Fantasy Forecast for Monday, November 23

WEEKEND ROUNDUP:

Bruins No. 1 center Marc Savard likely will make his return from a broken foot Monday at St. Louis. He has missed the last 15 games. ''That will have given (Savard) 4-5 days of skating, and we'll all feel confident he's ready to go,'' coach Claude Julien told the Boston Herald. ''The plan is for him to play in St. Louis and right now there's no reason that shouldn't happen.''

Savard (7 games, 4-3-7, owned in 92 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) has performed well against St. Louis in his career, with 8 goals and 14 points in 21 games.

With Savard back, the Boston Globe has the scoop on the two power-play units that practiced Sunday. One had Savard centering Marco Sturm and Michael Ryder, with Zdeno Chara and Derek Morris at the points. The other had David Krejci centering Blake Wheeler and Mark Recchi, with Patrice Bergeron and Dennis Wideman on the points.

Also from Boston, a "minor injury" to starting goalie Tim Thomas (14, 5-6-3, 2.33 GAA, 95 percent) has kept the Vezina Trophy winner out of the last three games. Backup Tuukka Rask has gone 2-1-0 in that stretch and Julien made it sound possible that Rask (8, 5-2-1, 2.31 GAA, 18 percent) will get a fourth-straight start against the Blues.

Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall is facing 4 to 8 weeks on the sideline with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee suffered in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win at Montreal. A questionable knee-to-knee hit from Georges Laraque felled Kronwall (21, 5-8-13, 84 percent). GM Ken Holland told the Detroit Free Press that test results showed "there's no damage to the ACL, but we're looking at a range of somewhere between four to eight weeks."

Look for Derek Meech (5, 0-0-0, zero percent) to receive more playing time, but for Brad Stuart (21, 2-3-5, 2 percent) and Jonathan Ericsson (19, 3-6-9, 5 percent) to take on more offensive responsibility.

Notable names who returned from injury this past weekend include forwards T.J. Galiardi, Kirk Maltby, Laraque, Saku Koivu, Matthew Lombardi, Alexander Steen and Daniel Sedin, defensemen Toni Lydman, John-Michael Liles, Ryan O'Byrne and Joni Pitkanen, and goaltender Chris Osgood.

Players who sustained injuries since Friday include Drew Stafford, Rene Bourque, Derek Dorsett, Nikolai Khabibulin, Cory Stillman, Scott Gomez, Tom Poti, Martin Havlat, Dainius Zubrus, Shean Donovan, Kronwall, Pascal Leclaire and Joffrey Lupul.

Tomas Plekanec

Center - MTL

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 17 | PTS: 22
SOG: 56 | +/-: 7

With first-liners Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta injured, a revamped top line of Tomas Plekanec (23, 5-17-22, 50 percent) centering Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn has performed well for the Canadiens. The trio may remain together for Tuesday's game against Columbus. "Tomas has played with different people and he never says anything," coach Jacques Martin told the Montreal Gazette.

Edmonton's Web site states starting goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is questionable to play at home against Phoenix on Monday with a sore back. He has missed the last two games with Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (5, 2-2-1, 2.96 GAA, 2 percent) filling in. "I had an injury a couple of years ago, but I haven't had anything since then. I don't know what it is," said Khabibulin (19, 7-9-2, 3.03 GAA, 75 percent). "Two days ago I felt really good, then it just felt tight."

With Devils center Dainius Zubrus slated to miss considerable time with a fractured knee cap, coach Jacques Lemaire has begun shifting around his lines, according to the (Newark) Star-Ledger. On Saturday, left wing Patrik Elias shifted to center on the second line, with Brian Rolston and Jamie Langenbrunner, and Niclas Bergfors was on the top line, with Zach Parise and Travis Zajac.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on some line tinkering by the Thrashers in Sunday's overtime loss against Tampa Bay. Coach John Anderson united Ilya Kovalchuk, Todd White and Bryan Little, and Slava Kozlov, Nik Antropov and Maxim Afinogenov.

