The Daily Puck: Riding Coattails

The Daily Puck
by Kevin King

Projected Goalie Starters

Philadelphia (Brian Boucher) vs. NY Islanders (Rick DiPietro), 1 p.m
Ottawa (Pascal Leclaire) vs. NY Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 5 p.m
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) vs. Chicago (Corey Crawford), 7 p.m
Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) vs. Anaheim (Jonas Hiller), 8 p.m
St. Louis (Jaroslav Halak) vs. Vancouver (Roberto Luongo), 9 p.m

Injuries for Teams Playing Sunday

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

Doug Weight (C) NY Islanders - (Back) Still listed as day-to-day but has not yet even returned to practicing with the team.
Bruno Gervais (D) NY Islanders - (Cheek) Status remains a bit murky after fracturing his cheek in a fight last week.
Jack Hillen (D) NY Islanders - (Concussion) Recovering from post-concussion symptoms. Nearing a return, but Islanders are exercising caution.
Craig Conroy (C) Calgary - (Shoulder) Nagged by shoulder soreness and remains sidelined by an injury that will likely bug the veteran center all season.
Ales Kotalik (RW) Calgary - (Knee) His return was expected on Friday but did not happen. Could very well happen Sunday evening, if not, it looks like it will happen this upcoming week.
Adam Pardy (D) Calgary - (Shoulder) Accompanied the Flames on their two-game swing up through Minnesota and Chicago. He missed Friday night's game against the Wild and is questionable for Sunday night.
Fernando Pisani (RW) Chicago - (Upper Body) Questionable to return Sunday night.
Teemu Selanne (RW) Anaheim - (Groin) Was scratched from the lineup Friday night due to the same nagging groin injury that he has been troubled with for a while now. Proceed with caution as far as Selanne is concerned in the immediate future.
Ryan Parent (D) Vancouver - (Groin) On a conditioning assignment with Manitoba of the AHL on November 26, and is nearing the end of the two weeks that he is allowed to be on assignment.

Long Term or IR

Matt Walker (D) Philadelphia - (Hip) Hoping to return in late December
Michael Leighton (G) Philadelphia - (Back) On conditioning assignment with AHL affiliate and could return this week if all goes well in that assignment.
Daniel Carcillo (LW) Philadelphia - (Knee) Cleared to return to full contact practice, however no time frame has been set for his return.
Milan Jurcina (D) NY Islanders - (Hamstring) Remains sidelined after injuring his hamstring in the end of October.
Mark Streit (D) NY Islanders - (Shoulder) Will be out past the All-Star break.
Mike Mottau (D) NY Islanders - (Eye) Was placed on IR on Wednesday and is expected to miss three weeks at the very least.
Trent Hunter (RW) NY Islanders - (Knee) Placed on IR on Wednesday after being diagnose with a Grade 3 MCL tear. Hunter could quite possibly be out for the season.
Kyle Okposo (RW) NY Islanders - (Shoulder) Finally some good news on the injury front for the Isles; Okposo returned to the practice ice on Saturday but not return date has been set.
Vaclav Prospal (LW) NY Rangers - (Knee) Has resumed skating without equipment with an eye on a return in late December.
Chris Drury (C) NY Rangers - (Finger) Still cannot firmly grasp a stick, which tends to be a problem in hockey. Consider him out indefinitely until he can hold a stick.
Raitis Ivanans (LW) Calgary - (Concussion) Again, the post-concussion symptoms lingers and keep Ivanans sidelined, waiting to be cleared to play.
Marian Hossa (RW) Chicago - (Lower Body) Out 2-3 weeks.
Aaron Voros (RW) Anaheim - (Flu) Placed on IR with flu, should be set to return when he is eligible to come off of IR at the end of this upcoming week.
T.J Oshie (LW) St. Louis - (Ankle) Out 2-3 months after surgery early in November.
Roman Polak (D) St. Louis - (Wrist) Has started skating for the first time in over a month, but should not be expected back any earlier than January.
David Perron (RW) St. Louis - (Concussion) Was placed on IR during the week and will miss at least a couple of weeks as he battles post-concussion symptoms.
Rick Rypien (RW) Vancouver - (Personal) Was granted an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons and remains out.
Sami Salo (D) Vancouver - (Achilles) Expected to start skating around Christmas.
Guillame Desbiens (RW) Vancouver - (Hand) After having pin removed from his broken right hand last week, he could be back on the practice ice this week.
Alexandre Bolduc (C) Vancouver - (Ankle) Was originally sent to Manitoba of the AHL on a conditioning assignment earlier this week. He has been deemed fully healthy, but the Canucks have opted to leave him in Manitoba.

Transactions

Krystofer Barch (RW) Dallas - Placed on IR, retroactive to December 2nd.
Philip Larsen (D) Dallas - Recalled from Texas (AHL)

Hot

Ryan Miller (G) Buffalo - Miller owners in weekly scoring leagues had to be a bit discouraged that the Sabres only had two games this week, but Miller more than made up for it by posting shutouts on back-to-back nights on Friday and Saturday. The nagging groin injury he was battling had time to heal and vintage Ryan Miller is back.
Marian Gaborik (RW) NY Rangers - Gaborik single-handedly destroyed the Islanders on Thursday night with a hat-trick and an assist. He's the top earning forward in weekly leagues this week and his owners, and the Rangers are hoping Thursday night was a sign that any lingering injury concerns can be put to rest and that Gaborik is ready to tear it up.
Kris Letang (D) Pittsburgh - Letang's recent numbers don't leap off of the score sheet, but in fantasy hockey consistency is vitally important. Letang has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in the last seven games for the Pens and playing with Sid and Malkin on the power play? Enough said.

Cold

Pavel Kubina (D) Atlanta - The offseason acquisition of Dustin Byfuglien has had a profoundly negative impact on the fantasy value of Kubina in Atlanta. Byfuglien has been terrific for the Thrash, as has Tobias Enstrom, and that has meant less and less time on the power play for Kubina, who had one point, an assist, in all of November.
Daniel Alfredsson (RW) Ottawa - Alfredsson had six points (2 G, 4 A) in November after a very nice October in which he was one of the hotter players in the league. He's killing fantasy owners who still have faith that he can break out of it, but five weeks is more than a slump.
Dan Ellis (G) Tampa Bay - Ellis allowed five goals on Saturday night, not helping him in his battle to lock up the number one spot in Tampa. He just hasn't been good most of the year, and should be considered a last resort if he's on your fantasy roster.

Recommended Pickup

Roman Hamrlik (D) Montreal - This week has brought back vintage Roman Hamrlik. His ice time has increased over the last two weeks, and with it, so has his production. He's a plus-six on the season, and is a top defenseman on a team that has a +18 goal differential. Hamrlik is still widely available in a lot of leagues and could be a nice touch if your squad is thin on the blue-line.