Goalie Talk
In The Crease returns to its roots as the column this season will be everything you need about goaltending and who to start in the upcoming week. I'll focus on Great Options, Good Options and Goalies to avoid.
Without further adieu, let's get to the goalies.
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Great Options
Corey Crawford-Chicago Blackhawks
Schedule: Thu vs. FLA, Sat vs. TB, Mon vs. ANA
Corey Crawford may have momentarily lost his starting gig in last year’s playoffs, but he was able to come back and held Chicago win another Stanley Cup.
This season, again, Crawford entered the year as the 'Hawks starting goaltender, but coach Joel Quenneville has rotated his netminders in the last four games.
Crawford was solid in his last start against Columbus, as he turned aside 22 of 23 shots in the win. That should be enough to give him the start at home against Florida.
Depending on how Crawford plays against the Panthers, he could be in goal for the rest of the week.
He could potentially have a nice fantasy week as all three of Chicago’s games are at home.
It’s time for him to step up and put his inconsistent play behind him.
Jonathan Quick-Los Angeles Kings
Schedule: Thu @SJ, Fri vs. CAR, Sun vs. EDM
Jonathan Quick got off to a shaky start this year, but after back-to-back wins over Colorado and Minnesota he’s back on the fantasy map.
The 29-year-old gave up just one goal in each of those two victories.
The Sharks shelled Quick for five goals on 32 shots in the Kings’ regular season opener and you can bet quick has revenge on his mind. He has a 14-7-5 record in 27 career games against San Jose.
Even if Los Angeles opts to give Jhonas Enroth a start on Friday, Quick still has a plus matchup against the Oilers on Sunday.
Carey Price-Montreal Canadiens
Schedule: Tue vs. STL, Fri @BUF, Sat vs. TOR
Carey Price will always be a great fantasy option. He’s currently the best goalie in the NHL and he may actually be the best player in the league as well.
The reigning Hart and Vezina trophy winner will face a tough matchup versus the Blues on Tuesday, but with the Canadiens off to a hot start another win isn’t out of the question.
Don’t be surprised if the Habs turn to Mike Condon in Buffalo on Friday. Anytime the Canadiens play the first half of a back-to-back in Buffalo, they typically play their backup goaltender.
Montreal will then host Toronto on Saturday night. That’s another plus matchup for Price.
Price’s owners must play him every time he’s scheduled to start.
Pekka Rinne-Nashville Predators
Schedule: Tue vs. TB, Thu vs. ANA, Sat vs. PIT
The Predators gave Rinne a rare night off last Saturday and still managed to collect a shootout win over the Ottawa Senators.
Rinne is clearly an elite goaltender and expect Nashville to use him a lot if he can stay healthy.
He does have some difficult matchups against Tampa Bay, Anaheim and Pittsburgh this week, but all three games will be played on home ice.
Rinne starting all three of these games is a pretty safe bet.
Henrik Lundqvist-New York Rangers
Schedule: Thu vs. ARZ, Sat @PHI, Sun vs. CGY
After starting the first six games of the regular season, the Rangers finally gave Henrik Lundqvist a night off on Monday.
With Antti Raanta in goal, New York managed to pick up an impressive 4-0 win against San Jose.
Lundqvist will surely be back in goal against a young Arizona team on Thursday. Don’t be surprised if the Rangers use him in both games of a back-to-back situation on Saturday and Sunday, as he will be able to get ample rest before the Rangers’ next game the following Friday.
Two of this week’s games will be played against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season while Calgary has struggled out of the gate in this year.
Good Options
Frederik Andersen-Anaheim Ducks
Schedule: Thu @NSH, Sat @Min, Mon @Chi
In a surprising move, coach Bruce Boudreau turned to backup goaltender Anton Khudobin in Sunday’s start against Minnesota. Khudobin came through for the Ducks so what do they do now?
Anaheim will begin a five-game road trip on Thursday. This week, they will play in Nashville on Thursday, in Minnesota on Saturday, and in Chicago on Monday. Despite a 0-2-1 record in four games, I fully expect starter Frederik Andersen to handle the load in each of this week’s three games.
The 26-year-old might not have a win yet, but he still hasn’t given up more than two goals in any of his appearances. Depending on how Saturday’s start goes, the Ducks could turn to Khudobin on Monday because they have a game the following night.
Andersen is the goalie to own on this team.
Mike Smith-Arizona Coyotes
Schedule: Tue @NJ, Thu @NYR, Sat @OTT, Mon @TOR
No one expected Mike Smith’s outstanding start to the 2015-16 season. One year after losing 42 games, the 33-year-old won his first three starts by allowing just two goals in the process.
Smith has come back down to earth since then. He was pulled in Thursday’s loss to Minnesota and he gave up five goals in a loss to Boston on Saturday.
