Fantasy Forecast for Wednesday, November 18

TUESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Alex Ovechkin returned to Washington's lineup for Tuesday's 4-2 win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden and hit the ground running. He scored a power-play goal on his only shot of the game, but if there was any doubt Ovechkin (15 games, 15-9-24, owned in 99 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) fully was recovered from his upper-body strain, you only have to look at his team-leading seven hits in 19:23 of ice time (5:48 on the power play).

Now that the Capitals have Ovechkin back, it appears they'll be without star left wing Alexander Semin, who missed Tuesday's game with an apparent right wrist injury. He returned to Washington before the contest to consult with a D.C.-area doctor, reports the Washington Post. Semin (18, 9-8-17, 99 percent) apparently was playing through his wrist injury while Ovechkin missed six games, but Semin's condition didn't improve, resulting in the doctor visit. Washington next plays Friday at home against Montreal.

Left wing Ryan Smyth and defenseman Rob Scuderi will miss the Kings' home game against Philadelphia on Wednesday, and it is feared that Smyth's injury could result in significant time lost. He suffered an upper-body injury Monday against Florida and sat out the entire third period. Coach Terry Murray said Smyth (22, 9-14-23, 93 percent) would not play Wednesday and will be out "longer than that, for sure." He is scheduled to be evaluated by a team doctor Wednesday. The defensive-minded Scuderi (21, 0-1-1, 1 percent) suffered a lower-body injury in last Saturday's game at Tampa Bay and did not play Monday. Murray said Scuderi received treatment at the Kings' practice facility Tuesday and that he is "progressing, but not ready."

Los Angeles did not practice Tuesday, but Murray said Alexander Frolov (21, 4-12-16, 85 percent) will take Smyth's place as the first-line left wing, with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams.

The Dallas Morning News reports the Stars will have new lines for Wednesday's game at Detroit. The struggling duo of Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow is being split up, and the team as a whole isn't scoring well, having not scored more than two goals in regulation in the last six games. "You just can't win like that, not in this League, so you make changes," Morrow said. "When things aren't working, you have to try something else."

Morrow (19, 7-7-14, 82 percent) moves to a line with Mike Modano and Jamie Benn, while Ribeiro (19, 5-10-15, 75 percent) will center Steve Ott and Jere Lehtinen. The top line of Brad Richards, James Neal and Loui Eriksson remains intact.

Backup goalie Alex Auld (6, 2-2-2, 3.63 GAA, 4 percent) gets the start Wednesday.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood will miss his third straight game with the flu, meaning Jimmy Howard will start Wednesday at home against Dallas, with rookie Daniel Larsson providing backup. If Osgood (12, 6-3-2, 2.77 GAA, 90 percent) is healthy by Friday, he will start against Florida, and Howard (8, 4-2-1, 2.84 GAA, 13 percent) will play Saturday at Montreal. "Ozzie came in and skated and thought he was on the right track," coach Mike Babcock said. "But (Monday) he was a disaster. So I don't know what is going on there."

The paper also has the latest line combinations: Todd Bertuzzi-Pavel Datsyuk-Tomas Holmstrom, Ville Leino-Henrik Zetterberg-Dan Cleary, Kris Draper-Darren Helm-Patrick Eaves, and Brad May-Justin Abdelkader-Drew Miller.

Hurricanes goalie Michael Leighton made 10 saves before leaving Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss at Montreal at 7:12 of the second period because of a lower-body injury. He was replaced by Manny Legace (23 saves). "Manny did great in net there and obviously shootouts can go either way, so it's a tough one," teammate Brandon Sutter said. On Wednesday morning, Carolina recalled goalie Justin Peters from Albany of the AHL.

According to the Denver Post, Avalanche coach Joe Sacco will decide on his starting goaltender -- Craig Anderson (20, 12-5-3, 2.40 GAA, 89 percent) or Peter Budaj (2, 1-0-0, 3.75 GAA, 3 percent) -- after Wednesday's morning skate. Colorado plays at Edmonton.

The Oilers used Twitter to announce Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (3, 1-1-1, 1.96 GAA, 1 percent) as their starting goalie against Colorado on Wednesday.

Glen Metropolit (15, 4-6-10, 1 percent) is replacing Brian Gionta (lower-body injury) on Montreal's top line, with Mike Cammalleri and Scott Gomez.

To get Claude Giroux on track, Flyers coach John Stevens is moving him from the wing to his natural center position, between Darroll Powe and David Laliberte. "Maybe he's over-passing the puck at times," said assistant coach Craig Berube. "A lot of times this season, I think that's what happened. You have to shoot the puck and get it to the net. And he's been doing a lot of shooting after practice lately." Giroux (17, 1-9-10, 17 percent) had been playing right wing next to center Mike Richards and left wing Scott Hartnell. "Our line is pretty excited," Giroux said. "I've talked to them. It's going to be a good game for us." The Flyers begin a West Coast trip in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Bruins coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe that left wing Milan Lucic (broken finger) will be a game-time decision for Thursday's game at Atlanta. "I got some mobility back in there," said Lucic (6, 0-3-3, 48 percent). "It's still not 100 percent, but it's close to 100 percent. I'm just working right now to get 100-percent strength back in there.

"It feels great. Not too much soreness going on anymore. Hopefully, I can make a return back to the lineup soon."

The Boston Herald reports injured center Marc Savard (broken foot) also may play Thursday. He expects to participate in a full workout Wednesday. "I could go, it depends how I feel in practice," Savard (7, 4-3-7, 91 percent) said. "I have to get a good skate in and be back out there with the boys. I mean, I don't want to rush things. I do not think we do as a staff, but if it comes to it maybe I can play. I'm ready to go and if I practice well it will be Claude's decision."

