consolation to Letang's fantasy owners.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports on two new lines used by Penguins coach Dan Bylsma at Monday's practice -- Sidney Crosby centering Matt Cooke and Ruslan Fedotenko, and Jordan Staal between Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz. Crosby has gone a career-high four games without a point. "We lost a couple games, so that happens," Crosby said.

Jason Williams' broken right fibula means the fantasy stock of Ville Leino (14, 2-1-3, 5 percent) should be on the rise. The struggling Finn practiced Monday on a line with center Henrik Zetterberg and right wing Dan Cleary. Williams is expected to be sidelined two months.

"We'll see what happens," coach Mike Babcock told the Detroit Free Press. "We think Ville's a real intelligent hockey player. He's played real well for us in the past. He's at a point his confidence isn't as good as it has been in the past. So, he's got to do his part, and we're going to try to help him out. Obviously, if you end up playing with Z and Clears, those are good players."

The Red Wings next play Wednesday at Columbus.

After totaling 2 goals and an assist in his first three games, Canadiens offensive defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron (10, 2-1-3, 7 percent) could be a healthy scratch for Tuesday's game against Calgary, reports the Montreal Gazette. He is scoreless with a minus-5 in his last seven games. Defensive-minded Jay Leach will make his Montreal debut.

Swedish rookie Jonas Gustavsson (8, 3-2-3, 2.60 GAA, 35 percent) will make his fourth straight start for the Maple Leafs on Tuesday at home against Minnesota. He's 2-0-1 in the last three games. "It's strictly, if you win and you're playing well, you get back in. It's exactly what you want. There's no controversy here or anything like that," coach Ron Wilson told the Toronto Star. "(Gustavsson) is playing well. Sure, Vesa (Toskala) wants to play, but this kid, he deserves the shot to play and we're playing well in front of him. We'll keep it going until I need to make another change."

Flyers forward Danny Briere (10, 5-2-7, 46 percent), sidelined with a leg injury, skated Monday but probably won't be ready to play until Saturday at the earliest, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rick DiPietro -- remember him? The oft-injured Islanders goalie is scheduled to practice for a second consecutive day Tuesday, reports the New York Post. "After that, we'll see how he is Wednesday," said coach Scott Gordon. DiPietro (9 percent) was limited to five games in 2008-09 due to a bad knee.

Daily Ovi update -- Alex Ovechkin (14, 14-9-23, 99 percent), listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, hopes to play this weekend. He practiced alone for 30 minutes Monday, reported the Washington Post. Ovechkin said he's no longer in pain and might be able to return to the lineup within the next week.

"I wish it was going to be tomorrow," Ovechkin said. "I need to make sure I'm good and my body feels good. Probably a week. We'll see."

NHL.com's Adam Kimelman has further details here.

Flames right wing Jarome Iginla was named the NHL's First Star for the week ending Nov. 8. He scored 5 points in three games, including a League-leading 4 goals. Second Star went to Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who posted a 2-0-1 record with a 0.95 goals-against average and .967 save percentage as San Jose climbed to first place in the overall League standings. Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger was honored with the Third Star for leading all defensemen in scoring with 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) and posting a plus-5 rating in three consecutive victories.

TUESDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Boston (Tim Thomas), 7 p.m. ET (VERSUS, TSN)
Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom) at Toronto (Jonas Gustavsson), 7 p.m. ET
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at Montreal (Jaroslav Halak), 7:30 p.m. ET (RDS)
Edmonton (Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers) at Ottawa (Pascal Leclaire), 7:30 p.m. ET
Vancouver (Andrew Raycroft) at St. Louis (Chris Mason), 8 p.m. ET
Nashville (Dan Ellis) at San Jose (Evgeni Nabokov), 10:30 p.m. ET (NHLN-CA)

RECENT INJURIES:

