The Daily Puck: Let it Clowe

The Daily Puck
by Kevin King, RotoWire Writer

Projected Goalie Starters

Washington (Semyon Varlamov) vs. NY Rangers (Martin Biron), 7 p.m
Vancouver (Roberto Luongo) vs. Edmonton (Devan Dubnyk), 8 p.m
Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom) vs. Anaheim (Jonas Hiller), 8 p.m

Injuries for Teams Playing Sunday

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

Mike Green (D) Washington - (Illness) A bug going around the Caps dressing room has gotten a lot of the players under the weather, but Green is the only one who missed Saturday night's loss to Colorado. His status for Sunday should become more clear as the day progresses.
Derek Boogaard (LW) NY Rangers - (Shoulder) Was not with the team in Columbus for Saturday night's loss, and likely will not play Sunday night, but is very close to returning to the lineup for a Rangers side that needs his physical presence.
Steve Eminger (D) NY Rangers - (Hip) Missed Saturday night's game in Columbus and likely won't be ready to play Sunday night against the Caps.
Christian Ehrhoff (D) Vancouver - (Ear) Took a puck to the ear Wednesday night, and missed Saturday night's game against Tampa Bay. Was considered very doubtful Saturday and that probably won't change with the quick turnaround on Sunday night.
Mikael Samuelsson (RW) Vancouver - (Concussion) Suited up Saturday night against Tampa Bay and while it's likely that he'll play on Sunday, the nature of head injuries makes it far from a sure bet.
Matt Cullen (C) Minnesota - (Groin) As expected, did not dress on Saturday night, and it's hard to envision that he'll be good to go on Sunday.
John Madden (C) Minnesota - (Upper Body) Was a game-time decision on Saturday night and ended up not dressing. Will be game-time decision again on Sunday night.
Curtis McElhinney (G) Anaheim - (Head) Received stitches earlier in the week but is fine. Starting goalie Jonas Hiller hardly ever sits, so it's nothing to worry about.
Teemu Selanne (RW) Anaheim - (Groin) Just that same nagging groin injury that has bothered Selanne all season long. After getting a couple of days of rest, he could be back Sunday night, but keep an eye on the news and be ready to make adjustments to your lineup if he sits out again. 

Long Term or IR

Jeff Schultz (D) Washington - (Thumb) Will be out for another three-to-five weeks after fracturing his thumb on Monday.
Tyler Sloan (D) Washington - (Hip/Groin) Fully participating in practice and is eligible to come off of IR on Sunday. Whether or not he plays could depend on if Mike Green recovers from the flu, but even if Sloan does play, his fantasy impact is minimal.
Vaclav Prospal (LW) NY Rangers - (Knee) Has begun skating in full equipment, but is not taking part in contact drills. It is progress, but Prospal is on the shelf for a few more weeks.
Chris Drury (C) NY Rangers - (Finger) Set for another round of X-rays on his thumb on Sunday. Drury is holding out hope that the results clear him to return right away, although coach John Tortorella expects Drury to be out for a couple more weeks.
Sami Salo (D) Vancouver - (Achilles) Skated for a bit earlier in the week but is still nowhere near a return to game action.
Guillame Desbiens (RW) Vancouver - (Hand) Wanted to return this weekend, but did not suit up on Saturday night. He could very well return on Sunday night, but even if he does he should be limited to fourth line duty, and won't make a dent from a fantasy perspective.
Mason Raymond (LW) Vancouver - (Thumb) Considered "week-to-week" until the Canucks can get a better gauge on the extent of a broken thumb that he suffered earlier in the week.
Cody Hodgson (C) Vancouver - (Face) Took a high stick to the face in practice on Thursday, cracking his orbital bone. Initial estimates have him out for a month, but no definitive timetable will be set until Hodgson begins to recover from surgery.
Ales Hemsky (RW) Edmonton - (Groin) Out until January.
Shawn Horcoff (LW) Edmonton - (Knee) His torn MCL will not require surgery, but he will still miss the next two months of action.
Josh Harding (G) Minnesota - (Knee) Out indefinitely after tearing two knee ligaments in the preseason.
Guillaume Latendresse (LW) Minnesota - (Hip) Out indefiintely, but the Wild won't say that he's done for the season.
James Sheppard (C) Minnesota - (Knee) Slowly rehabbing and not a lot of news to report as he remains out indefitely.
Jason Jaffray (RW) Anaheim - (Knee) Remains out indefinitely.
Aaron Voros (RW) Anaheim - (Face) Fractured orbital bone earlier in the week and will miss at least a month.

Transactions

Jeremy Morin (C) - Recalled by the Blackhawks
Marco Sturm (LW) - Traded from Boston to Los Angeles for future considerations
Warren Peters (C) - Recalled by the Wild
David Desharnais (C) - Recalled by the Canadiens

Hot (other than that Crosby guy)

Ryane Clowe (RW) San Jose - Clowe has gotten on the scoresheet in six of the last seven games and has tallied two points in four of those games, getting him back onto a near point-per-game pace for the season. It's rarely pretty with Clowe, but he has been a tremendous sleeper for those owners who were fortunate enough to snatch him up in the draft.
Erik Karlsson (D) Ottawa - A terrific week for Karlsson, with a goal and three assists in Ottawa's three games. He has a prominent role on the power-play for the Sens and is sixth among all NHL defensemen with five goals this year.
Marc-Andre Fleury (G) Pittsburgh - Another night, another win for Fleury on Saturday night against the Sabres. The "Flower" hasn't lost in regulation since November 5th, and his goals-against keeps getting lower and lower. If you bought low on Fleury after his slow start, congratulations!

Cold

Todd Bertuzzi (RW) Detroit - Ouch. Bertuzzi didn't earn a point this week for the Wings and for his fantasy owners, but even worse, he posted a minus-six. December has been a rough month all together for Bertuzzi and you might want to look for other options on the wing if Bertuzzi is on your roster.
John Carlson (D) Washington - A flu bug has gone around the dressing room in Washington, and Carlson caught a bit of it but played through it. It does look now like his great start was just a product of small sample size, and the last few weeks are more of what we can expect from Carlson. Consider him for your bench as the ice cold Caps try to find their legs.
Brian Elliott (G) Ottawa - A month ago it looked like Elliott may be a diamond in the rough. Not so much now. He had a chance to steal the job from Pascal Leclaire in October, and it looked like he was on his way to do just that. It fell apart over a stretch that saw Elliott give up 14 goals in three starts, and ever since then he has been relegated to the bench.

Recommended Pickup

Ville Leino (LW) Philadelphia - A big week from Leino may make him a hot commodity as teams in your league start to put together their lineups for the next week.  Leino is a grinder with some offensive skill, and has more fantasy points on the season than wingers with bigger names (Daniel Alfredsson, Taylor Hall, and Thomas Vanek for example).