Week 10 Fantasy Hockey Planner

The Fantasy Hockey Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every week, we provide you with top matchups, the latest news and give you the scoop on injured players.

Teams with four games: Boston, Buffalo, Florida, N.Y. Islanders, Nashville, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay
Teams with three games: Anaheim, Atlanta, Calgary, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey, N.Y. Rangers, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Vancouver, Washington
Teams with two games: Carolina, Colorado, Edmonton, San Jose, Toronto

Fantasy Week 10 (Dec. 8-14)

The hockey schedule for Week 10 is pretty spread out, but nine teams are still slated to play four games and three of those teams -- Panthers, Islanders, Lightning -- hit the road for all of their appearances.

Also, only nine teams fail to play a back-to-back slate.

Editors Note: Projections are for Dec. 8-14 games and all stats are through Thursday

This week's news and notes for each team:

Anaheim Ducks: Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere is back from his personal leave, but is now nursing a minor groin injury. He was dressed as Jonas Hiller's backup Wednesday against the Blackhawks, so he can play if needed. Giguere has struggled in recent weeks while Hiller has excelled, but there is no goalie controversy here. Giggy is the man as long as he is healthy ... Right winger Teemu Selanne has a league-leading 13 power-play scores. Only one of his goals this season has come at even strength, but it is no surprise seeing how second-line center Brendan Morrison has been awful in his first season with the Ducks ... Brian Sutherby appeared close to returning from a groin injury that has kept him out seven games, but he suffered a setback and is back to being out indefinitely. He has marginal Fantasy appeal when healthy.

Atlanta Thrashers: Injured goalie Kari Lehtonen, who has been out since Oct. 30 with back problems, is back up on skates, but might only return toward the end of Week 10. Atlanta has received quality play from Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec, so they continue to be cautious with Lehtonen, who remains a poor Fantasy start for the upcoming scoring period ... Defenseman Mathieu Schneider remains day-to-day with a strained hamstring. This is the second injury that has kept Schneider out of the lineup this season and they are in no rush to get him back on the ice since Zach Bogosian is still out with a broken leg. Schneider acts as a mentor to the rookie and that's his primary job in 2008-09 ... Garnet Exelby leads the Thrashers with 59 hits, but the hard-hitting defenseman is still just a Fantasy option in leagues that reward heavily for PIM ... Atlanta has three games Week 10. They play Boston twice and the N.Y. Rangers once. Both Boston and New York have top 5 defenses, so consider benching your Atlanta skaters ... Left winger Ilya Kovalchuk has scored just twice in his last 10 games. It's not for a lack of trying, but opposing defenses have done a good job of getting blocked shots on Kovalchuk from their defensemen.

Boston Bruins: Marco Sturm is still battling a head/neck injury and hasn't yet been cleared from his day-to-day status ... Defenseman Aaron Ward could be back on the ice Fantasy Week 10 after suffering a leg injury Week 8, but he still remains an injury-risk start ... Goalie Tim Thomas is over his bout with a minor illness and is back in net for Boston. Just in time too as the Bruins have four games Week 10. We should see Manny Fernandez for one start since Boston has a back-to-back slate ... Boston plays Atlanta twice Week 10 and the Thrashers own the leagues worst defense (3.68 GAA). They also play the Capitals (3.08) and Lightning (2.96), so consider starting your Boston skaters.

