The Daily Puck: Semin on Fire

The Daily Puck
Andrew Fiorentino, RotoWire Writer

Around the Rink

*A friend of mine offered me a ticket to a luxury box at the Rangers-Bruins game for Heritage Night last night, but I missed my train up to New York because Suburban Station in Philadelphia is the worst train station in the world. Fortunately, I suppose, the Rangers continued their rich tradition of losing every time they have some sort of anniversary/reunion/tribute night. Tim Thomas was spectacular in goal, especially late in the third period.

*Look at you, Marty Turco, earning your first shutout this year. It was just 18 saves, but hey, it's a start.

*The Flames and Hurricanes made the sort of trade you don't see every day: Flames GM Daryl Sutter traded away his son Brett, along with defenseman Ian White, to the 'Canes for Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos. Brett was recently arrested for punching a cab driver, which may have been a big reason he was traded. That's gonna be an awkward Thanksgiving.

Projected Goalie Starters

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.

Tampa Bay (Mike Smith) at Philadelphia (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 ET
Florida (Scott Clemmensen) at Boston (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 ET
New Jersey (Martin Brodeur) at Toronto (Jonas Gustavsson), 7:00 ET
Nashville (Pekka Rinne) at Montreal (Carey Price), 7:30 ET
San Jose (Antti Niemi) at Dallas (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 ET

Recent Injury News for Teams Playing Thursday

Tampa Bay
Simon Gagne, LW (neck) - Went through non-contact practice Tuesday
Vincent Lecavalier, C (hand) - Had successful surgery on Monday; out 4-5 weeks

Philadelphia
Michael Leighton, G (back) - Cleared to resume all on-ice activities - well, all except for being the Flyers' starting goalie
Daniel Carcillo, LW (knee) - Out at least two weeks

Florida
Steve Bernier, RW (face) - Out at least three weeks following orbital surgery

Boston
Johnny Boychuk, D (forearm) - Didn't return Wednesday, but getting close; no word on Thursday status yet
David Krejci, C (concussion) - Made the trip to New York for Wednesday's game, but didn't play; probably just wanted to take in all that history, you know?
Marco Sturm, LW (knee) - Looking at an early-December return

New Jersey
Jamie Langenbrunner, RW (upper body, head) - Will miss his third straight game Thursday; strange that no one has been able to say definitively whether he's concussed
Matt Taormina, D (foot) - Already declared out for Thursday and Saturday

Toronto
Dion Phaneuf, D (leg) - Could return to the ice next week, but probably will need a week or so of conditioning after that
Colby Armstrong, RW (hand, foot) - Back on skates, but still a long way away
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G (groin) - Out 1-2 weeks

Nashville
Matthew Lombardi, C (concussion) - Could be back on the ice next week, so he's progressing

Montreal
Andrei Markov, D (knee) - Will need surgery and is probably out for the year
Jeff Halpern, C (head) - Left Tuesday's game with the injury; game-time decision for Thursday

San Jose
Douglas Murray, D (lower body) - Missed Wednesday's game, his second straight; no word yet on Thursday status
Nicholas Wallin, D (undisclosed) - Out Wednesday after missing practice the day before as a "maintenance day."

Dallas
None

Hot

Alexander Semin, LW, WAS - A nine-game points streak, which Semin has going on now, is one thing. Scoring 17 points, including nine goals, over that period is another. Semin has more goals than and as many points as his teammate Alex Ovechkin.

Claude Giroux, RW, PHI - Since Giroux started scoring this year, his points have come in bunches. He just snapped a three-game points streak in which he racked up three goals and four assists. If you can give anyone besides Sergei Bobrovsky credit for the kind of start the Flyers have had in the season's first quarter, it's Giroux for his emergence from solid secondary scorer to primary option.

Cold

Duncan Keith, D, CHI - I mentioned him last week for going scoreless in four straight, and he hasn't really improved since, with just an assist over the three additional games he's played. His shots on goal numbers have fallen precipitously, a primary culplrit. Over the last seven games, he's taken 14 shots on goal. In his previous seven, he piled up 23.

Jarome Iginla, RW, CGY - One two-point game doesn't get you out the cold column, hoss. Iginla still has just 10 points in 17 games this year, is minus-seven, and his goal-and-assist game five days ago was the first time he'd scored since Oct. 24. I still don't understand what's happened here.

Recommended Pickup

Andy McDonald, C, STL - McDonald's finally found his scoring touch over the past week, putting together eight points in four games, but he's been a steady presence (when healthy) in fantasy for years. Having both left wing and center eligibility in Yahoo certainly helps as well.