Senators starting goalie Pascal Leclaire left Saturday's win against Buffalo early with a lower-body injury and likely will miss Monday's home game against Washington, according to the Ottawa Citizen. Leclaire (16, 8-5-1, 2.71 GAA, 64 percent) exited after two periods with a 2-1 lead, but replacement Brian Elliott (6, 3-1-2, 2.90 GAA, 5 percent) captured the win after a five-goal third period produced a 5-3 final score. Leclaire was hurt after Buffalo's Jochen Hecht fell on him in a goal-mouth scramble. Afterward, coach Cory Clouston said Leclaire was "sore," but declined to be specific.

The Toronto Star reports Vesa Toskala (9, 1-4-2, 3.82 GAA, 25 percent) will make his second-straight start for the Maple Leafs on Monday at home against the Islanders. He's coming off Saturday's 2-1 shootout win against Washington. "Like I've said, I've never had a problem with my confidence, but this may be the healthiest I've been in five years, so that's why these games are so fun now," Toskala said.

Sharks center Joe Thornton was named the NHL's First Star for the week ending Nov. 22. He led all scorers with 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) and posted a plus-3 rating in three games. Second Star went to Canadiens goalie Carey Price, who went 2-0-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average and .940 save percentage. Senators center Mike Fisher was awarded the Third Star for scoring 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) and posting a plus-5 rating in three games.

MONDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

Detroit (Chris Osgood) at Nashville (Pekka Rinne), 7 p.m. ET (VERSUS, TSN2)

Dwayne Roloson

Goalie - NYI

RECORD: 6-2-5
GAA: 2.86 | SVP: 0.911

N.Y. Islanders (Dwayne Roloson) at Toronto (Vesa Toskala), 7 p.m. ET
Columbus (Steve Mason) at N.Y. Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7 p.m. ET
Washington (Jose Theodore) at Ottawa (Brian Elliott), 7:30 p.m. ET (RDS)
Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Florida (Tomas Vokoun), 7:30 p.m. ET
Boston (Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask) at St. Louis (Chris Mason), 8 p.m. ET
Carolina (Manny Legace) at Dallas (Marty Turco), 8:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia (Ray Emery) at Colorado (Craig Anderson), 9 p.m. ET
Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) at Edmonton (Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers), 9 p.m. ET
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at Anaheim (Jonas Hiller), 10 p.m. ET

RECENT INJURIES:

Rene Bourque, LW, Calgary: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Mike Comrie, C, Edmonton: Is day-to-day with mononucleosis.
Shean Donovan, RW, Ottawa: Is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.
Scott Gomez, C, Montreal: Is day-to-day with a lower-body 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 day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Joffrey Lupul, RW, Anaheim: Is day-to-day with back spasms.
Tom Poti, D, Washington: Is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Darroll Powe, RW, Philadelphia: Is sidelined with a strained left shoulder.
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.
Dainius Zubrus, C, New Jersey: Will be out 4-6 weeks with a right-leg injury.
       
TRANSACTIONS:

NHL: Suspended left wing James Neal of the Dallas Stars for two games (Nov. 21 and 23).
Boston Bruins: Assigned F Brad Marchand to Providence (AHL). Placed F Trent Whitfield on waivers.
Calgary Flames: Recalled F Jamie Lundmark from Abbotsford (AHL).
Carolina Hurricanes: Reassigned D Bryan Rodney to Albany (AHL).
Chicago Blackhawks: Reassigned LW Bryan Bickell to Rockford (AHL).
Colorado Avalanche: Activated F T.J. Galiardi and D John-Michael Liles from injured reserve. Reassigned F Chris Durno to Lake Erie (AHL). Placed F Matt Hendricks on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 14.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Placed F Derek Dorsett on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 19.
Edmonton Oilers: Recalled G Devan Dubnyk from Springfield (AHL).

