Thomas will miss his sixth straight contest on Thursday. The Panthers hope he returns Saturday at Senators or Sunday at New York Rangers.

While Thomas has skated alone, he has yet to join his teammates and will not dress tomorrow vs. the Oilers. It will be the fifth straight game Thomas has missed with his leg injury. Consider him questionable for Thursday's contest vs. his former team, in Boston.

Thomas is eligible to play on Friday, but leaving practice early suggests he is not ready. The Panthers also play on Saturday, so monitor Thomas' status over the weekend - Florida could use him in a back-to-back situation.

The big news last night in the NHL was the debut of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang. Letang missed the first 9 games of the season with a lower body injury.  Letang was thrown right into the mix as he played 8:14 minutes on the power play.  While he did not score last night, he is one of the top fantasy defensemen in the league.  This is bad news for the Penguins Matt Niskanen as Letang will take away a lot of his top ice time. Niskanen had only 2:51 minutes on the power play in comparison.  This past week we said to pick up pick up Islander forward Frans Nielsen, and he did not disappoint yesterday with a goal and 2 assists. Nielsen now has 14 points, including 6 goals in 10 games this season...Columbus came to life against Toronto with a 5-2 victory. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 23 saves for the Blue Jackets, and he is beginning to look more like the guy who won the Vezina Trophy last year.  His 2.44 goals against average and .921 save percentage are pretty solid. Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist for Columbus, but he is more of a waiver wire type player. More Fantasy Notes: Big night for Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf as he had a a goal, the game winner, and an assist. His linemate Corey Perry had 2 assists as well. They both have 11 points in 11 games played this year, so they are pretty much a point per game players.  The interesting linemate here though is Patrick Maroon who scored his second goal of the year while playing on the line with Getzlaf and Perry. If he sticks on that line he could be worth picking up...With Tim Thomas on the IR the Panthers were forced to use Jacob Markstrom in goal, and he continued to disappoint losing to Buffalo 3-1. Markstrom's numbers are just awful this year with a 1-4-1 record a 3.27 goals against average and a .886 save percentage.  Thomas is expected back soon, so he should get the most of the starts when he returns.  Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth had a great game with 44 saves. Considering how much Ryan Miller has struggled this year, Enroth may take away a lot of Miller's starts. The problem is that Buffalo is just not that good a team. Steen the dream: So far this has been a miracle year for St. Louis forward Alex Steen who had a goal and an assist in the Blues loss to Vancouver last night. Steen has started the year on fire with 8 goals and 13 points in only 8 games played.  He has never displayed this type of scoring before, he had only 27 points last year in 40 games, and he is probably a good ...

The big news last night in the NHL was the debut of Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang. Letang missed the first 9 games of the season with a lower body injury.  Letang was thrown right into the mix as he played 8:14 minutes on the power play.  While he did not score last night, he is one of the top fantasy defensemen in the league.  This is bad news for the Penguins Matt Niskanen as Letang will take away a lot of his top ice time. Niskanen had only 2:51 minute on the power play in comparison.  This past week we said to pick up pick up Islander forward Frans Nielsen, and he did not disapoint yesterday with a goal and 2 assists. Nielsen now has 14 points, including 6 goals in 10 games this season...Columbus came to life against Toronto with a 5-2 victory. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky had 23 saves for the Blue Jackets, and he is beginning to look more like the guy who won the Vezina Trophy last year.  His 2.44 goals against average and .921 save percentage are pretty solid. Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and an assist for Columbus, but he is more of a waiver wire type player. More Fantasy Notes: Big night for Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf as he had a a goal, the game winner, and an assist. His linemate Corey Perry had 2 assists as well. They both have 11 points in 11 games played this year, so they are pretty much a point per game players.  The interesting linemate here though is Patrick Maroon who scored his second goal of the year while playing on the line with Getzlaf and Perry. If he sticks on that line he could be worth picking up...With Tim Thomas on the IR the Panthers were forced to use Jacob Markstrom in goal, and he continued to disappoint losing to Buffalo 3-1. Markstrom's numbers are just awful this year with a 1-4-1 record a 3.27 goals against average and a .886 save percentage.  Thomas is expected back soon, so he should get the most of the starts when he returns.  Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth had a great game with 44 saves. Considering how much Ryan Miller has struggled this year, Enroth may take away a lot of Miller's starts. The problem is that Buffalo is just not that good a team. Steen the dream: So far this has been a miracle year for St. Louis forward Alex Steen who had a goal and an assist in the Blues loss to Vancouver last night. Steen has started the year on fire with 8 goals and 13 points in only 8 games played.  He has never displyed this type of scoring before, he had only 27 points last year in 40 games, and he is probably a good ...

Thomas has been placed on IR but Panthers head coach Kevin Dineen says he does not expect him to be out longterm.

