Fantasy Watch: Goalie Starts

Feb 4th - 10th

Anaheim Ducks (4) – Giguere has been struggling lately and should give a start up to Hiller

Atlanta Thrashers (3) – Hedberg should get one start this week.

Boston Bruins (3) – Look for Thomas to start all three games this week.

Buffalo Sabres (4) – With four games on the schedule expect Thibault to steal a start.

Carolina Hurricanes (3) – Ward should receive all three starts this week.

Calgary Flames (4) – Kiprusoff has a busy week ahead of him but don't be surprised to see him in all four games.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) – Expect Lalime to steal a start this week.

Columbus Blue Jackets (4) – Norrena should make an appearance this week with four games on the schedule

Colorado Avalanche (3) – Theodore is day-to-day, making Budaj the undisputed starter.

Dallas Stars (3) – Turco should get all three starts this week.

Detroit Red Wings (4) – Expect Osgood and Hasek to split the starts this week.

Edmonton Oilers (3) – Roloson has been awful in the games he's played in, so look for a steady dose of Garon this week.

Florida Panthers (4) – Vokoun should get all four starts this week.

Los Angeles Kings (4) – With a busy schedule Aubin may make an appearance this week.

Minnesota Wild (4) – Backstrom has gotten hot and will continue to start on a regular basis until he falters.

Montreal Canadiens (3) – Huet should get all three starts this week.

Nashville Predators (4) – Look for Ellis to receive at least one start during this busy week.

New Jersey Devils (4) – Brodeur rarely gets a rest and should be ready to go for all four games this week.

New York Islanders (3) – Expect DiPietro to start all three games this week.

New York Rangers (4) – Valiquette recently gave Lundqvist a rest, so expect Lundqvist to start all four games this week.

Ottawa Senators (3) – Emery has struggled recently and will probably get one start this week.

Philadelphia Flyers (4) – Biron and Nittymaki have been splitting time.

Phoenix Coyotes (4) – Tellqvist may steal a start during this busy week.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) – Sabourin and Conklin will continue to split starts while Fleury remains
sidelined.

San Jose Sharks (3) – Nabokov should get all three starts this week.

St. Louis Blues (3) – Look for Legace to start all the games this week.

Tampa Bay Lightining (3) – Ramo and Holmqvist will continue to split the starts.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3) – Expect to see Toskala in net for all three games this week.

Vancouver Canucks (4) – Luongo is back and should get all four starts this week.

Washington Capitals – Johnson may steal a start with four games this week.


For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis

NHL Morning Papers

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

The Capitals have lost eight of their past ten games, which means that their upcoming three-game road trip may be critical in determining the direction of their season writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.

Vesa Toskala has started six straight games and has quietly become the number one goalie in Toronto. While Mats Sundin and Jason Blake have developed great chemistry at even strength play, Paul Maurice has split them up on the powerplay.

Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle is set to have a MRI on his wrist after he experienced some discomfort during the team's last game versus Atlanta.

If the Penguins want to improve on their .500 record, they need to play better during even strength play. While their even strength play has been unimpressive, at least the team is improving in the face-off circle.

Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks it is still too early to be able to predict what this year's version of the Flyers is capable of. Moran's colleague Tim Panaccio is reporting that Simon Gagne will return from injury tonight versus the Rangers.

The Senators defeated the Bruins 2-1 in a shootout yesterday afternoon, however, no one was actually in the TD Banknorth Garden to watch the game. The Sens didn't play their best game but still managed to pull out the victory writes Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun. Don't expect Senators' center Jason Spezza to be in the lineup tomorrow night versus the Leafs as his groin is not yet back to 100%.

Mark Hermmann of Newsday tells readers that the eye injury Rick DiPietro sustained on Saturday was not serious and the goaltender may be able to play tomorrow against the Rangers.

Rangers' rookie Brandon Dubinsky did a solid job centering Jaromir Jagr on Saturday night and may play alongside the superstar once again tonight. With the way Henrik Lundqvist has played this season, the Rangers may not need to score as much as they originally thought.

Devils' backup goaltender Kevin Weekes is excited about the prospect of attracting new fans to the Devils' new arena in Newark. Coach Brent Sutter wants his players to forget the team's record and start fresh writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.

Habs' coach Guy Carbonneau has not said whether struggling winger Michael Ryder will even dress for tonight's game versus the Sabres. It looks like Francis Bouillon will dress tonight in his first action since injuring his shoulder a week ago.

Panthers' netminder Tomas Vokoun says his team is not going to win a lot of games playing the type of inconsistent hockey they have so far this season.

Hurricanes' forward Scott Walker remains in excruciating pain and the team has no idea when he will be able to return to the lineup writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer.

The Sabres haven't played their best hockey this season so with nine straight intra-division games, now is the time for them to make their move writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.

Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe says the Bruins' didn't lose yesterday's game in the shootout, but rather they lost the game after giving up a short-handed goal in the third period. In some encouraging Bruins' news, winger Chuck Kobasew has started to find the back of the net writes Rich Thompson of the Boston Herald.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• It has taken newcomer Adrian Aucoin some time to adjust to his new surroundings but he has been steadily improving writes Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun. In order to become a team in the upper-echelon of the NHL, the Flames need to improve their overall special teams play.
• The Blackhawks followed up an impressive victory over the Blues on Saturday night with an awful 5-2 loss to the Predators last night. Meanwhile, veteran center Yanic Perreault is becoming more comfortable in his new role as the third line checking center/face-off specialist.
• Don't look now but it appears that Jose Theodore may be stealing the Avalance starting goaltending position from Peter Budaj, as the veteran will start between the pipes for the Avs tonight as they host the Flames.
• Pascal Leclaire is on pace for the most insane statistical goaltending season of all-time as he recorded his fifth shutout last night versus the Blues in a 3-0 victory. If you are a Blue Jackets opponent, just about the last thing you want to do is allow them to score the first goal. The Blue Jackets organization has been very pleased with the play of Nikolai Zherdev this season writes Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch. (Writer's note: Edmonton fans will want to check out the Zherdev article to see who they could have had him for in a trade last season)
• No one is without blame for the Stars' slow start writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Daniel Cleary may not be scoring, but he is helping the Wings in a number of other ways writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. In other Wings' news, Johan Franzen has been promoted to the team's second line.
• Dustin Penner has not lived up to expectations writes Jim Matheson in this morning's Edmonton Journal. To put the Oilers' injuries into perspective, veteran defenseman Steve Staios has played more NHL games than the other five starting Oilers' defensemen combined.
• The Kings have sent Matt Mouloson back to the AHL.
• According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, it appears veteran Wild center Wes Walz is contemplating retirement.
• Predators' netminder Chris Mason isn't giving up his job that easily, as the Alberta native was victorious last night over the Blackhawks 5-2.
• The Blues have been defeated twice by the Blue Jackets this season, both by the score of 3-0.
• As Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun tells readers that Kevin Bieksa will be out for a long time (probably over two months) but that his Achilles tendon was damaged as part of his injury. With all of their defensive injuries, the Canucks are relying on their youngsters to step up and fill the void writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.
  

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Fantasy Watch: Goaltender Starts

November 5th - 11th

Anaheim Ducks (3) – Giguere and Bryzgalov are continuing to split time.

Atlanta Thrashers (3) – With Lehtonen still sidelined with a groin injury, and Hedberg struggling, expect to see more of rookie Ondrej Pavelec

Boston Bruins (3) – Fernandez is day-to-day with a knee sprain, so Thomas will be getting most of the starts this week.

Buffalo Sabres (4) – With a busy schedule, Thibault should see playing time in at least one game.

Carolina Hurricanes (3) – Ward has been playing phenomenal and will most likely receive all three starts this week.

Calgary Flames (3) – Recently resigned to a long term deal, Kiprusoff will look to continue his string of consecutive starts.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) – Khabibulin has struggled to begin the season, but is still Chicago’s #1 goaltender.

Columbus Blue Jackets (3) – Leclaire has been fantastic so far but Columbus may elect to rest him due to two games back-to-back

Colorado Avalanche (3) – Theodore has been getting some starts, but Budaj is still #1

Dallas Stars (4) – Expect Dallas to give Turco a rest with back-to-back games this week.

Detroit Red Wings (3) – Backup goaltender Chris Osgood is currently 6-0-0.

Edmonton Oilers (3) – Roloson has not played well this year, but backup Garon isn’t much of an upgrade.

Florida Panthers (3) – Vokoun has been up and down this season but should appear in all three games this week.

Los Angeles Kings (1) – LaBarbera has been getting the nod as of late, but things can change with an extended layoff.

Minnesota Wild (2) – Backstrom is currently day-to-day with a groin injury but may be able to make one start as Minnesota has five days off in between games.

Montreal Canadiens (3) – Huet is currently riding a four game win streak.

Nashville Predators (2) – Mason has struggled but the Preds are still sticking by him.

New Jersey Devils (3) – Brodeur had his best game of the year this past week, surrendering only one goal on 22 shots.

New York Islanders (2) – Expect to see DiPeitro in both games this week.

New York Rangers (4) – Lundqvist's goals against average and save percentage are up there with the best, but unfortunately the wins aren't coming.

Ottawa Senators (3) – Both Emery and Gerber have only yielded one loss combined on the year.

Philadelphia Flyers (4) – With four games on the schedule, Nittymaki should appear in one game.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) – With Aebischer gone, Tellqvist and Auld will be splitting the starts.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) – Expect Sabourin to get a start as Pittsburgh plays back-to-back games this week.

San Jose Sharks (3) – The Sharks may give backup Dimitri Patzold his first start as the team will not want to use Nabokov on back-to-back games.

St. Louis Blues (1) – Legace is the #1 goaltender in St. Louis and should receive the lone start.

