The Daily Puck: Hejduk on Fire

The Daily Puck
Drew Clement, RotoWire Writer

Projected Goalie Starters

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

Washington (Michael Neuvirth) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 p.m.
Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) at Carolina (Cam Ward), 7:00 p.m.
Vancouver (Roberto Luongo) at Montreal (Carey Price), 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta (Chris Mason) at Ottawa (Brian Elliott), 7:30 p.m.
Toronto (Jean-Sebastien Giguere) at Tampa Bay (Dan Ellis), 7:30 p.m.
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at Colorado (Peter Budaj), 9:30 p.m.
Anaheim (Jonas Hiller) at San Jose (Antero Niittymaki), 10:30 p.m.

Injuries for Teams Playing Tuesday

Day-to-Day (Including DL players close to returning)

Guillaume Desbiens (F) Vancouver Canucks- (Broken Hand) Desbiens is out for an undefined period of time with a broken right hand.
Ryan Parent (D) Vancouver –(Groin) Will not play on Tuesday night.
Dan Hamhuis (D) Vancouver - (Foot) Is PROBABLE for Tuesday's game.   
Joni Pitkanen (D) Carolina - (Upper Body) Pitkanen is questionable for Tuesday night's game against Edmonton.
Shawn Horcoff (F) Edmonton - (Lower Body) Horcoff is question for Tuesday night's game against Carolina.
Steve Macintyre (F) Edmonton - (Back) Questionable against Carolina on Tuesday.
Theo Peckham (F) Edmonton - (Flu) Is considered questionable for Tuesday's game due to flu like symptoms.
Brooks Laich (F) Washington -(Upper Body) Laich is scheduled to miss Tuesday's game against New York, but keep up to date on his status.
Freddy Meyer (D) Atlanta -(Upper Body) Meyer is practicing but no date has been set for his return to the ice.
Filip Kuba (D) Ottawa - (Broken Leg) On injured reserve since October 6^th but is making progress and there is word he could return on Tuesday night.
Milan Michalek (F) Ottawa -(Knee Tendinitis) Is expected to return to game action sometime this week.
Curtis Glencross (F) Calgary - (Undisclosed) Glencross is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
David Jones (F) Colorado - (Hand) Jones is considered to be day-to-day with a hand injury.
Kyle Chipchura (F) Anaheim - (Concussion) Chipchura will not take to the ice on Tuesday against San Jose.
Dan Sexton (F) Anaheim - (Broken Nose) Sexton is still out feeling the effects of a broken nose, but there is word he could return soon.
Joffrey Lupul (F) Anaheim - (Blood Infection) Lupul will miss an undisclosed period of time thanks to a blood infection.
Andy Sutton (F) Anaheim - (Broken Thumb) Sutton is out with no set timetable for his return as of yet.
Joe Thornton (F) San Jose -(Suspension) Thornton is serving time for his recent suspension that arose thanks to a head to the head on David Perron.

