Thursday, February 6
Curtis Joseph, Detroit Red Wings - Joseph will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Avalanche, reports both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. This is a very important game for CuJo as another bad game may result in him losing a lot of playing time to "backup" Manny Legace, who has far outperformed him thus far.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Maple Leafs, reports the Tampa Tribune.
Dan Blackburn, New York Rangers - Blackburn will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Blues. Mike Dunham may have re-injured his groin during Wednesday's loss to the Senators. The Rangers recalled backup Johan Holmqvist, suggesting that Dunham may not even dress as the backup.
Sebastien Caron, Pittsburgh Penguins - Caron is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Panthers, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, be forewarned as Caron has been suffering from the flu the past few days while Jean-Sebastien Aubin slightly injured his blocker hand in practice. Add to that the fact that Johan Hedberg isn't expected to start until the weekend and the starter for Thursday's game may actually be whoever is healthiest after the morning skate.
Jeff Hackett, Boston Bruins - Hackett will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Canadiens, reports the Boston Globe. Lots of storylines here, the most important of which is that Hackett was just traded from the Canadiens a few weeks ago.
Roman Turek, Calgary Flames - Turek is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Blackhawks, reports the Calgary Sun. Coach Darryl Sutter would like to play Turek against the Hawks and then also the next night against the Oilers, but he has been displeased with the goalie's play as of late - publically criticizing him in fact. As a result, there is a chance he could opt to play Jamie McLennan in one of the games, though don't count on it happening.
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche - Roy is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Red Wings. Though no official print source has confirmed it, you can pretty much assume he will start.
Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens - Theodore is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Bruins.
Roman Cechmanek, Philadelphia Flyers - Cechmanek is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Senators.
Trevor Kidd, Toronto Maple Leafs - Kidd is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Lightning.
Jocelyn Thibault, Chicago Blackhawks - Thibault is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Flames.
Jani Hurme, Florida Panthers - Hurme is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Penguins.
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils - Brodeur posted his league leading 29th victory on Wednesday and also took two shots at an empty net. He has a friendly little joke going with Scott Stevens to see who can score their first goal of the season first. Brodeur is one of the top three fantasy goalies in the entire league and will likely easily top 40 wins this year, giving him strong ammunition for perhaps his first Vezina trophy.
Jani Hurme, Florida Panthers - Hurme signed a three year contract extension with the Panthers on Wednesday. He has goals to eventually become a #1 goaltender but that is rather doubtful to happen as Roberto Luongo is the goalie of the present and future as far as Florida is concerned. However, Hurme remains one of the better backups in the league and if Luongo falls into a slump, it is certainly possible for coach Mike Keenan to give him a string of starts.
Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators - Vokoun's subpar performance on Tuesday may have had a reasoning behind it. According to the Nashville Tennessean, Vokoun broke in a new set of pads for the game against the Red Wings and promptly allowed four goals in the first period. He switched back to his old pads after that period and allowed only one the rest of the way. Vokoun added that he's not sure which set of pads he will use for the Predators' next game but said that he would continue to break in the new ones during practice.
player info
Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues - Pronger told the media on Wednesday that his recovery from wrist surgery is still not at the level he wants it to be and that "it will be a long time before you see me play again". He will meet with his wrist surgeon in the next week to evaluate the progress but in the meantime, continues his rehab from knee surgery. It appears that the earliest Pronger will be back is for the playoffs so don't hold your breath waiting for him to help your fantasy team.
Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers - The Flyers got some more bad news on Wednesday as MRI tests revealed that Gagne will be sidelined for at least three weeks with a torn right groin. He originally injured the groin earlier this month and then re-aggravated it on Monday.
Martin Straka, Pittsburgh Penguins - Straka missed pratice on Wednesday due to the flu, but the Penguins are hopeful that he will be able to play on Thursday against the Panthers.
Alexei Kovalev, Pittsburgh Penguins - Like teammate Martin Straka, Kovalev skipped Wednesday's practice due to the flu which has been making its away around the Penguins lockerroom. The hope is that he will be able to play Thursday but a final determination will not be made until the pre-game skate.
Eric Daze, Chicago Blackhawks - Daze will not play in Thursday's game against the Flames due to a groin injury, but may rejoin the team for Saturday's contest versus the Oilers.
Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings - Chelios participated fully in practice Wednesday but still experienced soreness in his leg. He is doubtful for Thursday's big match against the Avalanche.
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers - Leetch was back on the ice Wednesday and participated in 15 minutes worth of all pre-game drills. He said afterwards that his ankle is a lot better but did not peg a return date.
Pavel Bure, New York Rangers - Bure also skated with Brian Leetch on Wednesday - the first time both players were on the ice with the rest of their teammates. Bure's right knee is ultimately what is keeping him from returning to action but he made it through the full practice and skated for an extra 30 minutes afterwards.
Vladimir Malakhov, New York Rangers - Malakhov missed Wednesday's game against the Senators due to back spasms, which have been ongoing since before the all-star break.
Sergei Brylin, New Jersey Devils - Brylin suffered a possible fractured wrist during Wednesday's win over the Capitals. Further tests on his wrist were pending, but the thought is that he will be out of action for a considerable amount of time.
David Tanabe, Carolina Hurricanes - Tanabe missed his second straight game Wednesday due to a shoulder injury. He remains day-to-day. Though it is not believed that he has suffered any muscle damage, season-ending explatory arthroscopic surgery is a possibility.
Curtis Joseph, Detroit Red Wings - Joseph will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Avalanche, reports both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. This is a very important game for CuJo as another bad game may result in him losing a lot of playing time to "backup" Manny Legace, who has far outperformed him thus far.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Maple Leafs, reports the Tampa Tribune.
Dan Blackburn, New York Rangers - Blackburn will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Blues. Mike Dunham may have re-injured his groin during Wednesday's loss to the Senators. The Rangers recalled backup Johan Holmqvist, suggesting that Dunham may not even dress as the backup.
Sebastien Caron, Pittsburgh Penguins - Caron is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Panthers, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. However, be forewarned as Caron has been suffering from the flu the past few days while Jean-Sebastien Aubin slightly injured his blocker hand in practice. Add to that the fact that Johan Hedberg isn't expected to start until the weekend and the starter for Thursday's game may actually be whoever is healthiest after the morning skate.
Jeff Hackett, Boston Bruins - Hackett will be the starter for Thursday's game against the Canadiens, reports the Boston Globe. Lots of storylines here, the most important of which is that Hackett was just traded from the Canadiens a few weeks ago.
Roman Turek, Calgary Flames - Turek is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Blackhawks, reports the Calgary Sun. Coach Darryl Sutter would like to play Turek against the Hawks and then also the next night against the Oilers, but he has been displeased with the goalie's play as of late - publically criticizing him in fact. As a result, there is a chance he could opt to play Jamie McLennan in one of the games, though don't count on it happening.
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche - Roy is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Red Wings. Though no official print source has confirmed it, you can pretty much assume he will start.
Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens - Theodore is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Bruins.
Roman Cechmanek, Philadelphia Flyers - Cechmanek is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Senators.
Trevor Kidd, Toronto Maple Leafs - Kidd is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Lightning.
Jocelyn Thibault, Chicago Blackhawks - Thibault is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Flames.
Jani Hurme, Florida Panthers - Hurme is the probable starter for Thursday's game against the Penguins.
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils - Brodeur posted his league leading 29th victory on Wednesday and also took two shots at an empty net. He has a friendly little joke going with Scott Stevens to see who can score their first goal of the season first. Brodeur is one of the top three fantasy goalies in the entire league and will likely easily top 40 wins this year, giving him strong ammunition for perhaps his first Vezina trophy.
Jani Hurme, Florida Panthers - Hurme signed a three year contract extension with the Panthers on Wednesday. He has goals to eventually become a #1 goaltender but that is rather doubtful to happen as Roberto Luongo is the goalie of the present and future as far as Florida is concerned. However, Hurme remains one of the better backups in the league and if Luongo falls into a slump, it is certainly possible for coach Mike Keenan to give him a string of starts.
Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators - Vokoun's subpar performance on Tuesday may have had a reasoning behind it. According to the Nashville Tennessean, Vokoun broke in a new set of pads for the game against the Red Wings and promptly allowed four goals in the first period. He switched back to his old pads after that period and allowed only one the rest of the way. Vokoun added that he's not sure which set of pads he will use for the Predators' next game but said that he would continue to break in the new ones during practice.
player info
Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues - Pronger told the media on Wednesday that his recovery from wrist surgery is still not at the level he wants it to be and that "it will be a long time before you see me play again". He will meet with his wrist surgeon in the next week to evaluate the progress but in the meantime, continues his rehab from knee surgery. It appears that the earliest Pronger will be back is for the playoffs so don't hold your breath waiting for him to help your fantasy team.
Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers - The Flyers got some more bad news on Wednesday as MRI tests revealed that Gagne will be sidelined for at least three weeks with a torn right groin. He originally injured the groin earlier this month and then re-aggravated it on Monday.
Martin Straka, Pittsburgh Penguins - Straka missed pratice on Wednesday due to the flu, but the Penguins are hopeful that he will be able to play on Thursday against the Panthers.
Alexei Kovalev, Pittsburgh Penguins - Like teammate Martin Straka, Kovalev skipped Wednesday's practice due to the flu which has been making its away around the Penguins lockerroom. The hope is that he will be able to play Thursday but a final determination will not be made until the pre-game skate.
Eric Daze, Chicago Blackhawks - Daze will not play in Thursday's game against the Flames due to a groin injury, but may rejoin the team for Saturday's contest versus the Oilers.
Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings - Chelios participated fully in practice Wednesday but still experienced soreness in his leg. He is doubtful for Thursday's big match against the Avalanche.
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers - Leetch was back on the ice Wednesday and participated in 15 minutes worth of all pre-game drills. He said afterwards that his ankle is a lot better but did not peg a return date.
Pavel Bure, New York Rangers - Bure also skated with Brian Leetch on Wednesday - the first time both players were on the ice with the rest of their teammates. Bure's right knee is ultimately what is keeping him from returning to action but he made it through the full practice and skated for an extra 30 minutes afterwards.
Vladimir Malakhov, New York Rangers - Malakhov missed Wednesday's game against the Senators due to back spasms, which have been ongoing since before the all-star break.
Sergei Brylin, New Jersey Devils - Brylin suffered a possible fractured wrist during Wednesday's win over the Capitals. Further tests on his wrist were pending, but the thought is that he will be out of action for a considerable amount of time.
David Tanabe, Carolina Hurricanes - Tanabe missed his second straight game Wednesday due to a shoulder injury. He remains day-to-day. Though it is not believed that he has suffered any muscle damage, season-ending explatory arthroscopic surgery is a possibility.
