Week 3 Fantasy Hockey Planner

Week 3 (Oct. 19-25)

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

Atlantic Division

Devils forward Brian Rolston is once again responding to the coaching of Jacques Lemaire, who coached Rolston previously with the Devils and Wild. Rolston has four points (two goals) in his first five games ... Devils right wing David Clarkson is off to a surprising start as well, totaling two goals and five points in his first five games ... While Matt Moulson and John Tavares have stolen the limelight on the Islanders' top line, third-year forward Kyle Okposo has one goal and three assists during a four-game point streak ... Rangers forward Marian Gaborik has been clutch for his new team through the first few weeks. All six of his goals have come in the third period ... Rangers defenseman Wade Redden was pretty much a bust in his first year with New York in 2008-09, however, he has shown marked improvement at the beginning of the 2009-10 campaign. Redden has three points (one goal) and a plus-5 rating in seven games. Coach John Tortorella attributes the success to Redden being aggressive in Tortorella's up-tempo style ... Speaking of Tortorella, he seems to have rejuvenated the career of Vaclav Prospal, who has three goals and 10 points during a six-game point streak. This is no shock since Prospal was thrived playing for Tortorella in Tampa Bay ... Flyers forward Scott Hartnell will not serve a suspension for allegedly biting the finger of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. It's safe to keep Hartnell active in Fantasy ... Even though Chris Kunitz has one goal in his last 17 regular-season games dating back to 2008-09, Penguins coach Dan Blysma is reluctant to take him off Sidney Crosby's line. Kunitz is still providing a good checking presence as protection for Crosby and even took five shots Wednesday against the Hurricanes.
Injury report: Devils left wing Patrik Elias (groin) has skated every day since starting his routine Tuesday and is still on track to return Oct. 29. Keep him reserved for at least one more Fantasy week ... Islanders veteran forward Doug Weight missed two of the first three games this season with a nagging groin injury. He says the ailment has gotten better, but also hinted that he is not yet 100 percent. Consider Weight an injury-risk Fantasy flier ... Rangers enforcer Donald Brashear is day to day with general soreness ... Flyers left wing James vanRiemsdyk (concussion) returned to the lineup Friday against the Panthers. It's safe to insert the rookie sleeper back into lineups ... Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar says he is finally back to 100 percent after a nasty cold bothered him toward the end of training camp and into the early regular-season schedule. Gonchar could have fooled us with one goal and four assists in his first seven games. Keep him active in all Fantasy formats.
Favorable matchup: Philadelphia (BOS, FLA, SJ). The Flyers are home for three games in the upcoming scoring period. They will enjoy that as Philadelphia is averaging 4.00 goals per game at the Wachovia Center. Also, all three of their opponents are allowing 3.00 or more goals per game, and Boston and Florida are currently 28th and 29th in defense respectively.
Unfavorable matchup: New Jersey (@NYR, @PIT). The Devils are set to face two of the best defenses in the NHL in Week 3. New York is third in GAA (2.00) and Pittsburgh is seventh (2.43). Both games are on the road where New Jersey is averaging just 2.67 goals per contest.

