Week 18 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.

Fantasy Week 18 (Feb. 2-8)

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

Editors Note: Projections are for Feb. 2-8 games and all stats are through Thursday

This week's news and notes for each team:

Anaheim Ducks: Former All Star Teemu Selanne is back in the Ducks lineup after missing 17 games with a lacerated left quadriceps ... All-Star goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere is unhappy after seeing backup Jonas Hiller start the first two games after the break. Giguere was voted into the All-Star game by the fans despite having a less than stellar first half. Obviously, coach Randy Carlyle is trying to send Giguere a message. He won't completely turn his back on the 31-year-old netminder, but Giguere appears to be a bit of a risky start heading into Week 18 ... Bobby Ryan has scored in five straight games, snapping a club rookie record held by current Oilers forward Dustin Penner ... Defenseman Scott Niedermayer has gone 13 January games without a goal, but has been a passing fool from the blue line. He has 14 assists this month. He has had two straight two-assist games and has six total during a four-game point streak ... Anaheim has four games Week 18 with three on the road. They rank 17th in road GFA (2.58).

Atlanta Thrashers: In a desperation move to help Erik Christensen up his offense, coach John Anderson briefly moved the struggling winger onto a line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Rich Peverley for Thursday's game against the Islanders. Mission failed. Christensen ended the game with just one shot and a minus-3 rating in just under nine minutes of ice time. Atlanta had aspirations of Christensen being a top-line center to begin the season. Now, they just hope he isn't a liability when active ... Anderson also shook up his top scoring line of Todd White, Slava Kozlov and Bryan Little, replacing Little with Scott Thorburn. It didn't help as Little, who has 21 goals in 47 games, is scoreless in four games ... It hasn't been all bad for Atlanta in January. Kovalchuk has broken out of his scoring slump with a season-high nine goals. Peverley has been a solid addition off waivers with three goals and eight assists in seven games since his acquisition. And rookie defenseman Zach Bogosian has three goals and two assists in his last five games and is starting to live up to the hype as the No. 3 pick in 2008 ... Atlanta has games against the Rangers, Devils and Flyers Week 18. The Thrashers are averaging 2.00 goals against each three opponents this season. Consider benching your Atlanta skaters.

Boston Bruins: The Bruins got one step closer to being nearly 100 percent with the unexpected return of Phil Kessel Thursday against the Devils. Kessel was expected to miss at least three more weeks while recovering from mono, but missed only six games. He had two assists Thursday and it appears it's safe to insert him back into active Fantasy lineups. Milan Lucic, Andrew Ference and Patrice Bergeron returned to the lineup earlier in the week and the only major piece left is getting backup goalie Manny Fernandez active from a back injury. Fernandez is a recommended sit heading into Week 18 ... With the return of Ference from a broken leg, coach Claude Julien is trying to keep Matt Hunwick in the mix. He tried him earlier in the week at left wing, but moved him back to defense Thursday. It didn’t help as Hunwick has gone 14 games without a point ... Fellow defenseman Dennis Wideman has had little trouble scoring with two goals and two assists during a four-game streak ... All Star Marc Savard has four goals and three assists during a six-point streak.

Buffalo Sabres: Fantasy owners need to keep tabs on defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani. The Sabres consider him the next Brian Campbell. Gragnani was fourth among AHL defenseman with 30 points (26 assists) before his recall. He played forward last season in the minors, but Buffalo felt he was best used along the blue line. Coach Lindy Ruff said Gragnani, who is filling in while Buffalo has a depleted blue line, will be an offensive defenseman and the scenario is no different when Campbell made his rise through the Buffalo system. Ruff says Gragnani has great vision and skating legs to be a top-offensive defenseman ... A healthy Tim Connolly is a productive Tim Connolly. He has six goals and two assists in his last five games, with a pair of two-goal games in that span ... Drew Stafford has scored four goals, including a hat trick Tuesday against the Oilers, in his last two games after going seven games without a score ... Defenseman Toni Lydman has an assist in four of his last five games.