Tampa Bay Lightining (4) – Holmqvist is the #1 in Tampa but expect Denis to start once this week with back-to-back games.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3) – Toskala is gaining #1 status but Raycroft should make an appearance in one game as Toronto plays on Friday and Saturday.

Vancouver Canucks (2) – Due to back-to-back games, Sanford may make his second start.

Washington Capitals (4) – Washington may give Kolzig a break this week with a rather busy schedule.


For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis

Morning Musings

Here are the morning papers:

• The Wild played an uncharacteristically undisciplined game and fell to the Kings 4-3 in a shootout last night. Meanwhile, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire says that he has "extreme confidence" in Mikko Koivu right now.
• The Kings finally got their first win in North America writes Lisa Dillman of the L.A. Times.
• The Avalanche stormed back from down 4-0 and defeated the Flames 5-4 in a shootout last night. Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk missed last night's game with a back problem and is now listed as day-to-day.
• The Flames know the Avs got a few lucky breaks but as Flames' forward Craig Conroy said, "you make your own breaks." The Flames road trip was going to be labeled a complete success until they blew the 4-0 lead writes Jean Lefebvre of the Calgary Herald.
• Tomas Vokoun was tremendous for the Panthers in their 2-1 come from behind shootout victory over the Habs. According to Panthers defenseman Mike Van Ryn, the Panthers "had no business winning that game."
• Many of the Habs believed this was their most well-played game to date, yet they let it slip away; Red Fisher of the Montreal Gazette has the story. Coach Guy Carbonneau needs to improve on his communication skills with his players writes Pat Hickey of the Gazette.
• A rejuvenated Jeff Carter scored for the fourth time this season and led the Flyers to a 4-0 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday.
• The Thrashers are still without a single point to show for this season and they have already played six games.
• Unheralded Kent Huskins has turned himself into a consistent NHL defenseman in Anaheim writes Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register.
• As Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe explains, Zdeno Chara is playing less than last season but is hitting more. Also in the Globe this morning, Dupont wonders if the Bruins are in on the Danny Markov sweepstakes. Over at the Boston Herald, Rich Thompson looks at the relationship between new defensive partners Aaron Ward and Zdeno Chara.
• With Chris Drury and Daniel Briere out the door, the Sabres have decided to abandon their "no negotiating extensions during the season" policy and yesterday they signed Jochen Hecht to a four year contract extension.
• Both of the Hurricanes off-season acquisitions have made terrific contributions so far this season; Luke Decock of the News Observer has the story.
• Hawks' coach Denis Savard has been very happy with his team's play so far, but is still reminding everyone that it is very early on in the season.
• The Blue Jackets have a number of players with groin injuries currently on their roster including Rick Nash and Fredrik Modin. Here are the Blue Jackets' projected lines for tonight's game versus Dallas.
• In order for the Stars to improve on their goal scoring output, Jere Lehtinen needs to pick up his game and nobody knows that more than Lehtinen himself.
• Ken Holland is looking to sign long-time Red Wings Kris Draper and Nicklas Lidstrom to extensions writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
• As Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal tells us, both Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner are one-two in the rookie scoring race so far this season. The Oilers have remained positive through their early season slump writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
• As Jessica Hopp explains in this morning's Tennessean, when it comes to goaltending, it is all about the mindset.
• Until his stats are good, Martin Brodeur won't be taking a look at them. Brodeur will be in between the pipes for tonight's game versus Pittsburgh.
• The Rangers are working to gain consistency writes Don Tomasino in this morning's NY Post. It may be only a matter of time before youngster Marc Staal moves up to the Rangers' top defense pairing this season.
• Ted Nolan has decided to flip-flop Bill Guerin and Trent Hunter in the Islanders' lineup.
• After signing Randy Robitaille, Sens' general manager Bryan Murray says this acquisition does not end his quest to add a top-six forward. Jason Spezza is among the league leaders in points, yet the star centerman has not recorded a goal this season.
• Coyotes' rookie Peter Mueller was a healthy scratch over the weekend and is going to use the benching as motivation to play harder writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• Darryl Sydor has admittedly struggled during his first few games with the Penguins, but he understands that it takes time to adjust to a new system and new surroundings.
• The Sharks appear to be planning their second home opener writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• It looks like Jay McKee will return to the Blues' lineup for tonight's game versus the Blackhawks reports Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch.
• Lightining superstar Vinny Lecavalier, turned into a superstar off the ice by giving a more than generous three million dollar contribution to the construction of a new Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
• Darcy Tucker stood up for his longtime teammate Bryan McCabe to the Toronto media after practice yesterday. Lance Hornby sure doesn't hold back on his criticism of McCabe in this morning's Toronto Sun. Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says that the Leafs don't have an identity.
• The Canucks have demoted youngster Mason Raymond to Manitoba of the AHL.
• Joe Motzko could find himself playing alongside superstar Alexander Ovechkin writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.