Long Term or IR

Sami Salo (D) Vancouver -(Achilles) Out indefinitely after successful right Achilles surgery, and may not return to the ice at any point this season.
Alexandre Bolduc (F) Vancouver -(High Ankle Sprain) Placed on the Injured Reserve as of October 11^th.
Derek Joslin (D) San Jose - (Upper Body) Placed on the Injured Reserve since October 2^nd with an upper body injury.
Colby Armstrong (F) Toronto –(Finger Surgery) Expected to miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing finger surgery at the end of October.
Dion Phaneuf (D) Toronto -(Leg) Phaneuf is on injured reserve and there is no set date for his return.
Jean-Francois Jacques (F) Edmonton –(Back Surgery) Placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to October 4^th.
Semyon Varlamov (G) Washington - (Groin) Varlamov will be out of Tuesday's game and has been placed on injured reserve.
Tom Poti (D) Washington - (Lower Body) Poti has been placed on the injured reserve and no timetable has been set for his return as of yet.
Chris Drury (F) New York Rangers - (Broken Finger) Drury has been placed on the injured reserve.
Vinny Prospal (F) New York Rangers - (Knee Surgery) Prospal is undergoing treatment after successful knee surgery.
Marian Gaborik (F) New York Rangers -(Seperated Shoulder) On Injured reserve retroactive to October 16^th.
Bryan Little (F) Atlanta - (Concussion) Little is out with a concussion and no timetable has been set for his return.
Simon Gagne (F) Tampa Bay - (Neck) Gagne has missed 7 games with a neck injury, and continues to be out.
Raitis Ivanans (F) Calgary - (Head) Still suffering from concussion after fight with Steve MacIntrye of the Oilers.
Ales Kotalik (F) Calgary -(Knee) Still dealing with a sprained knee. 
Daymond Langkow (F) Calgary -(Broken Vertebrae/neck) Out indefinitely.
Adam Pardy (D) Calgary - (Shoulder) Pardy is still on the injured reserve and no word on his return has surfaced.
Ryan Stone (F) Calgary -(Knee) No timetable has been set for Stone's return to the ice.
Adam Foote (D) Colorado - (Concussion) Foote is out definitely thanks to a recent concussion.
David Koci (F) Colorado - (Broken Jaw) Koci is listed on the injured reserve with no timetable set for his return as of yet.
Peter Mueller (F) Colorado - (Concussion) Mueller is still on the IR and has yet to take the ice this season.
Craig Anderson (G) Colorado -(Knee) Anderson is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Transactions

Nick Bonino (F)Anaheim - Recalled from Syracuse of the AHL.
Brian McGrattan (F)Boston -Waived in order to clear permission to send him to Providence of the AHL.
Jeremy Morin (F) Chicago -Assigned to Rockford of the AHL.
Dustin Boyd (F) Montreal - Placed on waivers.
Evgeny Grachev (F) New York Rangers -Assigned to Hartford of the AHL.
Claude Giroux (F) Philadelphia -Signed a multi-year contract extension with the Flyers for three years and $11.25 million.
Nick Drazenovic (F) St. Louis -Assigned to Peoria of the AHL.

Hot

Antero Niittymaki (G) San Jose - Niittymaki was picked up as a free agent in order to replace Evgeni Nabakov for San Jose and has not disappointed one bit. In 7 starts he has posted a 5-1-1 record with a stellar 1.78 goals against average and a .932 save percentage.
Teemu Selanne (F) Anaheim - Selanne not only leads the Ducks with 17 points on the year, but has also picked up 4 power play goals early on in the season. Many are starting to consider the Finnish Flash to be somewhat of an Ageless Wonder to say the least.
Milan Hejduk (F) Colorado - Hejduk has been on fire as of late picking up 13 points in his last 8 games for Colorado. Over that span he has tickled the twine 4 times and picked up 9 assists to help inspired the Avalanche offense overall.
Dustin Byfuglien (D) Atlanta - Big Buffy has been a man on a mission in the past few weeks, picking up a point per game in his last 7 played. Add on the fact that he has W/D eligibility in standard Yahoo! Leagues and his value skyrockets, especially if the Thrashers ever move him back to the wing full time.

Cold

Ryan Malone (F) Tampa Bay- Malone has been up and down fantasy player for the past few years, but many thought he was going to really breakout this year. With all of the speed and talent surrounding him there should be plenty of room for Malone to dig around in the corners and create space in front of the net. However, with just 1 goal so far on the season he has simply not met up with expectations once again.

Recommended Pickups

Kurtis Foster (D) Edmonton - Foster is not known as a prototypical offensive defenseman, but he deserves a look in deeper leagues even if his current pace does not last. He has picked up 5 points in his last 5 games for the Oilers and looks like he is ready to lead the young team from the back. If you need some D help, try to ride this wave for as long as it will last.
Sergei Samsonov (F) Carolina - Samsonov has been the definition of a streaky player, so do not go out and drop a consistent scorer in order to pick him up. However, if you are looking for scoring depth and have space on your wing, it should be noted that Sergei has picked up a goal and 4 assists in his last 3 games played. Keep an eye on him because the Hurricanes are gelling right now and he could see more space on the ice thanks to the impressive play of a youngster like Jeff Skinner.