The Daily Puck: Regained Value

The Daily Puck
by Kevin King

Projected Goalie Starters

Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) vs. NY Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 12:30 p.m
Atlanta (Chris Mason) vs. Washington (Michal Neuvirth), 5 p.m
Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom) vs. Tampa Bay (Dan Ellis), 5 p.m
Anaheim (Jonas Hiller) vs. Chicago (Corey Crawford), 7 p.m

Injuries for Teams Playing Sunday

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

Sheldon Souray (D) Edmonton -  (Hand) Has returned to the ice for the Hershey Bears of the AHL after breaking his hand in a fight late in October.
Shawn Horcoff (LW) Edmonton - (Leg) Missed his third straight game Friday night against the Devils, and remains day-to-day. 
Michael Rozsival (D) NY Rangers - (Shoulder) Will miss a week after suffering a shoulder injury earlier in the week.
Henrik Lundqvist (G) NY Rangers - (Illness) Missed Thursday night's game against Buffalo with flu-like symptoms but is expected to be back between the pipes on Sunday.   
Marian Gaborik (LW) NY Rangers - (Shoulder) Made his long-anticipated return to the lineup on Thursday night and appears to be fully back in the fold for the Rangers.
Semyon Varlamov (G) Washington - (Groin) With Hershey of the AHL on a conditioning assignment.  Barring any setbacks, he should return to the Caps this week.
Boyd Gordon (C) Washington - (Lower Body) Was injured Thursday night and is expected to miss about a week.
Tom Poti (D) Washington - (Groin) Scratched from lineup Saturday night in Buffalo.  Poti just returned to the ice earlier this week, and his absence Saturday may just be a precaution with the Caps having back-to-back games.
Brent Burns (D) Minnesota - (Suspension) Will miss two games after being suspended for his hit on Florida's Steve Bernier on Friday night.
Chuck Kobasew (RW) Minnesota - (Groin) Hasn't practiced in over a week as his status remains uncertain, although he has not been placed on IR.
Marek Zidlicky (D) Minnesota - (Lower Body) Has returned to practice, but still not cleared for game action.
Dana Tyrell (C) Tampa Bay - (Illness) Was scratched Friday night with flu-like symptoms.  Should return for Sunday's game against the Wild.
Steve Downie (LW) Tampa Bay - (Back) Lightning coach Guy Boucher has said that Downie will likely make his return to the ice for Sunday night's game against Minnesota.
Sheldon Brookbank (D) Anaheim - (Hamstring) Missed Friday night's game against Dallas.  Remains day-to-day with a hamstring injury that he picked up earlier in the week.

Long Term or IR

Chris Drury (C) NY Rangers - (Finger) Remains sidelined.  Anything earlier than a December return would be a bonus.
Vaclav Prospal (LW) NY Rangers - (Knee) Reports earlier this week updated Prospal's timetable to an expected return date in mid-to-late December.
Patrice Cormier (C) Atlanta - (Foot) Skated under supervision from team's medical staff on Thursday.  While it is a sign of progress, there is still no timetable for his return.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (C) Minnesota - (Concussion) Remains sidelined with post-concussion symptoms.
Guillaume Latendresse (LW) Minnesota - (Groin) Has not practiced since being placed on IR on November 3^rd.  Remains out indefinitely.
Vincent Lecavalier (C) Tampa Bay - (Hand) Out 3-4 weeks after breaking bone in his right hand Thursday night against Washington.
Simon Gagne (LW) Tampa Bay - (Neck) Nowhere near returning to the ice for the Lightning as he remains sidelined with neck and vision problems.
Jason Jaffray (RW) Anaheim - (Knee) Out indefinitely with torn ACL.
Andy Sutton (D) Anaheim - (Thumb) Nearing a return to the ice after breaking his thumb in a fight during the first game of the season. 
Kyle Chipchura (C) Anaheim - (Concussion) Despite his return to practice, still remains out indefinitely with post-concussion symptoms.
Joffrey Lupul (RW) Anaheim - (Back) Has returned to workouts, but remains sidelined until the end of November, at the earliest.

Transactions

Jhonas Enroth (G) Buffalo - Sent to AHL Portland
Mike Blunden (RW) Columbus - Sent to AHL Springfield
Robbie Earl (LW) Minnesota - Recalled from Houston of the AHL
Cody Almond (C) Minnesota - Assigned to Houston of the AHL

Hot

Carey Price (G) Montreal - It's safe to say that Price has finally cemented himself in as Montreal's number one.  Price has been one of the top fantasy earners in the entire NHL, no matter how your league's scoring system works.
Brooks Laich (C) Washington - A big week for Laich, who continues to be a nice second tier center across all fantasy formats.  Caps coach Bruce Boudreau has leaned on Laich a bit more this season, and as that continues, Laich could be on his way to a 70-point season.
Tyler Myers (D) Buffalo - It's about time for Myers, who, before this week, had been a huge disappointment for the Sabres and also for his fantasy owners.  With one goal and two assists on Wednesday night, last's year's Calder Trophy winner nearly doubled his offensive output from all season in one game. 

Cold

Brenden Morrow (LW) Dallas - Morrow busted out of the gate for the Stars, but much like his team over the past week, he has quickly come back down to Earth. 
Pavel Kubina (D) Atlanta - Kubina hasn't gotten on the score sheet in eight games, and he is also a minus-4 during that stretch.  Without seeing time on the power play, Kubina has very little fantasy value, and you may need to look elsewhere for help on defense.
Nikolai Khabibulin (G) Edmonton - It's becoming more and more evident that Khabibulin is not the answer in goal for the Oilers.  A dismal .890 save-percentage on the year does not give much room for hope that things will turn around for Khabibulin and his owners after he got off to such a terrific start.

Recommended Pickup

Steve Montador (D) Buffalo - Montador is still widely available as a free agent in a lot of leagues, and it doesn't make much sense.  He isn't going to go out and win a week for you, but Montador is as steady as they come on the blue line, and he is a plus-10 on a team with a minus-6 goal differential.