At the time of his retirement announcement Tuesday afternoon, future Hall of Fame forward Brendan Shanahan was owned in 1 percent of all Yahoo! leagues.

Leading forward scorers of November

Through Tuesday's games
Henrik Zetterberg (DET), 6 games, 6-5-11
Anze Kopitar (LAK), 8 games, 4-7-11
Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), 7 games, 1-10-11
Zach Parise (NJD), 7 games, 5-5-10
Maxim Afinogenov (ATL), 7 games, 4-6-10
Rich Peverley (ATL), 7 games, 2-8-10

WEDNESDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

Florida (Tomas Vokoun) at Buffalo (Ryan Miller), 7 p.m. ET
Dallas (Alex Auld) at Detroit (Jimmy Howard), 7:30 p.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) at Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom), 8 p.m. ET
Colorado (Craig Anderson or Peter Budaj) at Edmonton (Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers), 9 p.m. ET (TSN, RIS)
Philadelphia (Ray Emery) at Los Angeles (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 p.m. ET

RECENT INJURIES:

Arron Asham, RW, Philadelphia: Will miss 10-14 days with a strained left oblique muscle.
Sam Gagner, C, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Brian Gionta, RW, Montreal: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Alex Goligoski, D, Pittsburgh: Will be out 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury.
Boyd Gordon, RW, Washington: Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Denis Grebeshkov, D, Edmonton: Is sidelined a month with a torn MCL.
Mike Knuble, RW, Washington: Sidelined 3-4 weeks with a broken finger.
Pavel Kubina, D, Atlanta: Is day-to-day with lower-body soreness.
Chris Kunitz, LW, Pittsburgh: Sidelined for two weeks with a lower-body injury
Michael Leighton, G, Carolina: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Bryan Little, C, Atlanta: Is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Matthew Lombardi, C, Phoenix: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Mattias Ohlund, D, Tampa Bay: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Joni Pitkanen, D, Carolina: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Alexander Semin, LW, Washington: Is day-to-day with a right wrist injury.
Devin Setoguchi, RW, San Jose: Is day-to-day with a leg injury.
Ryan Smyth, LW, Los Angeles: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Kris Versteeg, LW, Chicago: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Scott Walker, RW, Carolina: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

TRANSACTIONS:

Atlanta Thrashers: Assigned D Boris Valabik to Chicago (AHL) for a conditioning assignment.
Calgary Flames: Reassigned D Staffan Kronwall to Abbotsford (AHL) on a conditioning assignment.
Carolina Hurricanes: Recalled G Justin Peters from Albany (AHL). Assigned F Tim Conboy to Albany (AHL).
Chicago Blackhawks: Recalled LW Bryan Bickell from Rockford (AHL).
Colorado Avalanche: Recalled F Chris Durno from Lake Erie (AHL).
Columbus Blue Jackets: Loaned LW Nikita Filatov to CSKA of the Kontinental Hockey League for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.
Minnesota Wild: Recalled RW Danny Irmen from Houston (AHL).
Montreal Canadiens: Reassigned D Mathieu Carle to Hamilton (AHL).
New Jersey Devils: Recalled D Tyler Eckford from Lowell (AHL). Assigned D Cory Murphy to Lowell (AHL).
New York Islanders: Reassigned D Andrew MacDonald to Bridgeport (AHL).
Philadelphia Flyers: Recalled LW David Laliberte from Adirondack (AHL).
Pittsburgh Penguins: Re-assigned F Mark Letestu to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AHL).
San Jose Sharks: Recalled F Benn Ferriero, F Frazer McLaren and C Logan Couture from Worcester (AHL).
Washington Capitals: Recalled C Jay Beagle and G Michal Neuvirth from Hershey (AHL).

NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

Week 7 results through Nov. 17
Rocky Trottier 6, Philly Cheesestakes 3 (2 ties)
No Shanahan-igans 5, Skoula Hard Knocks 2 (4 ties)
Clown Shoes 7, Ovi's Heroes 2 (2 ties)
Hammerhead United 5, Hempstead Slowpokes 4 (2 ties)
Out on a Dan Hinote 6, The Birdcage 3 (2 ties)
Big Skillets O'BKLYN 7, Code Monkeys 2 (2 ties)

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

I was wondering if I should bench or drop the following players: Paul Kariya and Martin Havlat. Some high point-producing players still available in my pool are Andy McDonald, Evander Kane, David Clarkson, Ales Kotalik, Jarret Stoll, Mike Fisher, and Tomas Plekanec.

We play a points-based league that includes goals, assists, plus-minus, game-winning goals and shorthanded goals.
Thanks,
-- Hai

Even if they are struggling, Kariya and Havlat have some fantasy value on name alone. For one day at least, try to work out a one-for-one trade and don't ask for anything too crazy. If the effort is fruitless, I guess there's no harm in cutting Kariya (18, 4-3-7) loose. Havlat (18, 2-6-8), though, I'd give another week.

Lots of good options here. My top three pick-ups in order -- 1) Clarkson, 2) Kotalik, 3), McDonald by a hair over Kane.

Clarkson (19, 7-8-15) is the hottest of the bunch, with 4 goals and 2 assists in his last six games. He's scoring fairly consistently and doing all the little things that will ensure he remains in the lineup for the Devils. There's potential in his game. With Gaborik on his line, Kotalik (21, 6-11-17) remains a great threat. His minus-9 rating is disappointing, but it's the only statistical flaw to his game right now. Kotalik has a goal and 4 assists in his last five games. McDonald is a vital cog for the Blues, who are finding that most of their youngsters are struggling. McDonald (16, 6-6-12) is a steady, reliable second-tier scorer who has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last four games. I like Kane, but rookie inconsistency puts him second-fiddle to McDonald in my recommendations.

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