Calgary Flames: It has been reported that the Flames are in the market for a seasoned veteran to backup goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, but general manager Darryl Sutter has been adamant that Curtis McElhinney can handle the job. One name that has been mentioned is Martin Gerber, who has been a castoff in Ottawa since the emergence of Brian Elliott. However, the scenario seems unlikely since Calgary can't afford Gerber's $3.7 million salary ... Defenseman Jim Vandermeer has been a healthy scratch for two games as Adam Pardy continues to impress Calgary management ... Defenseman Dion Phaneuf seems to be back on track since learning in early January he wasn't going to the All-Star game for the first time in three years. He has two goals, six assists and a plus-4 rating in 10 January games. However, there is still no word yet on if Phaneuf will face a suspension for a hit from behind on R.J. Umberger, so keep him active Week 18.

Carolina Hurricanes: Defenseman Niclas Wallin has been placed on injured reserve because of an ankle injury. He only returned from a leg injury in early January after missing 12 games... Scott Walker is day-to-day because of an upper-body injury... Cam Ward has started the last 15 games for the Hurricanes. He is just five starts away from tying his career-high for consecutive appearances... Not one Hurricanes skater has managed 10 or more points in 12 January games. Eric Staal, Matt Cullen, Tuomo Ruutu and Ray Whitney all are tied with a team-high seven points... Carolina hits the road for games against Vancouver, San Jose and Phoenix Week 18. Outside of the fact they are averaging just 2.50 goals on the road (19th), the thought of facing Roberto Luongo, Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov should make Fantasy owners consider benching their Carolina skaters.

Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Sharp is trying to break out of a scoring funk. He tallied his 22nd goal Thursday against the Kings, but it was his first in six games and second in 11. Sharp had six or more goals in the first three months of the season, but has just three in 13 January games ... Speaking of scoring slumps, Patrick Kane had his first goal in 13 games Wednesday against the Ducks. Kane has admitted to being slowed by a sprained ankle that kept him out a few games in late December ... All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell has been hot to start the second half with three assists in two games ... Calder Trophy candidate Kris Versteeg continues to nurse a finger injury. He is up on skates and a return seems imminent. But if he can't play Saturday against the Sharks, then he is a risky start heading into Week 18 ... Defenseman Duncan Keith has played in the first two games after the break after missing four with a concussion. He hasn't shown any ill-effects by extending his point streak to four games (five assists) ... Chicago hits the road for games against Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver Week 18. The Blackhawks rank sixth in road GFA (2.96). Also, Chicago is averaging 3.50 or more goals per game against each opponent. Consider starting your Chicago skaters.

Colorado Avalanche: After recalling Kyle Cumiskey for the fourth time this season, the defenseman didn't last long Thursday against the Maple Leafs. He injured his shoulder less than two minutes into the game and will be out indefinitely. Colorado has just six healthy defensemen as Adam Foote still isn't ready to return from a triceps injury. All the injuries likely means Daniel Tjarnqvist will get in the rotation ... Lucky for Colorado is that they are getting quality play from defenseman John-Michael Liles, who has one goal and four assists in his last five games ... As soon as the goalie situation in Colorado was turning the corner, the black cloud is back. Andrew Raycroft allowed seven goals in a loss Thursday and has lost his last five decisions. He has yielded a total of 18 goals in that span and has opened the door again for Peter Budaj, who has just one win since Dec. 29 ... Milan Hejduk scored twice Thursday to up his season total to 17. He is looking for his first 30-goal season since 2006-07 ... The Avalanche plays Calgary, Dallas and St. Louis Week 18. All three teams have GAAs 2.96 or higher, but Colorado is only averaging 3.00 goals or better against Dallas.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Jason Chimera, a career left winger, is getting his first taste of life in the NHL as a center. Coach Ken Hitchcock hopes Chimera's size and speed can help the team up the middle ... Injured rookie forward Nikita Filatov (leg) has resumed skating, but Columbus continues to list him as out indefinitely ... Rick Nash, who had a hat trick Tuesday against Detroit, has three short-handed goals on the season. Two have come in the last two games ... Defenseman Mike Commodore had two assists Tuesday to end his streak of nine games without an assist. It was his fourth multi-point game this season and third two-assist outing ... Kristian Huselius has one goal and seven assists during a five-game point streak.

