Since we have a new fantasy hockey writer, Stephen Kaczmar, he will primarily be dealing with guys you should pickup so I am going to change my article around to where I deal with headline news and give my impressions of the news bit while giving you any injury news. Enjoy!
He's BAAAACK!
Big news today that Sidney Crosby will be playing his first game of the season against the Islanders on Monday. The Penguins have been doing great in Crosby's absence but this makes them a fearsome team with Sid in the lineup. While I am excited that one the game's best players is returning from a nasty concussion, I have to give some caution to owners out there. Concussions are very tricky and while I sincerely hope he doesn't have another one in his career, hockey is inherently a very physical sport. Just because he is one the best players in the game doesn't make him immune to someone's check gone wrong or a stray elbow to the head. Be glad he's back but I believe the concussion that left him out for so long will linger till next year's drafts.
More after the jump...
The Wild are Wild
Goalie controversies often aren't a good thing for a team to experience since it's generally when the #1 goalie is struggling but the backup goalie is doing great for an extended period of time. But for the Wild, it's not that at all. When both Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding both are playing well, well, then play both goalies! It's worked out well for the Wild since they've allowed 17 goals and 2 shutouts in the past 10 games but they've scored 25 goals in that same span. I still think Backstrom will get the majority of the starts but Harding will still get a fair share of starts along the way when the matchup permit it.
Oilers are hurt
The injured list for the Oilers defenseman corps keeps getting longer and longer. It's getting to the point where they're scraping the bottom of the barrel for some defense so it's no wonder things aren't going well for them getting only 4 wins in 10 games. The real problem is that most of the injured defensemen are out for the long term so if they' don't get help via trade, it's going to be tough to keep those shots on goal and potentially the goal against total down. Something to consider, Nikolai Khabibulin owners.
Injury Report
Jaromir Jagr, Flyers - There's nothing definitive from the Flyers themselves but folks think that Jagr is dealing with a groin injury. Hopefully, this doesn't set him back too far since he's been playing quite well so far this season. He is considered day-to-day.
Evgeni Nabokov, Islanders - He injured his groin and will be out at most a month. Groin injuries are quite serious to hockey players but even more so for goaltenders. At least you can say that this has simplified the goaltending load while Nabokov is recovering.
Marek Zidlicky, Wild - Marek got his light lit up on Tuesday but the scary part is that his concussion symptoms have not subsided since the hit happened. He'll likely be out for some time but he is considered day-to-day.
Roberto Luongo, Canucks - He has an upper-body injury from the official Canucks presser and that it's nothing serious. Not much to glean from this info but Luongo owners can only hope and pray that he'll be ok. He is considered day-to-day.
Tyler Myers, Sabres - He has a hand or wrist injury but it happened yesterday so news is trickling out. He is day-to-day but we'll see what happens when he's allowed it to inspect it.
Remember, if you have any comments or questions, you can give us a tweet at @FakeTeams or my personal account at @MattPTurner!