The Daily Puck: Hat Trick for Stewart

The Daily Puck
George Kurtz, RotoWire Writer

Projected Goalie Starters

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.

Montreal (Alex Auld) at Islanders (Rick DiPietro), 7:00 ET
Carolina (Cam Ward) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 ET
Philadelphia (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM ET
Buffalo (Ryan Miller) at Atlanta (Chris Mason), 7:30 PM ET
Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) at Chicago (Marty Turco), 8:30 PM ET
New Jersey (Martin Brodeur) at Anaheim (Jonas Hiller), 10:00 PM ET

Injuries for Teams Playing Friday

Day-to-Day (Includes DL players close to returning)
Trent Hunter (W) Islanders – (Foot) If he doesn't play Friday, Saturday would be a likely return date
Michal Rozsival (D) Rangers – (Knee) Didn't practice Thursday but is expected to play Friday
Alex Goligoski (D) Pittsburgh – (Undisclosed) Missed practice Thursday, could just be a maintenance day
Jochen Hecht (W) Buffalo – (Lower Body) Missed practice Wednesday, but expected to play Friday
Jason Pominville (W) Buffalo – (Concussion) With the team on their road trip, just waiting to be cleared for contact
Zach Bogosian (D) Atlanta – (Shoulder) Has now missed six straight games as the injury seems to be much worse than first thought
Kurtis Foster (D) Edmonton -- (Groin) Oilers don't believe it's serious as they haven't made a corresponding move
Anton Volchenkov (D) New Jersey (Head) Skating again, could play Saturday

Long Term or IR
Andrei Markov (D) Montreal - (Knee) Markov is unlikely to play on Friday, but could be back shortly thereafter
Kyle Okposo (W) Islanders – (Shoulder) Surgery will keep Okposo out until at least December
Robbie Schremp (W) Islanders – (Back) Practicing with team, should be back sometime next week
Mark Streit (D) Islanders – (Shoulder) Surgery will keep Streit out until at least February
Michael Leighton (G) Philadelphia – (Back) Continuing rehab, expected back no earlier than late November
Jordan Staal (C) Pittsburgh – (Foot) Almost ready to make his season debut, but not this weekend
Brian Campbell (D) Chicago (Knee) – Getting closer to returning, early next week a good possibility
Marian Hossa (W) Chicago (Upper Body) – Suffered the injury Wednesday versus Los Angeles and will be out a couple of weeks
Brian Rolston (C) New Jersey (Hernia) Skating again, should return in mid-November
Joffrey Lupul (W) Anaheim – (Blood Infection) – Ducks are hopeful he can return by Christmas

Transactions

Kris Draper (W) Detroit – Placed on long-term IR with a groin injury
Joey MacDonald (G) Detroit – Recalled from the AHL
Matt Beleskey (W) Anaheim – Placed on IR with a concussion
Peter Mannino (G) Atlanta – Reassigned to the AHL
Evgeny Grachev (C) Rangers – Recalled from the AHL
Alexander Vasyunov (W) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL
Tyler Eckford (D) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL on an emergency basis
Nino Niederreiter (W) Islanders – Returned to Portland of the WHL
Casey Wellman (C) Minnesota – Recalled from the AHL
Ondrej Pavelec (G) Atlanta – Activated from the IR
Brian Rafalski (D) Detroit – Placed on IR after undergoing knee surgery
Michael Vernace (D) Tampa Bay – Placed on waivers

Hot

Daniel Alfredsson (W) Ottawa – Even without usual line mate Jason Spezza, Alfredsson has been lighting up the scoreboard of late with six goals in his last five games. Even better for fantasy owners, four of those goals have come with the Sens up a man. Alfredsson slipped a bit in drafts, probably due to questions about his line mates and his advancing age, but he is not showing that either one is a problem right now.

Andrei Kostitsyn (W) Montreal – Kostitsyn has six goals and 10 points in nine games for the Canadiens so far this season, putting him on pace for 50-plus goals and 90-plus points. Who wouldn't take those numbers come April?

Cold

Simon Gagne (W) Tampa Bay – In case you were wondering why the Flyers seemed to give Gagne away for nothing during the offseason, it's the fact that he just can't stay healthy. Once again an injury has knocked Gagne out of the lineup. He's currently on the IR with a neck injury, not that he was producing anyway, as he had yet to score a point this season.

Mike Green (D) Washington – Green, everyone's No. 1 defenseman on draft day, has yet to score a goal this season and has just one point. Granted, he has been battling an upper-body injury that has limited him to only six games, but those of you who spend a high draft pick on this d-man don't want to hear excuses.

Recommended Pickup

Chris Stewart (W) Avalanche – I was debating who to put in this section, but Stewart's hat trick against Calgary on Thursday made my decision pretty easy. That gives him eight goals on the season. This after an impressive rookie season, but one that some doubted could be repeated again. Well, they may be right, as Stewart is on his way to putting up even better numbers.