The Daily Puck: Kippy Between the Pipes

The Daily Puck
Andrew Fiorentino, RotoWire Writer

Projected Goalie Starters

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.

Carolina (Cam Ward) at Ottawa (Pascal Leclaire) 7:00 PM
Tampa Bay (Dan Ellis) at Philadelphia (Brian Boucher), 7:00 PM
St. Louis (Jaroslav Halak) at Nashville (Anders Lindback), 8:00 PM
Detroit (Chris Osgood) at Dallas (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) at Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom), 8:30 PM
Florida (Tomas Vokoun) at Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff), 9:30 PM

Injuries for Teams Playing Thursday

Day-to-Day (including IR players close to returning)

Daniel Alfredsson, RW, OTT (lower body) - Expected back in the lineup Thursday
Jamie Benn, LW, DAL (concussion) - Has resumed light skating, but out at least until next week
John Tavares, C, NYI (concussion) - Possibly back in the lineup Saturday
Pekka Rinne, G, NAS (lower body) - Missed Wednesday, possibly back Thursday, but no sure thing; check back
Zach Bogosian, D, ATL (shoulder) - Missed Wednesday's practice; may play Friday
Andrew Ference, D, BOS (thumb) - Received cortisone shot Wednesday; check back for Saturday availability
Roman Hamrlik, D, MON (knee) - Skated 20:07 Wednesday, registering a hit, a couple blocked shots and a shot on goal in his first game of the year
Rene Bourque, RW, CGY (concussion) - Sat out Tuesday's practice; likely out through next week, as he's still not even riding the stationary bike
Chris Drury, C, NYR (finger) - Slated to return for home opener Friday
Anton Volchenkov, D, NJD (nose, concussion, neck) - Absence will be longer than initially expected; out through the weekend at minimum
Matt Bradley, RW, WAS (lower body) - Missed Wednesday's game, but out on the ice before practice Thursday
Tom Poti, D, WAS (lower body) - Also missed Wednesday's game, but out on the ice before practice Thursday
Martin Erat, RW, NAS (back spasms) - Missed Wednesday, possible for Thursday; check in later
Sergei Kostitsyn, RW, NAS (toe) - Missed Wednesday, possible for Thursday; check in later
Matt Stajan, C, CGY (shoulder) - Game-time decision Thursday
Jonathan Ericsson, D, DET (back) - Traveled with the team to Dallas Wednesday, but remains out
Justin Abdelkader, C, DET (ribs) - Could return Saturday
Andrew Brunette, LW, MIN (hip) - Missed second straight practice Wednesday and questionable for Thursday
Tuomo Ruutu, RW, CAR (upper body) - Expected to play Thursday, but check back to make sure
Eric Christensen, C, NYR (leg) - Didn't practice Wednesday; hoping to on Thursday if he improves
Guillame Desbiens, RW, VAN (back) - Played Wednesday after tweaking back in practice Tuesday
Brooks Orpik, D, PIT (groin) - Didn't play Wednesday
Zbynek Michalek, D, PIT (shoulder) - Missed Wednesday and could be out for quite some time, pending MRI results
Derek Morris, D, PHO (lower body) - Skating in practice and may play in Saturday's home opener
Ray Whitney, LW, PHO (upper body) - Seems unlikely for this weekend and could miss some time after that

Long-Term or IR

Semyon Varlamov, G, WAS (groin) - Practiced Wednesday and said he's ready to go; could return from IR and start Saturday
Marc Savard, C, BOS (post-concussion syndrome) - Progressing, but no timetable
Jordan Staal, C, PIT (foot) - Skated Wednesday before practice; still a little while away
Brian Rolston, C, NJD (sports hernia) - Out 4-6 weeks with surgery
Joffrey Lupul, RW, ANA (back) - Likely to return around Christmas
Andreas Lilja, D, ANA (visa issues) - Still waiting for immigration clearance, which the team hopes will come in time to let him play Saturday
Vladimir Sobotka, C, STL (shoulder) - Could join the team for road trip that starts Thursday, but not likely to play initially
Jean-Francois Jacques, LW, EDM (back) - Could go to AHL for rehab stint soon
Josh Harding, G, MIN (knee) - Still at least two weeks away from having surgery
Kris Draper, LW, DET (groin) - May have suffered a setback; not currently skating and no real timetable

Transactions

Mark Dekanich, G, NAS - Recalled to back up Anders Lindback while Rinne is hurt
Tim Kennedy, LW, NYR - Sent to Hartford of the AHL
Thomas Greiss, G, SAN - Cleared waivers and sent to Worcester of the AHL
Johan Fransson, D, LOS - Loaned to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL
Igor Bobkov, G, ANA - Signed by the Ducks; likely headed to AHL, or could remain with juniors club on loan
Nolan Schaefer, G, BOS - Sent to the AHL

Hot

Clarke MacArthur, LW, TOR - With two goals Wednesday, MacArthur is tied with Derek Roy and some guy named Ovechkin for the NHL lead currently. He's never done it at the NHL level, but it's worth noting that he did compile 158 points in 163 games at the AHL level. If he gets the opportunity to play more, he could run with it and have a surprisingly successful season.
Tomas Kopecky, LW, CHI - Kopecky is playing with Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews. Need I say more? He has four assists in his first four games this year and could put up big numbers as long as he gets to play alongside the Blackhawks' big guns.

Cold

Zach Parise, LW, NJD - Parise put eight shots on goal Wednesday and couldn't get a single one through. He has just one point in four games, and none in the last three, but you have to expect he'll get back on track soon. He could be hurt, as the other Devils are, by the team's lack of forward depth, which is making everyone skate extra minutes.
Duncan Keith, D, CHI - Through four games, Keith has just an assist and is minus-one. Not an inspiring start for a blueliner coming off a 69-point campaign. Worse, Keith has put only six shots on goal after racking up 213 last year. He's playing a ton of minutes, though, so you've got to figure the production will come.

Recommended Pickup

Blake Comeau, LW, Islanders - Sometimes you have to look for the little things. Comeau has improved his point total by 10 in each of the last two years. He still only put up 35 in 61 games last season, not the kind of number that blows the door off fantasy leagues, but he's off to a hot start with four points (including three goals) in his first two games this year. Comeau's just 24 and starting at left wing for the Isles, who don't look quite as bad as they were last year.