Fantasy Forecast for Wednesday, November 11

TUESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Outstanding news from Atlanta. It appears that fantasy superstar Ilya Kovalchuk is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a broken foot and will return to action this week, far ahead of his projected return date. On Oct. 26, the Thrashers announced Kovalchuk (8 games, 9-1-10, owned in 98 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) would miss a month.
NHL.com Managing Editor Shawn Roarke is in Toronto for the GM meetings and spoke to Atlanta's Don Waddell, who revealed that Kovalchuk could play on Friday at home against Los Angeles.
Kovlachuk practiced Tuesday for the first time since breaking a bone in his right foot nearly three weeks ago, and he has missed six games. Kovalchuk said he would wait to see how his foot responded to a full practice on Wednesday before declaring himself ready to return.
"We'll see how it feels [Wednesday] and take it from there," Kovalchuk told the Journal-Constitution. "If it's sore, I'll take it easy. If it's going to be good, I'll skate with the team again."
View Kovalchuk's post-practice video.

Canucks All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo did make his return from a rib injury on Tuesday after all. He played the second and third periods in relief of starter Andrew Raycroft in Tuesday's 6-1 loss at St. Louis. Luongo (12, 6-6-0, 2.79 GAA, 97 percent), who got a no-decision, stopped 15 of 17 shots. It was his first game action since fracturing a rib on Oct. 27. Vancouver next plays at Detroit on Thursday, and by that time Daniel Sedin (4, 0-4-4, 96 percent) may be ready to return from his broken foot.

Blackhawks center Dave Bolland had back surgery on Tuesday and will be out for three to four months. Bolland (13, 2-4-6, 16 percent) was not a high-demand fantasy player but played a lot (19:23) due to his two-way game and is second to Patrick Kane (19:24) in ice time per game among Hawks forwards. His absence should mean more playing time for fantasy-worthy players on one of the League's best offensive teams. Kris Versteeg (16, 4-8-12, 80 percent) was shifted from left wing to center in the last two games since Bolland was sidelined. Down the middle, Chicago also has Jonathan Toews, John Madden and Colin Fraser.
Also, GM Stan Bowman said that injured right wing Marian Hossa (88 percent) is expected to make his season debut during a six-game road trip that runs from Nov. 19-28. "It's just a matter of whether it's the beginning, middle or end," Bowman told the Chicago Tribune. "We'll have a better feeling by next week."

The Detroit News reports the Red Wings will start Jimmy Howard in goal on Wednesday at Columbus, his first action since Oct. 29. "I'm working really, really hard in practice and just hoping it pays off in games," Howard (5, 1-2-1, 4 percent) said.

The Kings could also go with their backup goalie on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Times speculates that Erik Ersberg (1, 0-1-0, 1 percent) will start at Carolina. The Hurricanes will counter with Manny Legace (7 percent), who was signed on Monday.

The Blues' line of Andy McDonald (1-2-3) centering David Perron (3-0-3) and Brad Boyes (1-3-4) totaled 5 goals and 10 points in Tuesday's 6-1 victory against Vancouver. St. Louis scored four goals in a span of 7:36 in the first period. In the second period, Boyes (74 percent) scored on the power play to end a seven-game goal drought with his first goal since Oct. 23.

Flyers coach John Stevens told the Philadelphia Inquirer he is hopeful that injured forwards Daniel Briere (leg) and James van Riemsdyk (finger) will be in action for Thursday's home game against Ottawa. Briere (10, 5-2-7, 46 percent) has missed the last four games but went through a full practice on Tuesday and said he felt no discomfort. Van Riemsdyk (12, 3-11-14, 42 percent) also practiced despite a heavily-taped broken left pinkie that was also cut and required more than 20 stitches.

How odd that Sidney Crosby's career-high five-game pointless streak coincides with the first goal of the season for former Rocket Richard Trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo. On Tuesday, the new Senator broke a 15-game goal drought.

After missing seven games with a leg injury, Sharks top-line right wing Devin Setoguchi (12, 8-2-10, 94 percent) scored in a 4-3 victory against Nashville on Tuesday. Also, Joe Pavelski (4, 2-4-6, 77 percent) scored for the second straight game since he returned from a 15-game absence with a foot injury.

Wondering why Sabres' star left wing Thomas Vanek (12, 5-2-7, 92 percent) has only one goal in his last seven games? Coach Lindy Ruff told the Buffalo News, "It starts with your feet. When you’re not moving, there’s not much going on."