Dallas Stars: Goalie Marty Turco finally seems locked in with three straight wins and four in his last five outings. He even exorcised some demons during an upset win against Detroit Thursday. He was previously 0-8-2 at Joe Louis Arena as a Star before Thursday's triumph. Turco is working his way back up to being a reliable high-end Fantasy option ... Steve Ott has had two straight one goal-one assist games. He has three goals and four assists in his last six appearances and seems to be fitting in on the top line with Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen ... Brad Richards has two goals and four assists in his last six games ... Mike Modano has totaled one goal and four assists in six games ... Dallas has four games Week 18 with three at home. Dallas ranks ninth in home GFA, averaging 3.23 goals. Also, three of their opponents -- Nashville, Calgary and Colorado -- have GAAs 2.85 or higher. Consider starting your Dallas skaters.

Detroit Red Wings: With Brad Stuart on long-term injured reserve with a rib injury, Detroit had a chance to recall Aaron Downey and Ville Leino from Grand Rapids (AHL) with the added cap space. Detroit has said they might also take a look at Darren Helm and Jonathan Ericsson while Stuart is sidelined ... Detroit handed Henrik Zetterberg a 12-year, $73 million contract Wednesday, and then next day he was sidelined by back spasms against Dallas. Zetterberg is hoping to play Saturday against the Capitals, but it doesn't seem this is going to be a long-term ordeal ... Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom both returned to the lineup Thursday after serving one-game suspensions for missing the All-Star game ... Johan Franzen has played in the first two games after the break after missing one outing due to a hip injury ... Marian Hossa has three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak. He leads Detroit with seven goals in January ... Detroit has four games Week 18 with three at Joe Louis Arena, where they are averaging 3.91 goals (third). Also, they are averaging 3.50 or more goals against all four of their opponents -- St. Louis, Phoenix, Edmonton and Pittsburgh. Consider starting your Detroit skaters.

Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers were forced to put Sam Gagner on injured reserve after his ankle injury didn't improve over the All-Star break. Gagner first injured his ankle in November and had been playing through the pain for two months. He tweaked it again before the break, and while a MRI revealed no structural damage, Gagner just couldn't make it through the agony. He will be out 2-4 weeks. Well, at least we know have a reason for Gagner's sophomore slump ... Enforcer Zack Stortini was able to get healthy during the break and returned to the lineup Tuesday against the Sabres after missing one game with a knee injury ... Fernando Pisani, who has been out since Nov. 17 with a broken ankle, is skating and received some good news when his X-rays came back clean. Still, he is a few weeks away from playing ... Defenseman Tom Gilbert has one goal and five assists during a four-game point streak ... Defenseman Sheldon Souray has gone 10 games without a goal ... Lubomir Visnovsky has just one goal in his last 11 games, and Shawn Horcoff has scored just once in his last 13 appearances ... Edmonton has four games Week 18 with three on the road. They actually rank sixth on road GFA (2.96). Consider starting your Edmonton skaters.