Buffalo Sabres: First-line center Derek Roy avoided missing a game because of back spasms to remain in the Sabres' active lineup. He has three goals and three assists in his last six games ... Defenseman Toni Lydman also dodged the injury bug after blocking a shot to remain active for Buffalo ... Enforcer Andrew Peters is nursing an abdominal strain and remains day-to-day ... Craig Rivet is also on the day-to-day list with an upper-body ailment. He has not been the model of health this season for Buffalo and still has no goals ... Ales Kotalik is back in the Sabres lineup after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. He has yet to suffer a setback, but remains more of a low-end Fantasy forward ... Right winger Maxim Afinogenov is back in coach's Lindy Ruff doghouse. He has been a healthy scratch a few times in the last few weeks and still owns a team worst minus-10 rating. It wasn't long ago that Afinogenov was a must-start Fantasy option, but now it appears a trade out of town might be the only thing that revives his career ... Buffalo has four games Week 10 with one back-to-back. Patrick Lalime is likely to give Ryan Miller a breather in net for at least one night ... Jason Pominville hasn't scored a goal in seven games ... Jaroslav Spacek is still stuck on one goal and is converting at just three percent. However, he does have four assists in six games ... Defenseman Andrej Sekera has gone cold the last few weeks with just two assists in 13 games.

Calgary Flames: Flames minor leaguer Jamie Lundmark was named the AHL Player of the Month for November after totaling 19 points in 13 games (five goals). He has 25 points in 23 games this season and is finally looking like the top 10 pick the Rangers thought he was back in 1999. Lundmark hasn't played in the NHL since 2006-07 with the Kings ... Dustin Boyd continues to be sidelined by a shoulder injury. He is up on skates, but Calgary isn't saying much about his return ... Defenseman Adrian Aucoin has joined Boyd on the injured list with a lower-body ailment. He is also day-to-day ... Defenseman Dion Phaneuf is a disappointing minus-10 on the season ... Jarome Iginla had a six-game point streak (2 G, 6 A) end Tuesday against the Stars ... Michael Cammalleri has no assists in his last six games ... Forward Todd Bertuzzi has not scored since Nov. 2, but it still being treated as a top-six forward. He also has a team-worst minus-11 rating.

Carolina Hurricanes: In a very surprising move, Justin Williams returned about a month early from a torn Achilles'. He made his debut Thursday against the Penguins. He was immediately put back on the power play and new coach Paul Maurice is hoping Williams can jumpstart one of the league's worst power-play units. Williams has high-end Fantasy potential when healthy ... Starting goalie Cam Ward is on the injured list with a groin injury that could keep him out into Week 10. The way teams have been patient with goalie injuries this season, it would not be surprising. Michael Leighton will start in his absence. AHL call-up Justin Peters might also get some spot duty ... Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg has been placed on IR and is not a recommended start for Week 10 ... Scott Walker is day-to-day with a lower-body ailment ... Defenseman Frantisek Kaberle left Thursday's game with a lower-body injury and only recently returned from a broken leg. Hopefully, he didn't suffer any setbacks, but he appears to be a risky start Week 10 ... Forward Ray Whitney has no goals and one assist in his last six games ... Center Rod Brind'Amour has no goals and two assists in eight contests ... Tuomo Ruutu is headed the other way with three goals in five games.

Chicago Blackhawks: Starting goalie Nikolai Khabibulin remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury believed to be a hip or groin ailment. He is back up on skates, but coach Joel Quenneville doesn't believe he will play over the weekend. Consider Khabibulin a risky start Week 10 if he doesn’t make it back in the lineup by Sunday. Cristobal Huet continues to spearhead the effort in net with Khabibulin out ... Defenseman James Wisniewski is still hoping to make his debut Week 10 after being sidelined following offseason knee surgery ... Enforcer Adam Burish is out indefinitely with an ankle injury ... Forward Martin Havlat responded to a demotion to the third line by scoring Wednesday against the Ducks. Hopefully the goal will send Havlat on a scoring spree since he has high-end Fantasy potential ... Struggling Dustin Byfuglien got to play on the team's top line Wednesday with Kris Versteeg and Jonathan Toews and produced an assist. Byfuglien could stay there if the Blackhawks continue to win with that alignment.

