Fantasy Forecast for Friday, November 20

The best fantasy coverage on the net isn't taking weekends off anymore. Every Saturday, Matt Cubeta will provide a comprehensive recap of the night's action from a fantasy perspective, highlighting the top performers and providing news and notes to guide your entry. Check out Matt's report Saturday.

THURSDAY'S ROUNDUP:

The countdown to Marian Hossa's Blackhawks debut is less than a week away, according to the Chicago Tribune -- the target date is Nov. 25 at San Jose. "There are going to be a lot of options for a coach to have," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "He's going to get a lot of ice time. We're looking forward to him being useful in a lot of ways." At Wednesday's practice, Hossa participated in line drills with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. "I still don't know who he's going to play with, but I think everybody's hoping they're going to be on that line," Quenneville said.

Fantasy Forecast for Thursday,
November 19

WEDNESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

I'm not really a doctor. I just play one when writing about fantasy hockey.

The season-long injury parade hit another peak with the news of several new ailments and the depressing diagnosis of ongoing injuries to a hoard of fantasy-useful players.

In spite of the carnage, 10 NHL teams somehow totaled 32 goals Wednesday. I don't know about you, but very few of those few goals counted for my fantasy team(s), and I lost my grip on first place by one point in the competitive Yahoo! Friends and Family League. I had to put Alexander Semin on injured reserve, and the best replacement I could find at the moment was Wayne Simmonds of the Kings.

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.

Fantasy Forecast for Tuesday, November 17

MONDAY'S ROUNDUP:

"Unless something negative happens this afternoon and I don't get the OK from Smitty (head athletic trainer Greg Smith) to play him, than I think he would be back." The words of Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau are sweet music to the ears of Alex Ovechkin fantasy owners, who can stop wondering when their first-round (and probably first-overall) pick will return to the lineup.

Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, look for No. 8 to be in action against the Rangers (7 p.m. ET, VERSUS, TSN2). In 17 career games against the Rangers, Ovechkin has 8 goals and 18 points.

Fantasy Forecast for Monday, November 16

WEEKEND ROUNDUP:

Evgeni Malkin made a return to Pittsburgh's lineup on Saturday and posted three assists in a 6-5 win against Boston. He earned the first point on his first shift, assisting on Jay McKee's goal 1:42 into the first period. Malkin (13 games, 4-13-17, owned in 99 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) had missed six games with a strained right shoulder and the Penguins were 1-5-0 in his absence.

Also returning over the weekend were defensemen Tom Preissing of Colorado and Sheldon Souray (4, 0-0-0, 80 percent) of Edmonton. But as usual, some come back and some go out of the lineup. Notable names in the latter category include Chicago's Kris Versteeg (upper-body), Pavel Kubina (lower-body) and Bryan Little (groin) of Atlanta, and Anaheim's Saku Koivu (groin).

Fantasy Forecast for Friday, Nov. 13

THURSDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Vesa Toskala, Toronto's projected No. 1 goalie at the start of the season who has played only once in the last 11 games, will start Friday at Chicago, reports the Toronto Star.

"You want Vesa to play well. I don't want to have to be worrying that we only have one goalie capable of winning," said coach Ron Wilson. "I know Vesa can play well. I think he's more than ready."

Toskala (5, 0-2-2, 5.13 GAA, owned in 26 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) went down with a knee injury Oct. 13, and by the time he came back rookie Jonas Gustavsson (9, 3-3-3, 2.77 GAA, 37 percent) was playing too well to come out of the lineup. Toskala last started Oct. 31, a 5-4 shootout loss at Montreal.

Fantasy Forecast for Thursday, Nov. 12

WEDNESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Will he or won't he? The details around the expected return from injury of Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk are getting confusing, depending on who you listen to.

Wednesday started with a quote from coach John Anderson in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was "95 percent" sure Kovalchuk would play Thursday at the New York Rangers. Later in the day, GM Don Waddell told NHL.com the earliest Kovalchuk could play was Friday at home against Los Angeles.

Then Thursday, Anderson said Kovalchuk would be a game-time decision.

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."

Fantasy Forecast for Friday, November 6

THURSDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Devils forward Patrik Elias, the club's all-time leading scorer, will make his season debut Friday at home against the Islanders. He had been sidelined since prior to training camp following surgery to his hip and groin. Coach Jacques Lemaire had intended to use the versatile forward at left wing, but Elias (owned in 91 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) is slated to play center in place of Rob Niedermayer (13 games, 2-5-7, 1 percent), who has an upper-body injury and will not be in the lineup.
"He'll have to play. I would say he's going to play from 17-19 minutes," Lemaire said. "We'll see how it goes and how he plays."

Elias took Niedermayer's place at Thursday's practice, centering Matt Halischuk and Jamie Langenbrunner. Other lines were Zach Parise-Travis Zajac-Nicklas Bergfors; Brian Rolston-Dainius Zubrus-David Clarkson; and a fourth line consisting of Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Rod Pelley, Ilkka Pikkarainen and Andrew Peters.

Fantasy Forecast for Thursday, November 5

WEDNESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

Blue Jackets backup goalie Mathieu Garon starts Thursday at Atlanta, and why not? He's 2-0-0 with two shutouts against the Thrashers in his career. But here's the twist -- both came long ago, in 2000-01 when he was with Montreal. Garon stopped 25 shots in a 6-0 win and 24 in a 3-0 win, both in Atlanta. Still, Columbus is playing well and Garon (4 games, 1-1-0, 2.59 GAA, owned in 5 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) is worth a spot start in fantasy. He will face Ondrej Pavelec (5-3-1, 2.75 GAA, 44 percent).

When forward Phil Kessel plays his second game with the Maple Leafs on Friday at Carolina, he may have his second center in as many games. Coach Ron Wilson said after practice Wednesday that he feels John Mitchell (13, 0-5-5, 1 percent) deserves a look next to Kessel (1, 0-0-0, 83 percent). "I'm experimenting right now, nothing more, nothing less," Wilson told the Globe and Mail. "I think he might be able to match up with these guys (Kessel and Jason Blake). Again, it's about finishing off the opportunities, who's been on the ice for a lot of goals for, etc., things like that. That's all it is." In his season debut Tuesday, Matt Stajan centered Kessel and Blake in a 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay.