Fantasy buzz: DeSmith on impressive run; Thornton injured

All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.

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DeSmith starting, winning for Penguins

The emergence of third-stringer Casey DeSmith has added another layer to the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending competition.
DeSmith (9 percent owned in Yahoo) is the most-added player in Yahoo over the past day after starting three straight games, with wins at the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 18 and against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. He's had a .944 or better save percentage in each of those three starts. Backup Tristan Jarry (28 percent owned, 109th in Yahoo) allowed four goals on 32 shots in his most-recent start at the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 17 and was sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
Starter Matt Murray (354th in Yahoo) is practicing again for the Penguins after taking a leave following the death of his father. Murray hasn't played since Jan. 7 but is an intriguing fantasy trade target; he's 14-5-3 with a .921 SV% and two shutouts in 23 career games played in February and March. But, at least for now, the Penguins are likely to ride the hot hand with DeSmith.
DeSmith, 26, is expected to make his fourth-straight start against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, FS-N, NHL.TV), so fantasy owners should continue to stream him in season-long leagues and roster him as a value pick in DraftKings ($7,400). He doesn't have a ton of staying power with Murray and Jarry also in the mix, but DeSmith had a strong career track record with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (35-12-5, 2.19 goals-against average, .922 SV%, three shutouts).

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Sharks lose Thornton for several weeks with knee injury

San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton sustained a knee injury late in the third period against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. He will not play against the New York Rangers on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG 2, NHL.TV) and is expected to miss several weeks.
Thornton (48 percent owned, 88th in Yahoo) has been San Jose's top-line center alongside right wing Joe Pavelski (82nd) and a staple on their first power-play unit with defenseman Brent Burns (44th) and forwards Pavelski, Logan Couture (118th) and Tomas Hertl (C/LW/RW, 38 percent, 126th in Yahoo). Prior to this injury, Thornton had 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) and 14 power-play points over his past 28 games following a slow start.
The absence of Thornton will likely result in Couture moving up to the top line and Hertl shifting from wing to center on the second line. Thornton had offseason knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, but the injury he sustained Tuesday was to his right MCL.
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