Colorado Avalanche: The Avalanche received a tough break when it was announced first-line center Joe Sakic would miss at least six weeks with a herniated disc in his back. The void leaves a hole on the second line behind Paul Stastny. Colorado is hoping Tyler Arnason and T.J. Hensick will fill the void up the middle, but the Avs might have to make a serious play for free agent Mats Sundin or consider moving Wojtek Wolski, who has four goals in six games, to center ... Defenseman Scott Hannan has not been the defensive force Colorado expected when he inked a four-year deal prior to last season and is at minus-9 for the season ... Defenseman John-Michael Liles has also been disappointing since inking a four-year deal this offseason. He has just 10 points this season and has no goals in the past 11 games. His ineffectiveness on offense is a reason the Avs' power-play is struggling ... Colorado has games against Los Angeles and Chicago Week 10. Neither team has a GAA higher than 2.74 and both games are at home -- where Colorado is averaging just 2.55 goals per game. Consider benching your Avalanche skaters.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Raffi Torres is back out of action following arthroscopic knee surgery. He has played just 14 games this season because of injury and has four points in his first season with Columbus ... Jiri Novotny benefits from Torres' absence. He was a healthy scratch for six straight games before playing Thursday in San Jose ... It appears as though rookie goalie Steve Mason has wrangled away the starting job away from Pascal Leclaire. He will need to maintain consistency in net or fear being sent back to the minors -- similarly to how Carey Price was optioned back to the minors last season before taking over for Montreal down the stretch ... Columbus will carry three goalies for the next few weeks to make sure Leclaire's injury problems are behind him before deciding Fredrik Norrena's fate ... Forward Fredrik Modin has scored in two straight games, but still has just four goals in 19 games ... Rookie Derick Brassard continues to flounder with no goals in eight games and one point in six outings ... Jason Chimera has also gone cold for Columbus with just two points in seven games.

Dallas Stars: NHL bad boy Sean Avery was handed a six-game suspension by commissioner Gary Bettman for inappropriate comments made in the direction of Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Avery has already served two games of the suspension and will be eligible to return Dec. 16 against Phoenix. Keep him reserved Week 10 ... Dallas might be getting center Tom Wandell, who was a fifth-round pick in 2005, back in the near future. Wandell has played extremely well for Timra IK of the Swedish Elite League. He has 24 points (11 goals) in 28 games and Dallas could use some offensive help ... Mark Parrish dodged a serious injury after he was struck by a puck under his right eye Wednesday against the Oilers. He remained in the game ... Defenseman Sergei Zubov has been sidelined the last week with a lower-body injury and won't be re-evaluated until Week 10. He is not a recommended start ... Brenden Morrow had successful knee surgery Tuesday, but is still expected to miss the remainder of the season ... With two goals against Edmonton, Mike Modano is now second on the team with 11 tallies. He trails only Loui Eriksson, who has 12 goals ... Mike Ribeiro has fallen into a scoring slump with just two points in eight games.

Detroit Red Wings: Goalie Chris Osgood has a sparkling 11-1-4 record, but that's been because Detroit's offense has bailed him out on most nights. Osgood has a 3.17 GAA and .876 save percentage. Osgood seems to be slipping fundamentally as he is staying too far back in his crease, failing to cover the angles properly on many occasions, and allowing big rebounds. He is still not in jeopardy of losing his title as Detroit's No. 1 goalie, but coach Mike Babcock hasn't been hesitant either to play Ty Conklin ... Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom has his best offensive game Thursday with three points in a win against Vancouver. He had his first goal in 19 games ... Jiri Hudler remained hot with a pair of scores and he now has eight goals in his last nine games ... Daniel Cleary has adjusted to life on the top line with two goals and two assists in four games since the move. However, Tomas Holmstrom is due back Saturday from a back injury that has kept him out eight games and he will likely slide back alongside Marian Hossa and Pavel Datsyuk ... Defenseman Chris Chelios, who has yet to play this season because of a broken leg, has been sent to the AHL for a conditioning stint and is expected to be activated prior to Wednesday's game against Calgary. He is no longer a top offensive defenseman and has little Fantasy value when active.

Edmonton Oilers: Edmonton's "Kid Line" is a bit banged up as Robert Nilsson has been placed on IR because of a shoulder injury and Sam Gagner is day-to-day with a mild concussion ... With Nilsson out until mid-December, 2004 first-round pick Rob Schremp is getting a serious look at a possible permanent spot in the Oilers' rotation ... Dustin Penner and Kyle Brodziak have both responded to recent benchings by coach Craig MacTavish. Penner has six points in his last six games and Brodziak scored twice Wednesday against the Stars ... Edmonton is home for two games Week 10, but they rank 28th in home GFA (2.38). Consider benching your Edmonton skaters ... Forward Ales Hemsky has three goals and six assists during a six-game point streak. He has 26 points in 24 games and doesn't nearly get the credit he deserves for being an elite Fantasy option ... Shawn Horcoff finally seems to be emerging from his early-season slump as he has three goals and six assists in his last six games ... Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky has three games with one goal and one assist in his last six outings.

Florida Panthers: It appears Craig Anderson will remain in net over Tomas Vokoun until he goes on a cold streak. Anderson has been in net for 15 of the Panthers' 25 points this season and is an impressive 14-3-3 since January. Vokoun has struggled in his first season under coach Peter DeBoer and it looks as though he will get time to clear his mind ... DeBoer has been pleased with the effort from Brett McLean and Kamil Kreps, but he has been disappointed that neither player has been able to find the back of the net ... DeBoer believes injured forwards David Booth (shoulder), Nathan Horton (ankle), Cory Stillman (concussion) and Richard Zednik (elbow) could all return to the lineup within the week ... Defenseman Noah Welch has been sent on a two-week conditioning stint with Rochester of the AHL ... Defenseman Keith Ballard hadn't recorded a point since getting an assist on Nov. 1 at Nashville before scoring Thursday against the Sabres. It was his first goal since Oct. 30 against Ottawa ... Jay Bouwmeester continues to be red hot for Florida. He has three goals and four assists during a five-game point streak. He is also at plus-7 in that span ... Gregory Campbell has scored four times in six games and has three assists in that span ... Radek Dvorak has two goals and five assists during a four-game streak ... Florida is on the road for four games Week 10. They are averaging 2.43 goals per game away from home.

Los Angeles Kings: Alexander Frolov has scored in three straight games and five of six ... Dustin Brown has just two goals in his last 10 games... Patrick O'Sullivan has scored three times in six appearances ... Rookie defenseman Drew Doughty is at minus-6 in his last six games and has just one assist in that span ... Erik Ersberg and Jason LaBarbera have been trading starts as of late, and coach Terry Murray still hasn't declared one player the starter over the other.

Minnesota Wild: Rookie forward Colton Gillies was a happy camper at the beginning of the season when Wild management told him he would be sticking around. However, the 19-year-old rookie has been a healthy scratch for half of Minnesota's 24 games and could be loaned to team Canada for the World Junior Championships (Dec. 26-Jan. 5). Gillies still remains more of a long-term Fantasy keeper ... Disgruntled and injured forward Marian Gaborik, who has missed 22 games due to a lower-body injury, is back up on skates. He skated on his own for 45 minutes Wednesday, but there is still not timetable for his return ... Eric Belanger has three goals and three assists in his last six games ... Mikko Koivu is on a career-high six-game point streak (4 G, 6 A) ... Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron has three two-assist games in his last six outings and eight assists total in that span ... Pierre-Marc Bouchard has three goals and three assists during a three-game point streak ... Minnesota is on the road for three games Week 10. They rank 17th in road GFA (2.60) and are facing three teams -- Phoenix, Los Angeles and Anaheim -- with GAA's 2.78 or lower. Consider benching your Minnesota skaters.

Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens top line currently is comprised of Saku Koivu, Matt D'Agostini and Andrei Kostitsyn. As bad as it sounds, the trio has actually been playing well, especially the wingers. D'Agostini, who was recalled from Hamilton (AHL) last week, has two goals and an assist in his last two games while Kostitsyn has three goals and three assists in his last three games ... Alexei Kovalev hasn't scored in 15 games ... Alex Tanguay has just one goal in his last eight games ... Defenseman Andrei Markov has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak ... Robert Lang has been moved up to the team's second line and has scored in two straight ... Montreal is home for three games Week 10 where they are averaging 3.33 goals per contest. All three of their opponents -- Tampa Bay, Calgary, Washington -- have GAA's 2.96 or higher, so consider starting your Montreal skaters.

