Fantasy Forecast for Wednesday, November 25

Programming note -- the Fantasy Forecast and Top Picks will not publish Thursday and Friday to observe U.S. Thanksgiving. Enjoy your turkey and the games this weekend.

TUESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

One of the NHL's top offenses will receive a major power boost Wednesday when All-Star forward Marian Hossa makes his season debut with the Blackhawks. Chicago, tied for sixth in the League with 3.09 goals per game, announced on its Web site that Hossa, a three-time 40-goal scorer, will be in the lineup when the Blackhawks visit the San Jose Sharks in what should be an entertaining and highly offensive game for fantasy owners.

Dan Rosen has further details in this story.

Hossa (owned in 89 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) is slated to play right wing, his natural position, on a line with center Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, a right wing who will switch to the left side. "I lined up on the right side (at Tuesday's practice) and ... (coach Joel Quenneville) told me to get on the left side," Kane told the Chicago Tribune. "And Hossa, too. He wasn't afraid to say it."

The Chicago Sun-Times reports the other lines remain intact -- Kris Versteeg centering Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien, John Madden between Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer, and Colin Fraser flanked by Ben Eager and Tomas Kopecky.

As for the Sharks, their top line of Joe Thornton centering Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau has totaled 13 points since being united two games ago.

Hossa missed Chicago's first 22 regular-season contests while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. He has been practicing with the team for the better part of a week. The Blackhawks are riding a seven-game win streak and are 3-0-0 on their current six-game road trip, opening a five-point lead atop the Central Division. In the last seven contests, Chicago has outscored its opponents, 27-11.

As if fantasy owners need validation to put Hossa in the active lineup, he has a good history of performing against San Jose, with 11 goals, 4 assists and 10 penalty minutes in 15 career games against the Sharks. Last season with Detroit, Hossa had 4 goals and 3 assists in four games against San Jose.

In all Yahoo! drafts, Hossa was on average the 16th right wing selected. His average pick selection was 72.1, putting him typically in the middle of the seventh round, though he was drafted in 100 percent of all leagues. These averages would have been substantially better had Hossa not required rotator cuff surgery to his right shoulder in late July.

The Blackhawks have 60 regular-season games remaining on their schedule. In the Fantasy Forecaster season preview, I projected for Hossa 29 goals and 27 assists in 57 games.

Quite a few backup goalies are starting Wednesday. Ottawa starts Brian Elliott at New Jersey (in place of injured Pascal Leclaire). The Flyers will use Brian Boucher in a visit to the Islanders (giving Ray Emery a breather). Detroit's starter is Jimmy Howard at home against Atlanta (a break for Chris Osgood). The Oilers will start Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers for a visit from Los Angeles (Nikolai Khabibulin has a bad back). Not quite backups, but not bona-fide starters, playing Wednesday include Martin Biron of the Islanders, Semyon Varlamov of Washington, Jonas Gustavsson of Toronto, Antero Niittymaki of Tampa Bay and Manny Legace of Carolina.

Surprise, fantasy owners of Eric Staal -- he's back. The team's top center was activated from injured reserve Wednesday morning in time for a game at Anaheim Wednesday night. Staal (13 games, 3-2-5, 95 percent) has missed the last 10 games with an upper-body injury suffered Nov. 1 against San Jose, snapping his streak of 349 consecutive games played.

The Buffalo News reports Sabres coach Lindy Ruff will utilize the following lines for Wednesday's game at Washington -- Derek Roy centering Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, Tim Connolly flanked by Clarke MacArthur and Drew Stafford, Tim Kennedy between Jochen Hecht and Mike Grier, and Paul Gaustad centering Matt Ellis and Patrick Kaleta.

Senators forward Alexei Kovalev (19, 4-6-10, 76 percent) has yet to return to the team following a trip to Russia for the funeral of his mother-in-law. Keep him out of your active lineup for Wednesday's game at New Jersey.

The starter in goal for the Bruins on Wednesday at Minnesota is up in the air. Tim Thomas (14, 5-6-3, 2.33 GAA, 95 percent) continues to deal with an undisclosed injury, which has allowed backup Tuukka Rask (9, 6-2-1, 2.27 GAA, 26 percent) to make four straight starts. "It's always a possibility (Thomas could start Wednesday)," coach Claude Julien told the team's Web site. "But as I've mentioned he's day to day and some days I talk to him and he's doing much better and after practice (Tuesday) he didn't feel quite as good.

"That could change (Wednesday), as well, so we'll stick with that day-to-day situation because that's basically what it is."

Rangers center Chris Drury (18, 2-4-6, 21 percent) is ready to play after missing the last five games with a concussion. New York plays at Florida on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Drury took part in team contact drills for the first time since being injured Nov. 7. "He's going to play," coach John Tortorella told Newsday.