After a strong performance against his former team, Thomas followed that up by stopping 30 of 31 shots in a 2-1 shootout win over the Wild on Saturday. His SV% has now reached the .900 plateau (.901) but the 3.36 GAA is still on the high-side. He has a tough matchup with the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in town.

Kyle Okposo- NY Islanders, RW (Owned in 38.7% of ESPN leagues) It's the third consecutive week that Okposo has made our list, which basically means that most fantasy owners have not bought into the hype yet. Well, it might be time as the underachieving winger has cashed in on his first line duties for the Islanders with 8 points in the last 6 games, including three multi-point efforts in the last four. Playing with John Tavares has its' privileges, but their new-found chemistry should result in a breakout season for Okposo. Hopefully, he stays on the no. 1 line, but considering how well he has fit in with Tavares and Moulson, he should be picked up in all fantasy formats. Mark Arcobello- Edmonton , LW-C (Owned in 15.2% of ESPN leagues) Because of a flood of injuries to key Oiler forwards at the onset of the season, the 25-year old has made the big team and has delivered thus far with 8 points in 9 games. He is proving that his 68-point season in the AHL last year was no fluke, playing with the likes of Hopkins, Eberle, and Hall for the Oklahoma City Barons during the lockout. He has been mostly penciled on the 2nd line with Eberle and Ryan Smyth, but should remain a fixture in the top-six while Sam Gagner and now, Taylor Hall heal up and return to the line-up. Arcobello should be a solid short-term fix for your fantasy forward crop, as long as he stays on a scoring line for the Oilers. Tim Thomas- Florida, G (Owned in 25.5% of ESPN leagues) "Timmy T" is giving the Florida Panthers a nice boost in goal after returning from short-term injury. In his last two starts, Thomas nearly earned the win against his former team, the Boston Bruins with a 37-save effort and then stymied the Wild after stopping 30 of 31 shots for a 2-1 SO win. Granted, Florida is not a good team just yet and his 3.36 GAA/.901 SP is reflective of their overall shortcomings, but look for his numbers to improve as the season moves on. Don't be surprised if the former Vezina winner ends up as a decent no. 2 fantasy goalie option by the end of the season. Sami Salo- Tampa Bay, D (Owned in 46.4% of ESPN leagues) The 39-year old Finn has always shown the ability to put up points, but is notoriously prone to injuries. So far this season, Salo has taken over as the power-play quarterback for the high-scoring Tampa Bay Lightning, collecting five points in 7 games. You can't count on him to stay healthy for too long, but he is definitely a decent stopgap for fantasy teams that have a few ...

Thomas played very well in his first start back from a groin injury and against his former team. He stopped 37 shots in the 3-2 loss, but the game-winner was a soft goal allowed by the veteran. He will take on the WIld tonight.

Several early games on this busy Saturday slate, so we are up and early! Edmonton is looking to avoid a sixth straight defeat at the hands of the Senators in Ottawa. It won't be easy as the up-start Senators are hot, while the struggling Oilers are not. Craig Anderson will have the night off, as Robin Lehner is confirmed to start for Ottawa. Take Lehner easy as the streak reaches seven... While Colorado is no longer undefeated after their home loss to Detroit, they have been dynamic on both ends of the ice and should be buzzing to get back in the win column. It should be easy against a reeling Buffalo squad, who were booed off home ice in their last defeat to Vancouver. Backup goalie J.S. Giguere will be handling the starting duties for the Avalanche. In his one start this season, he blanked the Bruins to the tune of 39 saves. Huge edge to Giguere.. It could be a tough night for Calgary goalie Karri Ramo, who is getting his first start since the season opener. He faces the hot San Jose Sharks, who are coming off a tight shoot-out loss to Dallas. Niemi not confirmed yet for San Jose, but the Sharks should prevail regardless of who is in net. Take San Jose.. Ben Bishop and the Lightning has been on fire, but the Boston Bruins have had their number in recent games. This should be a "doozy", but the Bruins should end on top... Montreal is looking for it's fifth straight win tonight against Nashville. Carey Price is off to a hot start and should be able to dispose of the offensively-starved Predators... I like Tim Thomas to lead a Florida upset of the Minny Wild. There should be a confidence build-up for the Panthers after the "near-miss" against Boston.. Hey, New Jersey is due for a win, so who better to end their losing streak than their arch-rival, the New York Rangers who are entering the game without their two best forwards in Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan? It could be a goaltending duel, but go with Schneider. FANTASY MUST-STARTS Robin Lehner, Ottawa vs. Edmonton Antti Niemi, San Jose vs. Calgary J.S. Giguere, Colorado @ Buffalo SLEEPER ALERT Cory Schneider, New Jersey vs. NYR Tim Thomas, Florida vs. Minn DAILY GOALIE PICKS Steve (9-8): Antti Niemi * Ray (7-10): Robin Lehner Mike (9-7): Jonathan Quick