Nashville Predators: David Legwand played in franchise-high 574th game as a Predator Thursday against the Avalanche. He broke the old record set by former defenseman Kimmo Timonen. He is the only Predators player to play at least one game in every season of the franchise's existence. Legwand scored the game-winning goal Thursday to commemorate the moment... Backup goalie Pekka Rinne moved to 5-0-0 on the season after Thursday's 3-2 win. However, coach Barry Trotz quickly stole his thunder by commenting on the two times Rinne was pulled from net this season. Still, there is no denying he has played much better than Dan Ellis and Nashville management has some food for thought ... With four games Week 10, Rinne will likely start once and is worth using in average points per game leagues ... Top-line center Jason Arnott has scored five times in six games ... Forward Martin Erat doesn’t have a goal in nine outings.

New Jersey Devils: Brian Rolston returned to the lineup Thursday against the Flyers after missing 18 games with an ankle injury. He didn't record a point, but was on the third line with John Madden, who also returned from injury after missing four games, and was a point man on the top power-play unit ... Bobby Holik has missed 18 games with a broken right pinkie, but he is close to playing ... Goalie Scott Clemmensen has played four straight games and seven of the last eight, going 5-1 over his last six. However, he will still not admit to being the team's No. 1 goalie while Martin Brodeur is out until February with an elbow injury ... Left winger Patrik Elias scored his 15th regular-season overtime winner Thursday, tying him with Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin for the all-time lead. Elias, who scored twice against Philly, has six goals and eight assists in his last eight games ... Right winger Brian Gionta has 11 points (six goals) during an eight-game point streak ... Enforcer David Clarkson got into two fights Thursday and has fought six times in 10 games ... New Jersey is home for three games Week 10 where they are averaging 3.33 goals per game. However, they are facing three top 15 defenses -- Pittsburgh, N.Y. Rangers and Buffalo -- so it is a toss up when starting the Devils skaters.

N.Y. Islanders: Defenseman Radek Martinek is back on the injured list with a shoulder injury that is expected to sideline him 2-4 weeks. He has played in just 70-plus games just once in his seven seasons with the Islanders ... On a positive note, Mike Sillinger made his debut Thursday against the Capitals. He had missed the first two months of the season following February hip surgery. Sillinger logged 13 minutes, registered two shots on goal and won 11-of-19 faceoffs ... Center Doug Weight recorded an assist Thursday and now has 23 points on the season. He had all of 25 last season splitting time between Anaheim and St. Louis ... Right winger Trent Hunter notched his team-best 11th goal of the season, one less than he scored last season ... Goalie Rick DiPietro has resumed skating since undergoing arthroscopic surgery Oct. 31 on his left knee. However, he isn't expected back until late December. Joey MacDonald continues to start in his place ... The Islanders still have no timetable for when Mike Comrie will return from hip inflammation ... New York is on the road for four games Week 10. They rank 23rd in road GFA (2.33).

N.Y. Rangers: Defenseman Wade Redden left Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Canadiens with a lower-body injury and New York is thinking about recalling Corey Potter or Brian Fahey from Hartford (AHL). Redden appears to be an injury-risk start heading into Week 10 ... Markus Naslund scored his team-leading 10th goal Thursday. He is the only New York player with double-digit goals. The second closest is Nikolai Zherdev with nine ... Center Scott Gomez has three assists in his last two games.

