The Daily Puck: Koivu On a Roll

Projected Goalie Starters

Edmonton (Devan Dubnyk) at New Jersey (Martin Brodeur) 7:00 PM.
Tampa Bay (Mike Smith) at Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury) 7:00 PM.
Colorado (Peter Budaj) at Columbus (Steve Mason) 7:00 PM.
Minnesota (Jose Theodore) at Florida (Tomas Vokoun) 7:30 PM.
Calgary (Mikka Kiprusoff) at Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) 9:00 PM.
Dallas (Kari Lehtonen) at Anaheim (Jonas Hiller) 10:00 PM.

Injuries for Teams Playing Friday

Day-to-Day (Includes DL players close to returning)
Shawn Horcoff (C) Edmonton (Leg) Has missed the last two games, questionable at best for Friday.
Jamie Langenbrunner (W) New Jersey – (Head) Slid head first into the boards Wednesday. No concussion but a bit sore, should play Friday.
Martin Brodeur (G) New Jersey – (Elbow) Did not play Wednesday. Expected to start Friday barring any last minute setbacks.
Steve Downie (W) Tampa Bay – (Upper body) Not traveling with the team, out until at least Sunday.
Vincent Lecavalier (C) Tampa Bay – (Hand) Out 3-4 weeks with a non-displaced fracture.
Evgeni Malkin (C) Pittsburgh – (Knee) – Missed practice Thursday, been dealing with knee issues all season, should play Friday but may not be at his best.
Craig Anderson (G) Colorado – (Knee) – Not yet practicing, hoping to return by the end of November.
Rick Nash (W) Columbus – (Lower body) – Didn't practice Thursday, injury not considered to be serious, could play Friday.
Marek Zidlicky (D) Minnesota – (Lower body) Working on his own in practice, not expected to play Friday.
Cory Stillman (W) Florida – (Shoulder) – Expected to play Friday.
Daymond Langkow (C) Calgary – (Neck) Experienced numbness below the waist, out indefinitely.
Shane Doan (W) Phoenix – (Lower body) Not on the current road trip, won't play Friday.

Long Term or IR
Brian Rolston (C) New Jersey (Hernia) Practicing with team, questionable for Friday.
Zach Parise (W) New Jersey – (Knee) Surgery will keep Parise out until February.
Simon Gagne (W) Tampa Bay - (Neck) Still suffering from post-concussion symptoms. No timetable for his return.
Jordan Staal (C) Pittsburgh – (Hand) Not expected to return until sometime in December.
Peter Mueller (W) Colorado – (Concussion) Best guess is the end of December.
Kristan Huselius (W) Columbus – (Ankle) Shouldn't be out long term, but no timetable for his return as of yet.
Guillaume Latendresse (W) Minnesota (Groin) – Has yet to practice, best case scenario is a return to action next week.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (D) Minnesota (Concussion) – Symptoms returned just as it seemed he was close to a return.
Josh Harding (G) Minnesota – (Knee) – Out until at least early next year.
Ales Kotalik (W) Calgary (Knee) – Still has yet to begin skating.
Marc Savard (C) Boston – (Head) Unknown timetable due to his concussion.
Ales Kotalik (W) Calgary (Knee) – Still has yet to begin skating.
Joffrey Lupul (W) Anaheim (Back) End of November is still looking like a legitimate goal.

Transactions

Mike McKenna (G) New Jersey – Re-assigned to the AHL.
Jamie Arniel (C) Boston – Re-assigned to the AHL.
Kristan Huselius (W) Columbus – Placed on the injured list.
Michael Blunden (C) Columbus – Recalled from the AHL.
Ryan O'Byrne (D) Colorado – Traded from Montreal.
Michael Bournival (W) Montreal –Traded from Colorado.
Marian Gaborik (w) Rangers – Activated from the IL.
Nicholas Drazenovik (C) St. Louis – Recalled from the AHL.
Chris Porter (C) St. Louis – Recalled from the AHL.
Mario Bliznak (C) Vancouver – Recalled from the AHL.
Korbinian Holzer (D) Toronto – Assigned to the AHL.
Christian Hanson (C) Toronto -- Assigned to the AHL.
Keith Aulie (D) Toronto -- Recalled from the AHL.
Nazem Kadri (C) Toronto -- Recalled from the AHL.
Chad Kolarik (C) Rangers – Traded from Columbus.
Dane Byers (W) Columbus – Traded from Rangers.
Garrett Stafford (D) Phoenix -- Recalled from the AHL.
Jake Muzzin (D) Los Angeles -- Recalled from the AHL.

Hot

Dan Cleary (W) Detroit – Cleary is one of those unheralded players on the Wings. He doesn't play on a line with Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk, matter of fact he is generally relegated to third line duty, yet he has still managed to score five goals in his last four games. Probably not someone you want to start on your fantasy team, unless you're in a deep league, but someone who can make your bench just a little bit deeper.

Jonas Hiller (G) Anaheim – The complaints about the Ducks this season weren't so much about Hiller, but about the Ducks defense, or lack thereof. Losing Scott Niedermayer and James Wisniewski this off-season led some to believe that the Ducks would have an extremely difficult time getting the puck out of their own zone, but a five game winning streak may be putting those worries to bed.

Cold

Brad Boyes (W) St. Louis – What has happened to this guy? In 2007-08 he scored 43 goals, 08-09 33 goals, last season only 14, and for those of you who were hoping that was a fluke and he would get back on target this season, he has only lit the lamp once in 14 games, might be time to cut bait.

Kari Lehtonen (G) Dallas – Lehtonen started off hot this season but his play has been deteriorating of late. He has lost four of his last six games with his GAA going up, and his SV% going down. Not what you want to see in your goaltender.

Recommended Pickup

Saku Koivu (C) Anaheim – The Ducks experimented with Bobby Ryan centering the second line earlier this season, but once that failed, Koivu was moved back into this slot with Teemu Selanne and Jason Blake flanking him, and he has been producing results ever since. He's on pace to score the most goals of his career and may still be available on the waiver wire.