Florida Panthers: Coach Peter DeBoer insists that the Panthers will be buyers and not sellers at this year's trade deadline, but only time will tell if general manager Jacques Martin ends up trading All-Star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in the offseason ... DeBoer announced Friday that Tomas Vokoun has re-emerged as the team's No. 1 goalie after Craig Anderson stole the job from him earlier this year ... David Booth notched his 20th goal Tuesday against the Flyers. It was his second straight season of 20-plus goals ... Nick Tarnasky rejoined the Florida lineup Thursday against the Canadiens, making Anthony Stewart a healthy scratch. Stewart had played in 12 straight games ... Cory Stillman had three assists Thursday to give him 10 for January ... Michael Frolik has scored in the last two games and also has four points in that span ... The Panthers play the Capitals, Islanders and Maple Leafs Week 18. All three teams have GAAs 2.84 or worse. They are also averaging 4.00 or more goals against Toronto and Washington. Consider starting your Florida skaters.

Los Angeles Kings: The Kings are hoping Patrick O'Sullivan's recent run are a sign of things to come. He has two goals, including a short-handed tally Thursday against the Blackhawks, and two assists during a three-game point streak. He has severely underachieved in 2008-09 with just 11 goals in 46 games. He has really struggled on the power play with just two scores. O'Sullivan did look at ease Thursday on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov, and coach Terry Murray is getting a good feeling that O'Sullivan is finally buying into his system ... Dustin Brown extended his career-best goal streak to four games with a pair of tallies Thursday. He has five goals and three assists during his last streak ... Defenseman Kyle Quincey has managed consecutive two-assist games after being held without a point in his previous five games ... Goalie Erik Ersberg used the break to recover from a mild knee strain. He dressed as the backup Thursday and Murray lists him at 99 percent ... Brad Richardson was also active Thursday after missing 21 games with a leg injury ... Los Angeles is on the road for three games Week 18. They rank 16th in road GFA (2.59).

Minnesota Wild: The Wild and Rangers made a minor trade this week as Dan Fritsche came to Minnesota and Erik Reitz went to New York. The trade of Reitz means that Kurtis Foster is mere weeks away from playing after missing the first half of the season with a broken leg ... Andrew Brunette played in his 500th straight game Tuesday against the Maple Leafs. The 35-year-old forward commemorated the night with a goal and an assist. He has two goals and six assists in his last six games ... Cal Clutterbuck continues his recent scoring surge with another goal Tuesday. He has four in his last six games ... Antti Miettinen set a new career-high with 22 assists after picking up two helpers against Toronto ... Minnesota is home for games against Anaheim, Nashville and Edmonton Week 18. They rank 15th in home GFA (2.96). They are also averaging 3.00 or more goals against Nashville and Edmonton this season. Consider starting your Minnesota skaters.

Montreal Canadiens: Georges Laraque returned to the ice Friday to practice with his teammates after being idle the last few weeks with a back injury. Laraque, who has also missed time this season with a groin injury, said he is still a few contact practices away from returning. Continue to keep him reserved in Fantasy leagues that reward heavily for PIM through at least Week 18 ... Goalie Carey Price is 0-3 as starter since returning from an ankle injury and has allowed 15 goals in that span. Coach Guy Carbonneau is not blaming his All-Star goalie for his team's recent woes, but added Montreal can't contend if Price keeps giving up four or five goals per night ... Carbonneau has broken up the line of Alexei Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn in hopes of getting their offensive games going. Kovalev and Kostitsyn are now on a line with center Robert Lang, while Plekanec was dropped to the fourth line with Steve Begin and Sergei Kostitsyn ... Lang is the surprise goals leader with 17 ... Both Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins are back in the lineup after missing several weeks due to injury, but Koivu is still feeling discomfort from his high ankle sprain and Higgins said he needs time to get into game shape ... Montreal has games against Toronto, Pittsburgh and Buffalo Week 18. The Canadiens are averaging 2.67 or more goals against each opponent.