Injured Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (12, 4-10-14, 99 percent) participated with the team at Tuesday morning's practice in Boston. "I'm still working. It feels better," he told the Post-Gazette of his strained right shoulder that has kept him out six games. "I'm closer, day to day."

A report in the Boston Herald lists four teams that have interest in free agent center Peter Forsberg -- the Bruins, Canucks, Flyers and Rangers.

Daily Ovi update -- Alex Ovechkin (14, 14-9-23, 99 percent), listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury, is hoping to return to action this coming weekend. He skated before the Capitals practiced on Tuesday morning and said he continues to inch closer to returning to the lineup though Ovechkin wasn't prepared to say when. But coach Bruce Boudreau told the Washington Post he considers Ovechkin "questionable" for the contests on Friday against Minnesota and Saturday at New Jersey. "And if he keeps improving, and he's at 70 percent [Wednesday], it's not going to be too long before he's in the lineup."

WEDNESDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) at Buffalo (Ryan Miller), 7:00 p.m. ET
Anaheim (Jonas Hiller) at New Jersey (Martin Brodeur), 7:00 p.m. ET
NY Islanders (Martin Biron) at Washington (Jose Theodore), 7:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles (Erik Ersberg) at Carolina (Manny Legace), 7:00 p.m. ET
Detroit (Jimmy Howard) at Columbus (Steve Mason), 7:00 p.m. ET
Colorado (Craig Anderson) at Chicago (Cristobal Huet), 8:30 p.m. ET

RECENT INJURIES:

Chris Drury, C, NY Rangers: Is out indefinitely with a concussion.
Brandon Dubinsky, C, NY Rangers: Will miss three weeks with a broken right hand.
Milan Hejduk, RW, Colorado: Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Ales Hemsky, RW, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with a shoulder 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.
Henrik Lundqvist, G, NY Rangers: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Robert Nilsson, RW, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with a head 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.
Jason Williams, C, Detroit: Is out up to two months with a fractured right fibula.

TRANSACTIONS:

Detroit Red Wings: Claimed LW Drew Miller off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Edmonton Oilers: Recalled C Ryan O'Marra from Springfield (AHL).
Florida Panthers: Claimed F Steve MacIntyre off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Recalled D Deryk Engelland from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
San Jose Sharks: Assigned C Torrey Mitchell to Worcester (AHL) on a conditioning assignment.
Vancouver Canucks: Reassigned G Cory Schneider to Manitoba (AHL).

NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

Week 6 results through Nov. 10
Rocky Trottier 6 vs. Skoula Hard Knocks 4 (1 tie)
Clown Shoes 1 vs. The Birdcage 2 (8 ties)
Hempstead Slowpokes 4 vs. Ovi's Heroes 4 (3 ties)
Big Skillets O'BKLYN 6 vs. Hammerhead United 4 (1 tie)
Code Monkeys 6 vs. Philly Cheesestakes 0 (5 ties)
No Shanahan-igans 2 vs. Out on a Dan Hinote 7 (2 ties)

EMAIL OF THE DAY:

Good Afternoon,
I am looking in acquiring Tomas Plekanec from free agency. I need to shed some dead weight and can't decide between Dave Bolland of the Chicago Blackhawks or if I should continue to wait for Claude Giroux to rise in the ranks of the Flyers.
Thanks for the advice,
-- Alec

Boy, did Plekanec burn me last year when I had him on nearly every fantasy team that I managed. His 30 point decrease from 2007-08 (29-40-69) to 2008-09 (20-19-39) was the worst in the entire League for a skater with regular playing time. Now Plekanec (18, 4-10-14, 42 percent) is thriving again as Montreal's second-line center and a Tier II fantasy option. Last season, he didn't record his 14th point until Dec. 27.
Actually, I began answering your question moments before learning that Bolland underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a herniated disk in his back and that he'll be out three to four months. Prior to the news, I was going to recommend you go after Giroux (14, 1-6-7, 17 percent) anyway, primarily because of his potential to improve. He's playing top six minutes for the Flyers, is more creative offensively, and has a better plus-minus (plus-5).
I'm shocked to see that Bolland was playing 19:23 per game for the Blackhawks, second to Patrick Kane among all Chicago's forwards. But even with all that ice time, Bolland (13, 2-4-6, 16 percent) is 11th in team scoring with four defensemen ahead of him.

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