Northeast Division

Boston head coach Claude Julien recently snarled at the notion that he has to give an explanation on why he chooses to start a goalie after Tuukka Rask got back-to-back starts over Tim Thomas. It is worth mentioning after Boston locked Thomas up with a four-year extension last season, however, Fantasy owners shouldn't panic. Thomas should see the bulk of starts this season ... The Canadiens opted for size over skill when they returned defenseman Yannick Weber to Hamilton (AHL) and called up defenseman Shawn Belle, who is 6-2, 240 pounds. Marc-Andre Bergeron continues to bide his time at Hamilton as he is still trying to get into game shape ... Canadiens forward Andrei Kostitsyn responded to his benching by tallying two helpers Thursday against Colorado and playing his best game of the season. Perhaps there is still hope for the 24-year-old forward ... Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik has been a pleasant surprise on the blue line since Andrei Markov went down with a leg injury. Hamrlik has scored in two straight games and has three points in five games ... Watch out for Senators forward Milan Michalek. After going without a point in his first four games with the Senators, Michalek has four goals in his last two contests, including his first career hat trick Thursday against Tampa Bay. Michalek has replaced Dany Heatley on the team's top line at left wing and is starting to gel with center Jason Spezza, who is also making Michalek skate better ... Toronto coach Ron Wilson decided to send a message to his struggling team by sending Matt Stajan, the team's leading scorer, and Niklas Hagman to the press box for Tuesday's game against Colorado. Wilson is pretty much saying no one's job is safe and maximum effort is expected every night.
Injury report: Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman (shoulder) is not with the team through a weekend road trip to Dallas and Phoenix. The Bruins list him as day to day, but he is clearly an injury-risk start for Week 3 ... The Sabres received some good news after Thomas Vanek went down with an upper-body injury Tuesday against the Red Wings. Thought to be out several weeks, Vanek might only miss a few games before returning to the lineup. He was not in the lineup Friday against New York and insists he is not injured. Even if Vanek does not play this weekend, he might be a low-risk start for Week 3 ... Senators defenseman Filip Kuba is targeting a Thursday return from a lower-body injury, but he still remains an injury-risk start Week 3. Center Peter Regin (upper body) is making progress and might be back by the weekend ... The injury woes continue for Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Van Ryn, who has not been at 100 percent since the 2006-07 season. Van Ryn is expected to miss the season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. He had yet to make his season debut ... The news also isn't good for Maple Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala, who went on injured reserve earlier this week with a knee injury. Toskala could miss up to two weeks. Joey MacDonald will start in net until Jonas Gustavsson (groin) is ready. Gustavsson skated with no equipment Friday, but is still a risky start for Week 3 ... On a positive note for Toronto, Phil Kessel (offseason shoulder surgery) is practicing. However, he will be out of the lineup for a little longer. Keep him reserved through Week 3.
Favorable matchup: Ottawa (NSH, BOS). The Senators might only have a pair of games in Week 3, but they still could do some serious damage against Nashville and Boston. The Bruins are allowing 3.80 goals per game and the Predators are also in the bottom 10 for defense with a 3.33 GAA. Both games are on home ice for Ottawa, who is averaging 3.75 goals per game at the Scotiabank Place.
Unfavorable matchup: TOR (@VAN). It's pretty self explanatory. Toronto has just one game, it's on the road and likely face Roberto Luongo, who has won his last two starts.

Southeast Division

Thrashers forward Slava Kozlov has done well in a mentoring role getting fellow veteran forward Maxim Afinogenov up to speed in his first year with Atlanta. However, Kozlov might need to spend some time working on his own game since he has no points and is minus-2 in his first three games ... Panthers center Dominic Moore, who signed a one-year contract in early October, has finally cleared up his visa issues and has joined the team. Moore, who says he is recovered from a broken wrist that plagued him down the stretch in 2008-09, has started on a line with Kamil Kreps and Ville Koistinen. To clear a roster spot, Florida sent prospect Shawn Matthias to the AHL ... The Panthers are leaning toward keeping rookie defenseman Dmitry Kulikov since he has played well in his first few games. However, if he starts to regress before playing in his 10th game, then Florida might consider sending him back to his junior club to save a year on his entry-level contract. Kulikov's play has temporarily turned Koistinen into a fourth-line forward ... Panthers right wing Radek Dvorak set the franchise record for most short-handed goals (13) when he scored in the first period Monday against the Lightning. Dvorak is clearly a viable flier in leagues that reward heavily for short-handed stats ... Although the Lightning stand behind Mike Smith as their starting goalie, they can't deny the fact Antero Niittymaki has opened the season with a 2-0-0 record, 2.00 GAA and .932 save percentage. Smith is 0-2-2 with a 4.08 GAA and .864 save percentage and was pelted for seven goals Thursday against Ottawa. Fantasy owners might want to start adding Niittymaki as a nice sleeper option ... Lightning forward Ryan Malone continues his torrid start to the season with his sixth goal Thursday against Ottawa. Malone has scored in three straight games and four of five ... Washington coach Bruce Boudreau has tweaked his scoring lines. He has Brendan Morrison centering Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble, while Nicklas Backstrom is on a line with Brooks Laich and Alexander Semin.
Injury report: Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen is still battling some knee soreness and remains an injury-risk start until he is back at 100 percent and productive ... Lightning defenseman Kurtis Foster returned to the lineup Thursday against Ottawa after missing four games with a lower-body injury. Foster has enough offensive talent to be a viable Fantasy option, but he always seems to be out of action due to some ailment ... Washington goalie Jose Theodore left Thursday's game against the San Jose with a back injury. He did not practice Friday and is out through the weekend. Braden Holtby was recalled from the ECHL to backup Seymon Varlamov. Theodore is hoping to be back in the lineup by next Thursday's game in Atlanta. He said this is a similar injury to what he had in Colorado two seasons ago, when he missed just two games. However, Theodore is still an injury-risk start for Week 3.
Favorable matchup: Washington (@NYI, @ATL). Washington hits the road for two games in Week 3. It's not as bad as it sounds since Washington is averaging 3.67 goals per game on the road (fourth) and both New York and Atlanta are allowing 2.75 or more goals per contest.
Unfavorable matchup: Carolina (@NYI, @COL, @MIN). Carolina is on the road for three games next week, but unlike Washington, they can't score away from home. Carolina is averaging just 2.00 goals per game on the road (t-22nd). It doesn't help that they face only one team -- Minnesota -- that has a GAA higher than 2.75.