Nashville Predators: Coach Barry Trotz has reunited the line of Steve Sullivan, Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont for the first time in two years. Sullivan only recently got back onto the ice after being sidelined since January 2007 with a back injury ... Martin Erat has managed three goals and seven assists in his last nine games ... Goalie Pekka Rinne has given up more than two goals just five times in his last 17 outings, although three of them have some in the last four games ... Defenseman Alexander Sulzer will miss 3-4 weeks with a separated shoulder ... Nashville has games against Phoenix, Anaheim, Minnesota and Dallas Week 18. They are averaging 1.50 or fewer goals against Phoenix and Minnesota, while averaging 3.50 or more goals against Anaheim and Dallas.

New Jersey Devils: Goalie Scott Clemmensen has to be in the talks for the Vezina Trophy after picking up his 21st win Thursday against the Bruins. He has won his last six starts and is the reason why New Jersey continues to be patient with injured goalie Martin Brodeur (elbow) ... Speaking of Brodeur, he is about to face shots for the first time since undergoing surgery. He is still on track for a March 1 return ... Jamie Langenbrunner has recorded consecutive two-goal games. He has seven scores in January and 27 points in his last 27 games ... Zach Parise has scored four times during a five-game point streak. He also has three assists in that span ... Travis Zajac has managed consecutive two-assist games. He has five goals and seven assists in his last nine games ... Dainius Zubrus has gone six games without a point and has one goal in the last 11 games.

N.Y. Islanders: New York has been hit hard by injury in 2008-09, but the team is starting to get healthy. Doug Weight, Trent Hunter, Andy Hilbert and Chris Campoli all returned from their respective injuries Thursday against the Thrashers ... One player that is still hurting is goalie Joey MacDonald, who has missed five games with a groin injury. He is still at least a week away from getting back into the lineup ... Coach Scott Gordon reconfigured some of his lines Thursday during a 5-4 win against Atlanta. He put Mike Comrie, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin together, and then put youngsters Blake Comeau, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo together. Comrie, Weight and Guerin all have expiring contracts and playing them together will give opposing GMs a look at possible acquiring a veteran forward at the trade deadline ... Okposo had his first two-goal game of his career Thursday. He has scored in three straight games, and Okposo is someone Fantasy owners might want to keep tabs on in the second half as a burgeoning star for the Islanders ... All-Star defenseman Mark Streit had two assists Thursday and four during a three-game point streak. He leads New York with 37 points ... Mike Sillinger's career is in jeopardy after he underwent season-ending hip surgery for the second straight season Monday.

N.Y. Rangers: Fantasy owners need to keep tabs on Scott Gomez, who had a disappointing first half by his standards. He spent extra time on the ice during the All-Star break working on having a strong second half. He has one goal and two assists in his first two games after the break. Gomez could return to his high-end Fantasy status before season's end ... Nikolai Zherdev has scored just once in his last 14 games. Luckily, he has eight assists in that span ... Markus Naslund has a three-game point streak brewing, but has just on goal in 11 games.

Ottawa Senators: Coach Craig Hartsburg shuffled his lineup a bit Thursday against the Blues. He paired defensive-minded Anton Volchenkov with offensive-minded Filip Kuba for the first time this season. He also moved Mike Fisher to a line with Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly. The move sparked Fisher, who had his first two-goal game of the season ... Hartsburg sent a message to defenseman Alexandre Picard by making him a healthy scratch for the first time this season Thursday. Picard has one goal, no assists and a minus-2 rating in 10 January games ... Rookie goalie Brian Elliott started his seventh straight game Thursday and picked up his fourth win in that span. He got a rest Friday against the Blue Jackets as Alex Auld got a start, but Elliott clearly has emerged as the Senators' No. 1 goalie ... Ottawa is home for three games Week 18. They rank 19th in home GFA (2.74).

Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers are the only NHL team with six players with 15 or more goals, led by Jeff Carter's career-high 30. He is followed by Simon Gagne (19), Mike Knuble (18), Scott Hartnell (17), Mike Richards (16) and Joffrey Lupul (15) ... Richards has an assist in three straight games, but has just one goal in his last 12 appearances ... Knuble has two goals and two assists during a three-game streak ... It took 10 NHL games, but rookie Claude Giroux finally nailed down his first career goal Tuesday against the Panthers ... Rookie defenseman Luca Sbisa was a healthy scratch for a fifth straight game Tuesday. The Flyers will need to decide whether to keep the 19-year-old or send him back to his junior team in Lethbridge.

Phoenix Coyotes: The bad news came down Friday that center Steven Reinprecht will be out 4-8 weeks with a shoulder injury suffered Thursday against the Sharks ... Peter Mueller isn't out quite as long as Reinprecht, but he still hasn't gotten clearance from the doctors to return from a concussion ... Viktor Tikhonov still isn't ready to return from an upper-body injury and coach Wayne Gretzky has said there is no timetable for the rookie forward ... Shane Doan had two goals Tuesday against the Ducks in the first game after the break, but it was also the first time he scored in 10 games.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Prospect Casey Pierro-Zabotel is having an outstanding season for Vancouver of the WHL (juniors). He has posted 27 goals and 61 assists in 49 games for a WHL-leading 88 points. Pierro-Zabotel sits alone in the Giants’ record books, topping Gilbert Brule’s 87-point effort in the 2004-05 campaign. He also has a WHL-best plus-53 rating. The 20-year-old forward was a third-round selection in 2007 ... Injured defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who has been out all the season with a shoulder injury, traveled with the team Friday to New Jersey. It was the first time he went out on the road this season. Pittsburgh has given no timetable for his return, but Gonchar will visit the doctor Feb. 4 and will get a better idea of when he might return to action ... Forward Matt Cooke's two-game suspension for a blow to the head of Scott Walker ended Friday. He is eligible to return to the lineup ... Sidney Crosby used the All-Star break to rest his sore knee and the move paid off as he tallied four points (one goal) in Wednesday's 6-2 rout of the Rangers ... Petr Sykora scored twice Thursday to give him 19 goals on the season ... Pittsburgh has four games Week 18 with three at home. They are averaging 3.00 goals at home (13th), so consider starting your Pittsburgh skaters.

San Jose Sharks: Dan Boyle was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Blackhawks for a third straight game after aggravating an upper-body injury during the All-Star game. San Jose wanted to rest him Saturday since they don’t play again until Feb. 5. That will give the All-Star blue-liner 16 days between regular-season contests to rest. Still, there is some injury-risk involved with starting Boyle Week 18 since there is no guarantee he will play ... Goalie Evgeni Nabokov has opened the second half with consecutive shutouts. He has allowed just one goal in his last three appearances and is riding an on-going franchise-record shutout streak that reached 169:14 ... Joe Thornton was held off the stat sheet Thursday against the Coyotes for just the third time in 15 games ... Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff is getting back on track with two goals and two assists in his last four games. He had no goals since Oct. 18 before scoring Jan. 17 and had just one point from No. 18-Jan. 16.