Shawn Matthias

Center - FLA

GOALS: 1 | ASST: 0 | PTS: 1
SOG: 4 | +/-: 1

Florida Panthers: Recalled RW Michal Repik and C Shawn Matthias from Rochester (AHL).
Minnesota Wild: Placed C/LW Benoit Pouliot on injured reserve. Claimed C Andrew Ebbett off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Reassigned RW Danny Irmen and C Nathan Smith to Houston (AHL).
Nashville Predators: Assigned C Colin Wilson to Milwaukee (AHL).
New Jersey Devils: Placed C Dainius Zubrus on injured reserve. Placed F Ilkka Pikkarainen on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 16. Activated F Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond from injured reserve.
Philadelphia Flyers: Recalled RW Andreas Nodl and C Jared Ross from Adirondack (AHL).
Phoenix Coyotes: Reassigned F Kevin Porter to San Antonio (AHL).
Pittsburgh Penguins: Reassigned D Nate Guenin and D Chris Lee to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
San Jose Sharks: Recalled F Jamie McGinn from Worcester (AHL). Assigned F Benn Ferriero, F Logan Couture and F Ryan Vesce to Worcester (AHL).
Tampa Bay Lightning: Recalled D Mike Lundin from Norfolk (AHL). Recalled D Matt Smaby from a conditioning assignment in Norfolk (AHL).
Vancouver Canucks: Assigned F Matt Pettinger to Manitoba (AHL).
Washington Capitals: Assigned G Michal Neuvirth to Hershey (AHL). Recalled RW Andrew Gordon from Hershey (AHL).

NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

Week 7 final results
Philly Cheesestakes 6, Rocky Trottier 3 (2 ties)
Skoula Hard Knocks 8, No Shanahan-igans 2 (1 tie)
Clown Shoes 8, Ovi's Heroes 2 (1 tie)
Hammerhead United 7, Hempstead Slowpokes 3 (1 tie)
Out on a Dan Hinote 9, The Birdcage 1 (1 tie)
Big Skillets O'BKLYN 5, Code Monkeys 4 (2 ties)

Week 8 schedule
Rocky Trottier (34-30-13) vs. Out on a Dan Hinote (44-20-13)
Skoula Hard Knocks (44-25-8) vs. Ovi's Heroes (25-38-14)
Clown Shoes (31-39-7) vs. Philly Cheesestakes (21-45-11)
Hempstead Slowpokes (34-31-12) vs. Big Skillets O'BKLYN (36-31-10)
The Birdcage (28-38-11) vs. Hammerhead United (38-30-9)
Code Monkeys (38-28-11) vs. No Shanahan-igans (24-42-11)

Trade -- Philly Cheesestakes dealt Colorado goalie Craig Anderson to Big Skillets O'BKLYN in exchange for Phil Kessel.

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

Hi ya, Rocky:
I just love fantasy hockey and setting lineups, especially on Saturdays when you HAVE to choose who plays and who sits. The best part of the game is trades, I mean REASONABLE trades. I won't offer a deal that I would turn down. It has to be fair. Although, what is fair is in the eyes of the beholder, right? The better part of trades is a blockbuster deal involving top players. So I like to make moves that others would not even dream of, or have the guts to.

My question is this:  I have Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Bobby Ryan, and I want to trade them for Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley and Mike Modano. Who comes out better?
Thanks
-- Wade

That 3-for-3 proposal is definitely the definition of a blockbuster trade.

You are trading away the best player in the deal in Malkin. Maybe the stats don't agree at this point, but we all know Malkin (16, 6-13-19) trails only Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in fantasy stardom. I can't say I have a good handle yet on James Neal (19, 11-11-22), though I do have him on one or two of my many teams. Bobby Ryan (21, 9-6-15) has been disappointing, no two ways around that, but I still have faith in him. This trio has totaled 26-39-65, a plus-11, 61 penalty minutes, 10 power-play goals, and 181 shots in 56 games.

There is no hotter goal scorer right now than Iginla (21, 15-7-22), who has a League-leading 11 goals in nine games in November. Remember when people were asking Iginla what's wrong (4 goals in his first 12 games)? Not anymore. Heatley (25, 18-10-28) is a beast of a goal scorer -- he scores consistently and in bunches. He has recorded at least one goal in 14 of his first 25 games. In fact, I would say he's one of the few players other than Malkin that is worthy of a No. 3 pick in a fantasy draft. I assume you're asking for Modano (9, 3-2-5) just to balance out the deal. This trio has combined for 36-22-58, a plus-9, 54 penalty minutes, 13 power-play goals, and 157 shots in 55 games.

I favor the goal scorers. Iginla and Heatley are two of the best, especially on the power play, and together they are a better package than Malkin and Neal or Malkin and Ryan, but I think you’re doing the smart thing in offering Neal and Ryan to sell this to your opponent. Stay in touch and let me know how this works out.

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