December 12th – Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
11 games on the NHL schedule tonight with a couple of really good matchups. Montreal and Philly will face off, after both teams lost by 5-plus goals in their last game, it will be interesting to see who shows up. Toronto travels to St. Louis a day after playing great against the Kings but still coming away with no points. Finally Minnesota is in San Jose after beating them at home on Sunday. The Sharks are having trouble closing out games, so we will see if Minnesota can take advantage of that. Here are my goalie rankings for tonight’s contests!
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1. Carey Price (@ PHI) – Tuesday was a tough night for Price, but he has otherwise been on fire over the last month. I expect the Habs to bounce back in a big way tonight.
2. Henrik Lundqvist (vs. CBJ) – Lundqvist has struggled over his last three starts and most of this season, but there is a reason he is the highest paid goalie in the NHL and the Blue Jackets offence ranks 20th, so the matchup is solid.
3. Semyon Varlamov (@ WPG) – Varly’s numbers are inching ever closer to his career marks of 2.59 GAA and .913 SV%, but those are still strong enough to warrant starting him against the Jets.
4. Craig Anderson (vs. BUF) – No way around it, Anderson has been bad this year. But the matchup is great and he is at home, I think it is time he turns things around.
5. Mike Smith (vs. NYI) – It seems like a lot of top-tier goalies are struggling right now doesn’t it? Smith falls into that category, but his 8-2-2 home record and a visiting Isles team keep him relevant tonight.
6. Brian Elliott (vs. TOR) – The Leafs have lost buy multiple goals to the Bruins and Kings and the Blues are very much like both of those teams, so I like the Blues in this one.
7. Antti Niemi (vs. MIN) – Niemi’s roller coaster season continues. He is 10-1-3 with a 2.24 GAA and .915 SV% in San Jose, so I expect the Sharks to avenge Sunday’s loss.
8. Jonas Gustavsson (@ TB) – Gustavsson has been sensational for the Red Wings this season and now he has the starting job for at least a week. I say he gets his ninth win of the season tonight… Unless it goes into a shootout, in which case the Red Wings can’t win.
9. Ryan Miller (@ OTT) – It is hard to rank Miller high because of the Sabres terrible offence, but he was great against the Sens on Tuesday, so I have some confidence in him tonight.
10. Ben Bishop (vs. DET) – The Red Wings offence is good enough to keep you honest, but even if Bishop loses he will stop enough pucks to post strong numbers.
11. James Reimer (@ STL) – I really do not like the matchup, but Reimer remains valuable on the sheer volume of shots that he sees and the good SV% he posts.
12. Curtis McElhinney (@ NYR) – McElhinney has been so-so since becoming the starter. Some good and some bad, the matchup is there for him tonight, but he is still very risky.
13. Steve Mason (vs. MTL) – Mason went from never allowing more than three goals as a Flyer, to back-to-back four goal games. He is still a good fantasy netminder, but I am not a fan of the matchup.
14. Niklas Backstrom (@ SJ) – After a bad loss to the Islanders I expect the Sharks to come out with a lot of fire tonight, which could make it a long night for Backstrom.
15. Kari Lehtonen (@ NSH) – The matchup is there, but Lehtonen’s play has not been lately.
16. Ondrej Pavelec (vs. COL) – Colorado is not scoring a lot right now, so this is a conservative raking for Pavelec. He could make for a solid start, but be weary of the talent the Avs have.
17. Craig Hutton (vs. DAL) – Hutton looked great the other night and if he is your only option then go for it. However there are much safer options.
18. Kari Ramo (vs. CAR) – The Hurricanes have scored 18 goals in their last five games, and in one of those games they were shutout. Ramo might get a W tonight, but it will likely be at the expense of your GAA and SV%.
19. Kevin Poulin (@ PHX) – Poulin made me look foolish on Tuesday, but I am still not spot-starting a goalie with a SV% under .900 against a top-5 offence.