According to the East Valley Tribune, offensive defenseman Ed Jovanovski (16, 5-8-13, 78 percent), who has missed Phoenix's last eight games with a lower-body injury, accompanied the team for its game at Calgary on Wednesday.

The Ducks' new second line of Saku Koivu centering Teemu Selanne and Evgeny Artyukhin was the brainchild of Koivu and Selanne, reports the Orange County Register. The two veteran Finns requested to coach Randy Carlyle that Artyukhin (19, 2-0-2, 1 percent) be put on their line at a recent meeting. "Obviously, I don't want to be the coach," Selanne said. "But he asked me what I think about different players. I said 'You know what? When you have a guy with that kind of tools (who is) that strong on his feet, I think you've got to try and use it.' Otherwise it's a waste of talent. I see progress every day in him. That's huge."

There's also line juggling in Atlanta, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where the new combinations practiced together Tuesday in advance of Wednesday's game at Detroit -- Ilya Kovalchuk, Rich Peverley and Colby Armstrong; Slava Kozlov, Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov; and Evander Kane, Todd White and Bryan Little. These lines were first used in last Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. "I liked what I saw in the third period of the last game," coach John Anderson said. "Sometimes you get a little stale. I liked our jump (Sunday). I'd like to keep some continuity, but lines are not set in stone. We have to do what we have to do for each given week and each given game."

Need a hot pickup? Avalanche right wing David Jones has 4 goals and 5 points in his last three games and is playing on a line with Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski. "I think one key this year in scoring goals is just being able to play with some really good players. Playing with those guys, you just have to go to the net and some good things are going to happen," Jones (20, 10-5-15, 9 percent) told the Denver Post. "Sometimes, things come in bunches. I'm getting some bounces now, and I've just got to take advantage of it."

Want another name to watch? Teddy Purcell (22, 2-3-5, 1 percent) of the Kings, who at Tuesday's practice was put on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Los Angeles plays Wednesday at Edmonton and Thursday at Vancouver. "I need him to get going. I want to give him every opportunity to play well," coach Terry Murray told the Los Angeles Times. "I think in the last couple games he has been trying to do more things. He has been handling the puck with more confidence. . . . I want to try and take advantage of that upside of the curve and hopefully it comes out here (Wednesday)."

Other reworked lines have Andrei Loktionov centering Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown, Michal Handzus between Scott Parse and Wayne Simmonds, and Brad Richardson flanked by Brandon Segal and either Peter Harrold or Raitis Ivanans. Jarret Stoll (24, 7-11-18, 28 percent) is questionable with an undisclosed injury.

Speaking of injuries, the Fantasy Forecaster entry in the competitive Yahoo! Industry Experts League is experiencing the worst run of luck in recent memory with three goaltenders on injured reserve -- Cam Ward, Vesa Toskala and Pascal Leclaire, the latter two landing on IR on Tuesday. If not for Jonathan Quick (watch, I just jinxed him), it would be a clean sweep. The NHL.com All-Stars currently are fifth in the 12-team league.

WEDNESDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

Ottawa (Brian Elliott) at New Jersey (Martin Brodeur), 7 p.m. ET (TSN2)
Philadelphia (Brian Boucher) at N.Y. Islanders (Martin Biron), 7 p.m. ET
Buffalo (Ryan Miller) at Washington (Semyon Varlamov), 7 p.m. ET
Toronto (Jonas Gustavsson) at Tampa Bay (Antero Niittymaki), 7 p.m. ET (TSN)
Montreal (Carey Price) at Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:30 p.m. ET (RDS)
N.Y. Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Florida (Tomas Vokoun), 7:30 p.m. ET
Atlanta (Ondrej Pavelec) at Detroit (Jimmy Howard), 7:30 p.m. ET
Boston (Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask) at Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom), 8 p.m. ET
St. Louis (Chris Mason) at Dallas (Marty Turco), 8:30 p.m. ET (VERSUS)
Nashville (Pekka Rinne) at Colorado (Craig Anderson), 9 p.m. ET
Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) at Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff), 9:30 p.m. ET (TSN)
Los Angeles (Jonathan Quick) at Edmonton (Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers), 9:30 p.m. ET
Carolina (Manny Legace) at Anaheim (Jonas Hiller), 10 p.m. ET
Chicago (Cristobal Huet) at San Jose (Evgeni Nabokov), 10:30 p.m. ET

RECENT INJURIES:

Rene Bourque, LW, Calgary: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Brent Burns, D, Minnesota: Placed on injured reserve with a concussion.
Mike Comrie, C, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with mononucleosis.
Shean Donovan, RW, Ottawa: Is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.
Jeff Finger, D, Toronto: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Scott Gomez, C, Montreal: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Martin Hanzal, C, Phoenix: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Martin Havlat, RW, Minnesota: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Nikolai Khabibulin, G, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with a sore back.
Niklas Kronwall, D, Detroit: Will miss 4-8 weeks with a sprained left MCL.
Pascal Leclaire, G, Ottawa: Is out a month with a fractured cheekbone.
Joffrey Lupul, RW, Anaheim: Is day-to-day with back spasms.
John Mitchell, C, Toronto: Placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
Tom Poti, D, Washington: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Darroll Powe, RW, Philadelphia: Is sidelined with a strained left shoulder.
Jaroslav Spacek, D, Montreal: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Drew Stafford, RW, Buffalo: Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Cory Stillman, LW, Florida: Is day-to-day with a knee injury.
Vesa Toskala, G, Toronto: Placed on injured reserve with a groin injury.
Dainius Zubrus, C, New Jersey: Will be out 4-6 weeks with a right leg injury.