Central Division

Even though Antti Niemi is 3-0, the Blackhawks have no goalie controversy. Chicago still considers Cristobal Huet their starter and hope he will be able to stay in that role all season ... Blue Jackets forward Nikita Filatov was a healthy scratch Tuesday against the Flames. It came after his playing time was reduced in each of the first four appearances. Filatov, the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft, is a great young talent, but Columbus is finding it difficult to slot the Russian winger into a permanent spot on the ice ... Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom became the eighth defenseman in NHL history to record 1,000 points when he had two assists Thursday against the Kings ... After Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg scored his first goal of the season Thursday against Los Angeles, head coach Mike Babcock said his All-Star forward is finally rounding into form after missing most of the preseason with a groin injury ... Kirk Maltby has been a welcomed boost of offense for Detroit in the early season. He has two goals and four points in four games and skated on a like with Tomas Holmstrom and Kris Draper on Thursday ... The Predators have been busy the last few days with transactions. On Thursday, they sent training camp standout Mike Santorelli to Milwaukee of the AHL and recalled Cal O'Reilly. Then on Friday, Nashville recalled blueliner Cody Franson. Franson is a player to watch in Fantasy since he is a good two-way player and has promising offensive skills.
Injury report: Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa, who has yet to play as he recovers from July shoulder surgery, skated for the first time on Friday. However, he is not close to returning and is still on track for a late November return ... Blue Jackets defenseman Jan Hejda has been placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks ... Columbus enforcer Jared Boll is back in the lineup after missing two games with a head injury ... Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk is currently out of action with an upper-body ailment. He is merely day to day, but there is no certain timetable for his return, so consider him an injury-risk start for Week 3 ... Red Wings forward Johan Franzen had successful surgery Friday to fix a torn ACL in his left knee. Franzen is still expected to miss at least four months. Justin Abdelkader has been called up from the AHL to take Franzen's roster spot ... Predators forward J.P. Dumont (head) came off injured reserve Thursday and returned to the lineup against Chicago. It seems safe to get him back into active Fantasy lineups ... Predators rookie center Colin Wilson made his NHL debut Monday after spending the first few games of the season in injured reserve with a groin injury. The former Boston University standout is a rookie sleeper ... Blues center Alexander Steen went on injured reserve Friday with a wrist injury. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
Favorable matchup: Columbus (@CGY, @EDM, @ANA, @LA). It looks like a daunting task for Columbus as they hit the road for four games. But it might not be that bad. Columbus is sixth in road GFA (3.33) and face three teams -- Calgary, Edmonton and Los Angeles -- that are allowing 3.00 or more goals per contest.
Unfavorable matchup: Nashville (@BOS, @OTT, @CHI). Nashville's road trip is as difficult as it appears. The Predators have scored just two goals in two away games this season and are tied for dead last in road GFA (1.00). They also face two teams in the top 10 for defense -- Ottawa (2.50) and Chicago (2.57).

