The Daily Puck: Singing the Blues

The Daily Puck: Singing the Blues

This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.

Projected Goalie Starters

Philadelphia (Brian Boucher) at New Jersey (Johan Hedberg), 7:00 p.m. ET
Chicago (Corey Crawford) at Columbus (Mathieu Garon), 7:00 p.m. ET
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at St. Louis (Jaroslav Halak), 8:00 p.m. ET
Colorado (Peter Budaj) at Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov), 10:00 p.m. ET

Injuries for Teams Playing Friday

Day-to-Day (Includes DL players close to returning)
Rick Nash (W) Columbus – (Unknown) Questionable to play Friday.
Niklas Hagman (W) Calgary -- (Concussion) Doubtful to play Friday.
Alexander Steen (C) St. Louis – (Ankle) Out for Friday.
Lauri Korpikoski (C) Phoenix -- (Upper body) Questionable to play Friday.
Daymond Langkow (C) Calgary -- (Neck) Expected to play Friday.

Long Term or IR
Kristian Huselius (W) Columbus -- (Lower body) Out for Friday, could be out for the season.
Zach Parise (W) New Jersey – (Knee) Expected to return to the lineup Saturday.
Grant Clitsome (D) Columbus – (Knee) Could be out for the season.
Brendan Morrison (C) Calgary – (Knee) Out for Friday.
Martin Hanzal (C) Phoenix -- (Lower body) Doubtful to play Friday.
Ed Jovanovski (D) Phoenix -- (Face) Out until at least next week.

Transactions

Ales Kotalik (W) Calgary – Re-assigned to the AHL.
Joni Ortio (G) Calgary – Signed to an entry-level deal.
Thomas McCollum (G) Detroit –Re-assigned to the AHL.
Olivier Roy (G) Edmonton – Signed a three-year entry-level contract.
Hunter Tremblay (W) Edmonton -- Signed by the Oilers.
Tomas

Projected Goalie Starters

Philadelphia (Brian Boucher) at New Jersey (Johan Hedberg), 7:00 p.m. ET
Chicago (Corey Crawford) at Columbus (Mathieu Garon), 7:00 p.m. ET
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at St. Louis (Jaroslav Halak), 8:00 p.m. ET
Colorado (Peter Budaj) at Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov), 10:00 p.m. ET

Injuries for Teams Playing Friday

Day-to-Day (Includes DL players close to returning)
Rick Nash (W) Columbus – (Unknown) Questionable to play Friday.
Niklas Hagman (W) Calgary -- (Concussion) Doubtful to play Friday.
Alexander Steen (C) St. Louis – (Ankle) Out for Friday.
Lauri Korpikoski (C) Phoenix -- (Upper body) Questionable to play Friday.
Daymond Langkow (C) Calgary -- (Neck) Expected to play Friday.

Long Term or IR
Kristian Huselius (W) Columbus -- (Lower body) Out for Friday, could be out for the season.
Zach Parise (W) New Jersey – (Knee) Expected to return to the lineup Saturday.
Grant Clitsome (D) Columbus – (Knee) Could be out for the season.
Brendan Morrison (C) Calgary – (Knee) Out for Friday.
Martin Hanzal (C) Phoenix -- (Lower body) Doubtful to play Friday.
Ed Jovanovski (D) Phoenix -- (Face) Out until at least next week.

Transactions

Ales Kotalik (W) Calgary – Re-assigned to the AHL.
Joni Ortio (G) Calgary – Signed to an entry-level deal.
Thomas McCollum (G) Detroit –Re-assigned to the AHL.
Olivier Roy (G) Edmonton – Signed a three-year entry-level contract.
Hunter Tremblay (W) Edmonton -- Signed by the Oilers.
Tomas Kubalik (W) Columbus– Recalled from the AHL.
Casey Wellman (C) Minnesota -- Re-assigned to the AHL.
Cameron Talbot (G) Rangers -- Recalled from the AHL.
Stephane Da Costa (C) Ottawa -- Signed a two-year entry-level deal.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D) Phoenix -- Re-assigned to the AHL.
Cameron Gaunce (D) Colorado -- Recalled from the AHL.
Adam Cracknell (W) St. Louis -- Re-assigned to the AHL.
Shawn Belle (D) Colorado -- Re-assigned to the AHL.

Hot

Ryane Clowe (W) San Jose – Clowe has set a career high in goals this season that has gone mostly unnoticed because of his superstar teammates (Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley), but he is arguably having a better season than any of them. Anyone can go out and draft a superstar, but it's those second- and third-line players who turn in career seasons that will win a fantasy league for you.

Zdeno Chara (D) Boston – Some though Chara would pull back the physical part of his game after his controversial hit on Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty, which in turn might affect his overall game. Fortunately, that hasn't happened, as Chara looks the same as he always has. In the 10 games since the hit, Chara has three goals and 11 points, which is actually a better offensive pace than what he had before the hit.

Cold

Devan Dubnyk (G) Edmonton -- Dubnyk is on this list not so much because his play has been terrible, but that he was given an opportunity to grab the starting job when Nikolai Khabibulin was out with injury and just wasn't able to play strong enough for the Oilers to keep Khabibulin on the bench. This may have been a bit unfair to Dubnyk as the Oilers aren't a very good team and seem to have lost just about anyone with offensive talent (Ales Hemsky, Taylor Hall, Dustin Penner) to injury or trade. Such is life in the NHL. When asked to produce, you better come up big, as you may never get another chance.

Keith Yandle (D) Phoenix -- Yandle is having a better season than just about anyone could've expected, but that doesn't make much of a difference now as he has been in a slump during playoff time for most owners. Yandle only has three goals since Feb. 1, and only three helpers since March 1. Poor timing for fantasy owners as this is the time they want him most. Perhaps the law of averages was just catching up with him.

Recommended Pickup

Chris Stewart (D) St. Louis – The Avs must be regretting trading Stewart more and more each time they see him score a goal for the Blues. Stewart has meshed so well in St. Louis that fantasy owners who play in keeper leagues now have a decision to make. Sometimes a change of scenery can be the best thing for a player.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Kurtz
George is a former RotoWire contributor. He started covering fantasy sports in 2006 and joined RotoWire in 2007. In addition to RotoWire, George has written for SeamHeads, LeatherHeads, Going9 Fantasy Baseball, and FantasyPros911.com. Besides RotoWire, George can currently be found on the Fantasy Sports Radio Network, RotoExperts, and FantasyData.com.
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