TRANSACTIONS:

NHL: Suspended Daniel Briere of the Philadelphia Flyers two games.
Carolina Hurricanes: Activated C Eric Staal off injured reserve.
Dallas Stars: Recalled D Maxime Fortunas from Texas (AHL). Reassigned C Warren Peters to Texas (AHL). Activated LW Fabian Brunnstrom from injured reserve and assigned him to Texas (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. Placed C Brian Sutherby on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 12.
Montreal Canadiens: Recalled RW J.T. Wyman and C David Desharnais from Hamilton (AHL).
Nashville Predators: Reassigned D Alexander Sulzer to Milwaukee (AHL).
Ottawa Senators: Recalled F Ryan Keller from Binghamton (AHL). Recalled G Mike Brodeur from Binghamton (AHL) on an emergency basis.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Recalled D Mike Lundin from Norfolk (AHL).
Toronto Maple Leafs: Recalled G Joey MacDonald and F Christian Hanson from Toronto (AHL).
Washington Capitals: Recalled D Karl Alzner from Hershey (AHL). Reassigned D John Carlson and RW Andrew Gordon to Hershey (AHL).

NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

Week 8 results through Nov. 24
Rocky Trottier 7, Out on a Dan Hinote 4
Skoula Hard Knocks 6, Ovi's Heroes 3 (2 ties)
Clown Shoes 5, Philly Cheesestakes 2 (4 ties)
Big Skillets O'BKLYN 6, Hempstead Slowpokes 4 (1 tie)
The Birdcage 5, Hammerhead United 3 (3 ties)
Code Monkeys 6, No Shanahan-igans 3 (2 ties)

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

Hey there Rocky,
I've been slowly moving up the board over the last few weeks in my pool and now occupy the last playoff spot (it's a head-to-head league with G, A, PPP, PIM, +/- and SOG counting). I have the chance to trade Alexander Semin for Marian Hossa straight up, and possibly Semin and Mike Ribeiro for Hossa and Mikko Koivu. I think Semin is the more potentially explosive player, more able to give me a strong single week (which in head-to-head can be pretty valuable, I'm discovering). But here's the thing: emotions are getting in the way. I'm a Hawks fan, and so I have an obvious interest in getting Hossa; and besides that I dislike Semin. It's tough separating the "emotional" wisdom from the "pool" wisdom.

Also, I have Kris Letang tucked away on injured reserve right now, and whenever he comes back I'm torn between keeping him or Cam Barker. Alex Goligoski and Sergei Gonchar will both be playing once Letang is back, and I'm worried Letang will get a little buried in terms of receiving prime offensive minutes. But then it looks like Barker has been bumped from the top power play unit in Chicago ... and that's where most of his value lies.
I'd love to hear your opinion.
Thanks,
-- B

I love this question, and here's why: You don't have to apologize for being a Blackhawks fan, and factoring in the emotional when playing fantasy is perfectly fine. If you want to acquire Hossa for Semin you are in your rights because A) it's a fairly even trade, save for a few points here and there, and B) fantasy is more fun when you are genuinely rooting for players you like. I'm no stranger to hearing guys say at a draft, "I really don't want to draft this guy, but…" Naturally, the objective is to win your fantasy league, but at what cost? Drafting a player you don't want to see do well? That doesn't sound right to me. If you're so dedicated to playing fantasy because you enjoy a particular sport, don't forget the roots of your fandom, which probably lie with a single team or player.

That being said, it's an even trade. Last season Hossa was 40-31-71 in 74 games, and Semin is on pace for 38-33-71 even though he's currently injured, which is not uncommon for the budding star. As for the other components, I'm torn; I think I prefer Ribeiro. He is streaky, but those hot streaks can carry a team in head-to-head, as you have discovered. The Stars have a more balanced attack. I'm a Koivu fan, but I fear that he's not getting enough help in Minnesota, though he's off to a great start.

Tough one here with Letang and Barker. Both have plenty of trade value if you're sure you can't keep both. You say you worry about Letang behind Gonchar and Goligoski, but don't you have the same concern about Barker behind Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell? I'm going to vote you keep Letang on the basis that he averages better than 21 minutes a game and takes a lot of shots, while Barker averages just less than 14 minutes a game and is less inclined to shoot.

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