The Daily Puck: Cold as Ice

The Daily Puck
George Kurtz, RotoWire Writer

Projected Goalie Starters

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

Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at New Jersey (Martin Brodeur) 7:00 ET
Boston (Tim Thomas) at Washington (Michal Neuvirth) 7:00 ET
Montreal (Carey Price) at Buffalo (Patrick Lalime) 7:30 ET
Carolina (Cam Ward) at Florida (Tomas Vokoun) 7:30 ET
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at Minnesota (Niklas Backstrom) 8:00 ET
Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) at Dallas (Kari Lehtonen) 8:30 ET
Detroit (Jimmy Howard) at Edmonton (Nikolai Khabibulin) 9:00 ET
Pittsburgh (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Anaheim (Jonas Hiller) 10:00 ET

Injuries for Teams Playing Friday

Day-to-Day (Includes DL players close to returning)
Anton Volchenkov (D) New Jersey – (Head) Seems to have been day-to-day for weeks now, could play Friday
Semyon Varlamov (G) Washington – (Groin) Still has yet to practice, a return next week would be the best-case scenario
Tom Poti (D) Washington – (Lower body) Will not play this weekend
Ryan Miller (G) Buffalo – (Lower body) Considered day-to-day, but will not play Friday
Joni Pitkanen (D) Carolina – (Upper body) Will not play Friday, could be out longer
Chuck Kobasew (W) Minnesota – (Groin) Missed practice Thursday, will be a game-time decision for Friday
Marek Zidlicky (D) Minnesota – (Lower body) Suffered the injury Tuesday, unlikely to play Friday
Antti Miettinen (W) Minnesota – (Head) Has a concussion which means he could be out days, weeks or months
Daymond Langkow (C) Calgary – (Neck) Experienced numbness below the waist, out indefinitely
Sidney Crosby (C) Pittsburgh – (Knuckles) Expected to play Friday

Long Term or IR
Marian Gaborik (W) Rangers - (Shoulder) Has begun skating with the team and should return to the lineup at some point next week
Chris Drury (W) Rangers – (Finger) Not expected back until the end of November
Vaclav Prospal (W) Rangers – (Knee) Nothing set in stone, but early December would be a good guess for his return
Zach Parise (W) New Jersey – (Knee) Surgery earlier this week, out three months
Brian Rolston (C) New Jersey - (Hernia) Skating again, should return in mid to late November
Marco Sturm (W) Boston – (Knee) Had a setback due to fluid in the knee, could return in late November
Marc Savard (C) Boston – (Head) Unknown timetable due to his concussion
Ales Kotalik (W) Calgary (Knee) Still has yet to begin skating
Guillaume Latendresse (W) Minnesota - (Groin) Placed on the injured list Wednesday, definitely out for this weekend's games, no update after that
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (D) Minnesota - (Concussion) Has returned to practice, should begin a rehab stint shortly
Josh Harding (G) Minnesota – (Knee) Out until at least early next year
Brian Rafalski (D) Detroit - (Knee) Not expected to return until November 11
Jordan Staal (C) Pittsburgh - (Hand) Broke his hand on Monday, out approximately 4-6 weeks
Matt Beleskey (W) Anaheim - (Concussion) Symptoms returned before the game Wednesday, out indefinitely
Joffrey Lupul (W) Anaheim - (Back) Best-case scenario is a return to action around the end of the month

Transactions
Brett Carson (D) Carolina – Recalled from the AHL
Kevin Shattenkirk (D) Colorado – Recalled from the AHL
Jack Campbell (G) Dallas – Signed to a three-year entry-level contract
Tim Sestito (C) New Jersey – Re-assigned to the AHL
Stephen Gionta (W) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL
Carlo Colaiacovo (D) St. Lois –Placed on the injured list
Tyler Eckford (D) New Jersey – Assigned to the minors
Nathan Oystrick (D) St. Louis – Recalled from the AHL
Brian Fahey (D) Washington – Assigned to the AHL
Patrick Davis (W) New Jersey – Recalled from the AHL

Hot

Raffi Torres (W) Vancouver – Torres must have felt great earlier this week when he scored a hat trick against the Oilers, his former team. Question is, can he keep up the goal-scoring pace he is on (seven goals in 12 games)? Probably not, but if you're looking to grab a player in a deep league that has some upside, Torres could be your guy.

Mathieu Garon (G) Columbus – That's back-to-back shutouts for Garon. Steve Mason owners should be worried as Garon may eat into more and more of Mason's playing time. It's not like the Blue Jackets can afford to wait and hope Mason regains his Calder Trophy form. They need to win games now and have little choice but to go with the hot goaltender.

Cold

Jiri Hudler (W) Detroit – Before the draft Hudler was on quite a few "sleeper lists," mine included, but after only tallying three assists in eight games, the Red Wings have benched him for the last two games. Not a good sign of things to come, and certainly not a sign that he will be promoted to a top-six forward position.

Rick DiPietro (G) Islanders – Not that he was anyone's idea of a top goalie heading into the season, but he has looked nothing short of terrible through the first month. He is sporting a GAA of 4.21 and a SV% of 85.4. At this rate the Islanders would be better off putting a garbage can in net and playing with six skaters.

Recommended Pickup

Claude Giroux (W) Philadelphia – When thinking of the Flyers offense the names Jeff Carter, Daniel Briere and Mike Richards come to mind. Don't forget about Claude Giroux, who has four goals and five assists in his last five games and is well on his way to eclipsing the 16 goals he scored last season. He's certainly a player who may be flying under the radar in your league.