Ottawa Senators: With the demotion of Ryan Shannon to the AHL, the Senators have cleared the way for enforcer Chris Neil to re-enter the lineup. He has missed the last several weeks following knee surgery ... Forward Shean Donvoan played his first game on the team's second line with Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette Wednesday against Atlanta. He made it count with a goal and a team-high seven shots. He entered the night with just 18 in his first 20 games ... Dean McAmmond (throat) and Alexandre Picard (wrist) remain day-to-day ... Forward Dany Heatley had his team-high 13th goal against Atlanta and is the only Senator with 10 or more tallies. Jason Spezza is closest with eight ... Defenseman Filip Kuba had three assists in his last two games after getting none in his previous eight ... Daniel Alfredsson is starting to heat up with four goals in his last six games. He has a point in 10 of 12 outings.

Philadelphia Flyers: Simon Gagne left Thursday's game against the Devils because of dehydration. It was not related to concussion-related symptoms that kept him sidelined for most of 2007-08 and he is expected to play Saturday against the Hurricanes. Keep him active for Week 10 ... Defenseman Kimmo Timmonen is battling a sore shoulder, but is hopeful to stay in the lineup. However, fellow defender Matt Carle remains sidelined with an upper-body ailment ... Top-line center Daniel Briere is back on the sidelines with a groin strain. The former All-Star will be sidelined 4-5 weeks. Briere has been active for just nine games this season due to injury ... Defenseman Randy Jones, who has been out following hip surgery, hopes to return Tuesday against the Islanders ... Goalie Martin Biron, who has started 11 of the last 13 games and four straight, has had trouble playing the puck recently and coach John Stevens isn't too happy. He hasn't threatened to bench Biron, but the veteran netminder will need to cut down on the turnovers ... Philadelphia is home for three games Week 10 where they are averaging 3.31 goals per game. Consider starting your Philly skaters.

Phoenix Coyotes: Center Olli Jokinen skated with his teammates Friday and is expected to rejoin the lineup Wednesday against the Stars. Jokinen has been out of the lineup since suffering a shoulder injury Nov. 26. Consider him a low-risk start Week 10 ... Backup goalie Mikael Tellqvist started for the fifth time in six games Thursday against the Maple Leafs, but was pulled in favor of Ilya Bryzgalov in the third period. Bryzgalov went on to win the game and it appears he will once again assume his role as Phoenix's starting goalie ... Martin Hanzal had his first career hat trick during Thursday's game. He has scored four times in two contests and is third on the team with 16 points ... Defenseman Keith Yandle is tied with forward Shane Doan for a team-high 12 assists ... 2008 first-round pick Mikkel Boedker has an assist in two straight games and is sixth on the team with 12 points ... Enver Lisin scored twice Tuesday against the Kings and has six points in nine games this season. He is also converting at a team-high 22.2 percent.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Injured starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has taken some shots from fellow injured defenseman Ryan Whitney and could resume full practice during Week 10. He is still not a recommended start, but Fleury might be back in net by the start off Week 11 (Dec. 15-21). Dany Sabourin remains a viable Fantasy start for at least one more week ... Tyler Kennedy is out 4-6 weeks with a sprained knee ... All-Star center Sidney Crosby has been on an insane tear lately with 14 points in his last five games ... Fellow All-Star Evgeni Malkin has 12 multi-point games in 12 of his past 20 appearances ... Miroslav Satan has just two goals in his last 12 games ... Petr Sykora has three goals in his last three games ... Pittsburgh has four games Week 10 and three of their opponents -- Buffalo, N.Y. Islanders and Philadelphia -- rank in the bottom half of the league in defense. Consider starting your Pittsburgh skaters.

San Jose Sharks: Nothing has changed with the status of forward Jonathan Cheechoo, who remains day-to-day after missing his third game Thursday against the Blue Jackets with an upper-body injury ... Defenseman Brad Lukowich left Thursday's game with a lower-body injury and has joined Cheechoo on the day-to-day list ... One player the Sharks don't seem to have to worry about is Joe Thornton, who set a franchise record Thursday by appearing in his 248th straight game. He commemorated the game with a goal and an assist. He has six goals and 13 assists in his last 10 games ... Joe Pavelski has four goals and two assists in his last four games. He has 11 goals and 11 assists on the season ... The Sharks are home for two games Week 10, and despite the short schedule, you might consider starting your San Jose skaters since they are averaging 3.93 goals per game at the Shark Tank.

