The Daily Puck: Horton Happy in Boston

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.

Toronto (Jean-Sebastien Giguere) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Rick DiPietro) at Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Colorado (Craig Anderson) at New Jersey (Martin Brodeur), 7:00 PM
Chicago (Marty Turco) at Columbus (Steve Mason), 7:00 PM
Montreal (Carey Price) at Buffalo (Ryan Miller), 7:30 PM
Atlanta (Chris Mason) at Anaheim (Jonas Hiller), 10:00 PM
Vancouver (Roberto Luongo) at Los Angeles (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM

Injuries for Teams Playing Friday

Day-to-Day (Includes DL players close to returning)
Chris Drury (C) Rangers – (Finger) Likely to make his season debut Friday.
John Tavares (C) Islanders – (Concussion) Skating, but will likely miss Friday's game, probable for Saturday.
Anton Volchenkov (D) New Jersey - (Head) Unlikely to play this weekend.
Patrick Kane (W) Chicago – (Illness) Doubtful to play Friday.
Anton Volchenkov (D) New Jersey (Foot) Blocked a shot, should be ready to go Friday.
Jason Pominville (W) Buffalo – (Concussion) Nailed into the glass earlier this week, no timetable for his return.
Zach Bogosian (D) Atlanta – (Shoulder) Returned to practice Thursday, should be good to go Friday.
Ron Hainsey (D) Atlanta – (Personal) Wife went into labor, congrats, probably out Friday and possibly Saturday.

Long Term or IR
Vaclav Prospal (W) Rangers - (Knee) Has not begun skating yet, out at least another 7-10 days.
Mark Streit (D) Islanders - (Shoulder) Surgery will keep Streit out until at least February.
Kyle Okposo (W) Islanders - (Shoulder) Surgery will keep Okposo out until at least December.
Robbie Schremp (W) Islanders – (Back) Out approximately 1-2 more weeks.
Jordan Staal (W) Pittsburgh – (Foot) Skated for the first time Wednesday, out at least another week or two.
Peter Mueller (W) Colorado – (Concussion) Unknown timetable, two concussions in five months, has not started skating yet.
Brian Rolston (W) New Jersey - (Hernia) Out 4-6 weeks.
Brian Campbell (D) Chicago - (Knee) – Out 2-3 more weeks with a knee sprain.
Andrei Markov (D) Montreal - (Knee) Getting closer to returning, won't be Friday, but should be in the lineup before the end of the month.
Ondrej Pavelec (G) Atlanta - (Concussion) Scary sight when he collapsed on the ice, Atlanta still trying to figure out the reason why.
Joffrey Lupul (W) Anaheim – (Blood Infection) Ducks are hopeful he can return by Christmas.
Alexandre Burrows (W) Vancouver - (Shoulder) Looks to be out until late November or early December.
Sami Salo (D) Vancouver - (Achilles) Out at least 3-4 months.

Transactions

Marek Zidlicky (D) Minnesota – Activated from the IR on Thursday.
Brett Festerling (D) Anaheim – Assigned to Syracuse of the AHL.
Dany Sabourin (G) Washington - Placed on waivers.
Jim Slater (C) Atlanta – Activated from the IR.
Matthew Corrente (D) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL.
Tim Sestito (W) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL.
Matthew Corrente (D) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL.
Jacob Josefson (W) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL.
Johan Fransson (D) Los Angeles – Loaned to the KHL.
Sergei Samsonov (W) Carolina – Activated from the IR.
Tim Kennedy (W) Rangers – Assigned to the AHL.

Hot

Brad Richards (C) Dallas – Richards has gotten off to a hot start with two goals and five assists. He may have slipped in some drafts as some owners may have thought last season was a mirage rather than a sign of things to come, but once again he looks good.

Alex Goligoski (D) Pittsburgh -- Someone had to take over the role left by the departed Sergei Gonchar, and Goligoski is getting the job done with a pair of goals and four points in four games.

Cold

Jarome Iginla (W) Calgary – That's zero points in three games now for the Iginla. The Flames finished near the bottom of the pack last year in goals scored and things are certainly not looking up so far this season.

Thomas Vanek (W) Buffalo – Vanek may have been a risky pick to begin with as he was terrible the first half last season before putting together a solid second half. Assuming you drafted him with the hope that he would pick up where he left off, you have to be a bit worried that he has yet to tally a point so far this season.

Recommended Pickup

Nathan Horton (W) Boston – Horton is proving those correct that thought he just needed a change of scenery to show his true offensive potential. Boston could be a strong team this season once Marc Savard returns to the ice if Horton can keep up this kind of production.