With four road games coming up this week, I’d like to believe head coach Dave Tippett will give Anders Lindback at least one start. If that ends up being the case, Smith will still be between the pipes for three games.
Fantasy owners should start thinking about listening to offers for Smith, but this week he could be an interesting play based on the number of potential starts he might get.
Reto Berra-Colorado Avalanche
Schedule: Wed vs. CAR, Sat vs. CBJ
Semyon Varlamov may have been Colorado’s starter coming into this season, but it’s Reto Berra who’s stolen the show of late.
The 28-year-old has put together impressive starts in back-to-back games as he’s allowed just two goals in his last two contests, including a shutout against Anaheim on Friday.
The Avalanche may only have two games this week, but they are both at home and against inferior opponents.
If head coach Patrick Roy gives Berra the start on Wednesday, he could realistically find himself with two more wins by the end of the week.
If Roy opts to go with Varlamov, he could also be a solid fantasy play.
Kari Lehtonen-Dallas Stars
Schedule: Tue @PHI, Thu @PIT, Sat vs. FLA
It could be argued that the Dallas Stars have the best one-two goaltending punch in the entire NHL. Unfortunately for fantasy GMs, that isn’t always good.
After starting the season with an impressive shutout over Pittsburgh, Antti Niemi was shelled for six goals in his next start against Colorado. The Stars turned to Kari Lehtonen from that point on and haven’t looked back.
Lehtonen is a perfect 3-0-0 with a 2.34 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage and it looks like the Stars will continue riding his hot hand.
Late note-The Stars announced that Antti Niemi will get the start in Tuesday's game against Philadelphia.
Jaroslav Halak-New York Islanders
Schedule: Tue @CBJ, Fri vs. BOS, Sat @STL, Mon vs. CGY
After missing the first four games due to injury, Jaroslav Halak made his regular season debut in Sunday’s 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Halak was good, but not great which was to be expected after such a long layoff.
Now that he’s healthy, expect the Islanders to lean on him as much as they did last year when Halak set a franchise record for wins in a season with 38.
In a perfect world, Halak would get starts against Columbus, Boston and Calgary while backup Thomas Greiss would get a tougher start in St. Louis.
No matter how the starts are divided, expect Halak to be between the pipes for three games this week.
Braden Holtby-Washington Capitals
Schedule: Tue @CGY, Thu @VAN, Fri @EDM
Holtby has opened the season with a 3-1-0 record this season. After allowing three goals in each of his first two starts, but has since given up just two goals in his last two games.
Western Canadian road trips are always difficult but Holtby should be up to the task.
The Flames, Oilers and Canucks have struggled at home in 2015-16. They have a combined home record of 0-5-2.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed by the team’s coaching staff, they could opt to start Holtby in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday because Washington will have five days between games.
Avoid these Netminders
Sergei Bobrovsky-Columbus Blue Jackets
Schedule: Tue vs. NYI, Thu @ MIN, Sat @ COL
This one is self-explanatory.
Bobrovsky and his teammates have no confidence right now. The team has a 0-6-0 record in 2015-16 and their starting goaltender has been between the pipes for five losses.
The Jackets may have three games this week (and no back-to-backs), but until Bobrovsky shows some signs of life he can’t be trusted in fantasy.
Leave him on your bench for now.
Roberto Luongo-Florida Panthers
Schedule: Tue @PIT, Thu @CHI, Sat @DAL
Roberto Luongo has been solid so far this season, but he has a difficult schedule ahead of him.
The 36-year-old will face three high-powered offenses in Pittsburgh, Chicago and Dallas and all three of those matchups will be on the road.
Luongo’s owners shouldn’t give up on him going forward, but they may want to look for a better starting option this week.
Craig Anderson-Ottawa Senators
Schedule: Thu vs. NJ, Sat vs. ARZ
Anderson being in the “avoid” section of this article has nothing to do with his recent performance, but everything to do with Ottawa’s circumstance this week.
Backup goaltender Andrew Hammond is now fully recovered from a groin injury and it’s reasonable to expect the Senators to give him a start sooner rather than later.
If the Senators do turn to Hammond this week, that would leave Anderson with just one potential start.
Martin Jones-San Jose Sharks
Schedule: Thu vs. LAK, Sat vs. CAR
This one might rub some people the wrong way, but hear me out.
The Sharks just completed an east coast road trip that saw them play in Washington, New Jersey, Brooklyn and New York and now they are heading home for a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.
The first game back after a long trip tends to be difficult for most teams and the fact that San Jose embarrassed Los Angeles earlier this season will almost certainly fire up the Kings.
Jones could be worth starting on Saturday as he should have a plus matchup against Carolina.