Northwest Division

Flames coach Brent Sutter decided to shake up his lines for Friday's game against Vancouver. The biggest change was the top line as Craig Conroy and Curtis Glencross joined Jarome Iginla. That meant Olli Jokinen was dropped to the third line with Fredrik Sjostrom and Eric Nystrom. Ouch. Jokinen has fallen a long way since being a 90-point threat with Florida, but we still feel he will hit his stride since Jokinen is playing for his next contract ... Avalanche rookie center Ryan O'Reilly has a goal and four assists in seven games. O'Reilly scored his first NHL goal Thursday against the Canadiens. The 2009 second-round pick (33rd overall) has been centering the third line, mostly with left wing Cody McLeod and right wing David Jones. O'Reilly has made a strong enough impression that he might not have to go back to his junior club ... In the wake of a slew of injuries, Wild head coach Todd Richards singled out forwards James Sheppard and Benoit Pouliot as players with opportunities to step up.
Injury report: Flames forward David Moss is day to day with an upper body injury ... Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles is expected to miss two weeks with a bruised shoulder. Keep him reserved for Week 3. Kyle Cumiskey has stepped into the lineup in Liles' absence ... Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray has been placed on injured reserve with a concussion. He wasn't on the team's current road trip and is still not feeling better, so keep Souray reserved in Fantasy until further notice ... Oilers forward Ales Hemsky missed Friday's game against the Wild with the flu, but he is not a serious injury risk for Week 3 ... Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard returned from a concussion Friday against Edmonton, but forwards Petr Sykora and Martin Havlat were out with a groin injuries. Both players remain day to day. That's not the case for Pierre-Marc Bouchard (concussion), who is out indefinitely after being placed on injured reserve Friday ... Canucks forward Daniel Sedin will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken foot, although he is hoping to be back in three weeks. His absence has opened up a chance for rookie Michael Grabner, who is expected to play on the team's top line with Henrik Sedin and Alexandre Burrows after his recall from Manitoba (AHL) ... The Fragile Finn, Sami Salo, has made another trip to injured reserve. This time the veteran forward will miss a few weeks with a sprained MCL.
Favorable matchup: Colorado (@MIN, CAR, DET). The Avalanche is still in the top 10 for scoring in the NHL, averaging 3.43 goals per game (t-8th). They might stay there thanks to their Week 3 schedule. Minnesota, Detroit and Carolina all rank in the bottom 12 for defense and are allowing 3.17 or more goals per contest.
Unfavorable matchup: Minnesota (COL, @STL, CAR). The Wild were supposed to be a high-powered offense after Todd Richards replaced Jacques Lemaire, but Minnesota is actually tied with New Jersey -- Lemaire's new team -- in offense (2.40 GFA). Amid all their injury concerns, Minnesota faces only one team -- Carolina -- in Week 3 allowing more than 3.00 goals per game.

Pacific Division

Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller is trying his best to separate himself from Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Hiller has won his last three starts, while stopping 98 of 103 shots for a .951 save percentage and a 1.63 goals-against average in that span. Hiller is probably the more favorable start in Fantasy over Giguere, if you had to choose a Ducks goalie ... Stars left wing James Neal continued his hot start with three assists Wednesday against Nashville. He has three goals and seven points in five games ... Stars defenseman Niklas Grossman is at plus-10 through five games ... Los Angeles has been disappointed with their production from the second line of Dustin Brown, Jarret Stoll and Teddy Purcell. The trio have combined for just three goals in seven games ... Kings forward Justin Williams appears to be having a career rebirth in 2009-10 now that he is healthy after two injury-plagued seasons. Williams has seven points (two goals) in his first seven games and is clicking with Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smyth ... The Coyotes sent 2008 first-round pick Mikkel Boedker to San Antonio of the AHL on Wednesday and then recalled 2008 Hobey Baker Award winner (best college player) Kevin Porter from the Rampage on Friday ... Sharks center Joe Thornton has failed to stat in two straight games, which is a rarity since he has the second-most points (431) among active players since the end of the lockout in 2004-05. Alex Ovechkin is tops with 434 points.
Injury report: Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski (shoulder) is hoping to be in the lineup by Wednesday against the Stars. Still, he is a risky start for Week 3 ... Stars forward Steve Ott was placed on injured reserve Friday with an oblique injury. However, the move was retroactive to Oct. 11, so Ott could return next week. Still, he is not a recommended start while he is banged up ... Stars forward Jere Lehtinen is also out with an upper-body issue. He is day to day, but there always seems to be something bothering the oft-injured winger ... Coyotes center Matthew Lombardi was back in the lineup Thursday against St. Louis after missing one game with a lower-body injury. It's safe to keep him active for Week 3.
Favorable matchup: Phoenix (DET, LA). It might be a short week for the Coyotes, but at least they get two matchups where they could put some goals on the board. Los Angeles is 22nd in GAA (3.43) and Detroit is 23rd (3.50).
Unfavorable matchup: Los Angeles (@DAL, DAL, @PHO, CLB). The Kings might be one of the highest-scoring teams to open the season, but they will get tested in Week 3. Dallas (2.20 GAA), Phoenix (1.50) and Columbus (2.20) all rank in the top five for defense.

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