Rob Blake, D, San Jose: Placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Dave Bolland, C, Chicago: Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Donald Brashear, LW, N.Y. Rangers: Is day-to-day with a wrist injury.
Chris Drury, C, N.Y. Rangers: Is out indefinitely with a concussion.
Brandon Dubinsky, C, N.Y. Rangers: Will miss three weeks with a broken right hand.
J.P. Dumont, RW, Nashville: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.   
Mike Green, D, Washington: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Milan Hejduk, RW, Colorado: Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Ales Hemsky, RW, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.
Ed Jovanovski, D, Phoenix: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Tyler Kennedy, RW, Pittsburgh: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh: Will miss two weeks with a shoulder contusion.
John-Michael Liles, D, Colorado: Is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.
Radek Martinek, D, N.Y. Islanders: Is out the remainder of the season with a torn right ACL.
James Neal, LW, Dallas: Is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Rob Niedermayer, C, New Jersey: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Petr Sykora, RW, Minnesota: Is out indefinitely with a concussion.   
James van Riemsdyk, LW, Philadelphia: Is day-to-day with a fractured finger.
Cam Ward, G, Carolina: Is out up to four weeks with a leg injury.
Doug Weight, C, N.Y. Islanders: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Ray Whitney, LW, Carolina: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Jason Williams, C, Detroit: Is out up to two months with a fractured right fibula.

TRANSACTIONS:

NHL: Suspended Calgary Flames F Curtis Glencross for three games.
Anaheim Ducks: Reassigned G Justin Pogge to Bakersfield (ECHL).
Buffalo Sabres: Placed F Adam Mair on waivers.
Carolina Hurricanes: Signed G Manny Legace to a one-year contract.
Chicago Blackhawks: Activated LW Ben Eager from injured reserve.
Florida Panthers: Assigned RW Michal Repik and C Jeff Taffe to Rochester (AHL).
Philadelphia Flyers: Recalled D Oskars Bartulis from Adirondack (AHL).
Pittsburgh Penguins: Recalled D Deryk Engelland from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Washington Capitals: Announced C Michael Nylander has cleared waivers.

NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

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

Week 6 results through Nov. 9
Skoula Hard Knocks 5, Rocky Trottier 1 (5 ties)
Clown Shoes 7, The Birdcage 0 (4 ties)
Hempstead Slowpokes 11, Ovi's Heroes 0
Hammerhead United 5, Big Skillets O'BKLYN 0 (6 ties)
Philly Cheesestakes 3, Code Monkeys 1 (7 ties)
No Shanahan-igans 1, Out on a Dan Hinote 0 (10 ties)

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

Hi!
I have a team running second in an eight-team, head-to-head league. However, currently I have Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, and Daniel Sedin all out long-term and Devin Setoguchi day-to-day. Our league is pretty competitive, with no spaces for injured reserve and all the free agents who are scoring big have been snapped up. At the moment, only Joe Thornton and Marian Gaborik are keeping my head above water.

My question is, do I ride out the losses of these four and struggle for a few weeks, or do I look to trade them out for some healthy talent?
-- Grant

Ouch! With the epidemic of injuries occurring this early season, I'm sure there's fantasy teams out there somewhere in a worse spot than you, if you can take any comfort in that. I honestly see no choice but to ride this out. As far as I know, none of these players have required surgery for their injuries, so that's a plus. From what I've read, Malkin is doing just fine as he rests his strained right shoulder, which has not landed him on injured reserve. "He's progressing in rehab, and the important part is rest," coach Dan Bylsma said. Malkin is a week or two away.

Kovalchuk and Savard, both out with broken foots, are due back in late November, and Sedin should be back this week. When they do return, what a ridiculous injection of offense you'll receive. If you ask me which of the three I'd look to trade first, I'd go with Savard. The Bruins don't look as dominant as last season, talent wise or chemistry wise. I'd hate to trade Sedin, and Kovalchuk is untradeable, injured or not.

As stated above, Setoguchi returns to action Tuesday, and coach Todd McLellan indicated to the San Jose Mercury News that Setoguchi will slide back into his old spot on a line with Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley. "I feel that they will sort themselves out again," McLellan said. "Does Seto play well enough to keep that spot? Does (Ryan) Vesce play better and he gets that spot? ... We have to play some games now and figure out where everybody's at."

If you can hang in second place with this much talent hurt, I'd keep them and wait, even if you dropped into third. There's tons of games left. Do not panic.

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