St. Louis Blues: Rookie Patrik Berglund has been elevated to the team's top-line center with injuries to Andy McDonald and Paul Kariya. He is currently centering a line with Brad Boyes and Keith Tkachuk ... Fellow rookie forward T.J. Oshie returned from an ankle injury Friday against the Flames. It was his first appearance since Nov. 1 ... Kariya has seen several specialists in regards to his nagging hip injury, but they all recommend rest. Continue to keep him reserved through Week 10 ... Coach Andy Murray has been pleased with his fourth line of B.J. Crombeen, Cam Paddock and Yan Stastny ... St. Louis has four games Week 10 and three are on the road. The Blues haven't been scoring much away from home, averaging just 2.42 goals on the road.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Gary Roberts was placed back on injured reserve Tuesday one game after coming off IR because of an upper-body injury. This time he is out indefinitely with a groin injury ... Forward Radim Vrbata was scratched for a second consecutive game Thursday against the Bruins. Coach Rick Tocchet said Vrbata has a bit of a groin problem, but he has been skating ... Top-line center Vincent Lecavalier became the all-time franchise leader in assists with 340 when he set up Martin St. Louis' first-period goal Thursday. He has also responded to the coaching change with 10 points (four goals) in his last nine games ... St. Louis has 13 points (five goals) in his last 16 games ... Ryan Malone has found his stride with four goals and five assists in seven games ... Tampa Bay has four road games Week 10. The Lightning are averaging just 2.33 goals per game on the road and are facing three top six defenses -- Boston, Montreal and Ottawa -- in the upcoming scoring period. Consider benching your Lightning skaters.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Stajan has cooled off with just two points (one goal) in his last six games. He had 13 points in his previous 10 games ... Defenseman Tomas Kaberle doesn't have a point in six games. He had 11 in his previous 10 appearances ... Goalie Vesa Toskala has lost two straight starts and has allowed 11 goals in the process. He is 9-8-5 on the season with a 3.24 GAA and .883 save percentage. Still, despite his struggles there has been no talk of Curtis Joseph taking over in net or a possible call-up of Justin Pogge, who is 7-7-2 with Toronto of the AHL.

Vancouver Canucks: Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo is making a quicker-than-expected recovery from a groin injury and has been on the ice for several days. While it's unlikely he returns over the weekend, Luongo might be back in net Tuesday against the Predators. Although, Dec. 13 at Edmonton is likely a safer bet. Luongo is still considered a risky start for Week 10, but it appears as though Fantasy owners can cut Curtis Sanford if they need the roster spot ... Kyle Wellwood has notched 11 goals -- six on the power play -- in 21 games since returning from the AHL. He is converting at a NHL-best 36.7 percent ... Defenseman Shane O'Brien leads the NHL with 78 penalty minutes ... Pavol Demitra has been put back on the top scoring line with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. Demitra had a seven-game point streak with the twins before being blanked two games and pulled off the line for four periods ... Daniel has eight goals and nine assists in his last 15 games, while Henrik has six multi-point games since Nov. 1. He also has 15 points in his last 14 games ... Alexandre Burrows had his first point in seven games and only his second goal in the last 15 games Thursday against Detroit.

Washington Capitals: Alexander Semin remains on IR with a back injury. He skated after practice Thursday, but Washington is still not sure when he will be back in the lineup ... Sergei Fedorov might return Week 10 from an ankle injury, but remains a questionable start ... Defenseman Mike Green (shoulder) is limited in practice and also remains a risky start heading into Week 10 ... The Capitals face three top six defenses -- Boston, Ottawa and Montreal -- Week 10, so consider benching your Washington skaters ... Reigning MVP Alex Ovechkin continues his ridiculous tear with 28 points (12 goals) in his last 16 games ... Nicklas Backstrom has scored in two straight games and has 20 points (seven goals) in his last 17 games.

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