St. Louis Blues: Manny Legace has recovered from a groin injury, but still played in a backup role Thursday to Chris Mason, who made 29 saves in a 3-1 loss to Ottawa after coming off back-to-back wins. Coach Andy Murray still called Legace the team's No. 1 goalie, but added he was riding the hot hand since Mason has played like a No. 1 option as of late ... Murray has challenged the "kid line" of Patrik Berglund, David Perron and T.J. Oshie to pick up their intensity ... Defenseman Jeff Woywitka reached double digits in assists for the first time in his career with his 10th Thursday, setting up Brad Winchester's goal. It was Woywitka's 24th career assist in 118 NHL games ... Andy McDonald, who hasn't played since November because of a broken ankle, skated with the team Thursday. There is still no timetable for his return and St. Louis will only put him back in the lineup as long as he doesn't have any lingering pain ... Defenseman Eric Brewer (back surgery) is upping his off-ice workouts, but is still a long way off from playing ... St. Louis has games against Detroit, Columbus, Edmonton and Colorado Week 18. They are averaging 2.00 or fewer goals against Detroit and Edmonton, while averaging 3.00 goals or more against Columbus and Colorado.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa Bay will finish out the season without the services of veteran goalie Olaf Kolzig, who will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured biceps tendon in his left arm. The recovery will take 3-to-4 months. Karri Ramo will likely serve as Mike Smith's backup the remainder of the season once he is done serving a six-game suspension in the minors for leaving the bench during a fight ... Rookie Steven Stamkos was scratched Thursday against the Hurricanes as he continues to sit out games as part of a program to increase his strength. Stamkos' pattern has been to play three games and sit one, which he has done three times in the past month ... Jussi Jokinen has not scored in 30 games. He last lit the lamp Nov. 13 against Detroit. Jokinen had six goals in the first 16 games of the season, but has not scored a goal since Rick Tocchet took over as coach from Barry Melrose ... Mark Recchi has been very productive over the last few weeks with two goals and seven assists in his last eight games ... Tampa Bay plays the Islanders twice and Pittsburgh once Week 18. Both teams rank in the bottom 10 for defense. Consider starting your Lightning skaters.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Nik Antropov scored his first goal in 17 games Thursday against the Avalanche. Antropov has said the trade rumors have been on his mind, but he is just trying his best to play through all the hoopla ... Defenseman Jeff Finger was able to face his old team Thursday after missing seven games with a triceps injury and even scored a goal. It was the first even-strength goal from the Toronto defenseman since Dec. 20 ... Coach Ron Wilson is giving struggling goalie Vesa Toskala a chance to shake off the rust in the second half, but this could also be a ploy to dangle him as trade bait since Toronto wants to see if Justin Pogge is the goalie of the future ... Fantasy owners might want to take a flier on Jason Blake before it's too late. He has scored in three straight games and also has three assists in that span. He has 13 goals and 11 assists in his last 26 games and is finally playing at a high level again ... Dominic Moore had two goals and one assist Thursday. He has six points (four assists) during a three-game streak and 10 points (four goals) for January ... All three of Toronto's games Week 18 come against top 15 defenses -- Florida, Buffalo and Montreal. Consider benching your Toronto skaters.

Vancouver Canucks: Defenseman Kevin Bieksa continues to struggle at his end of the ice with a minus-7 rating in his last seven games. Offensively, however, he has one goal and four assists in that span ... Prospect Michael Grabner, the 14th overall pick in the 2006, was being touted as a possible recall from the AHL to spark the Canucks offense after leading Manitoba with 19 goals. Instead, the Austrian is headed overseas to represent his country in its attempts to qualify for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. He is not expected to return until Feb. 10. However, general manager Mike Gillis doesn’t sound optimistic that Grabner will get a recall this season. He said the organization is happy with Grabner's production, but don't view him as a 30-40 goal scorer just yet ... Pavol Demitra, who has missed two games with a groin injury, is expected to rejoin Mats Sundin on the second line Saturday against Minnesota ... Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin as the only Vancouver skaters with 10 or more points in 11 January games ... Vancouver is home for two games Week 18. They rank 16th in home GFA (2.92).

Washington Capitals: All-Star forward Alex Ovechkin survived a real scare after taking a stinger Tuesday against the Bruins. Ovechkin only missed the final minutes of the second period before returning in the third. He took practice off Wednesday, but Ovechkin isn't expected to miss any time. Keep the MVP threat active in all Fantasy formats ... Defenseman Tom Poti is expected to play Saturday against Detroit after missing 15 games with a groin injury ... Defenseman Mike Green has totaled three goals and five assists in his last seven games. He is tied for the team lead with Ovechkin for 11 points in January ... Alexander Semin has four goals and four assists during a seven-game point streak ... Nicklas Backstrom hasn't scored in eight games and has just one goal in his last 11 appearances.

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