December 17th – Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
Crazy busy Tuesday night in the NHL tonight! 12 games around the league with a number of great matchups between. Anaheim is in Detroit for a rematch of last year’s first round playoff matchup, however the Red Wings are depleted with injuries. Minnesota welcomes the Canucks to town in a game that features two potential Team Canada goalies (Harding vs. Luongo) and San Jose faces-off with the Blues in a battle of Western Conference powerhouses.
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1. Tuukka Rask (vs. CGY) – The Flames are playing good hockey right now, but the Bruins are too big and too strong. Rask stopped 26 of 27 in a win over Calgary last Tuesday.
2. Ben Bishop (@ NYI) – Bishop had a rough game against the Capitals, but in his other three most recent starts he is 3-0-0 and stopped 89 of 91 shots.
3. Jonas Hiller (@ DET) – Hiller has won four in a row and Detroit is without six of their top-9 forwards and are 5-8-6 at home.
4. Josh Harding (vs. VAN) – Harding has won four of his last five starts with a 1.38 GAA and .949 SV%. He has a tough matchup but is 13-1-0, 1.25 GAA and .945 SV% at home.
5. Carey Price (vs. PHX) – Price has won eight of his last 10 with a 1.91 GAA and .934 SV%.
6. Roberto Luongo (@ MIN) – Lu has won five straight starts with a GAA of 1.19 and .962 SV%.
7. James Reimer (vs. FLA) – Reimer has won just one of his last five starts while allowing a whopping 18 goals and being pulled twice. He draws a solid matchup to help him get back on track.
8. Martin Jones (vs. EDM) – Jones has started his NHL career 5-0-0 with 0.99 GAA and .967 SV%. The Oilers have a potent offence but are 6-11-2 on the road. (Likely)
9. Antti Raanta (@ NSH) – Raanta is a solid 3-1-0 with a 2.93 GAA and .897 SV% on the road and takes on the NHL’s 22nd ranked offence.
10. Jaroslav Halak (vs. SJ) – Halak played well in relief against the Sharks a few weeks ago and San Jose is slumping having lost five of their last six.
11. Antti Niemi (@ STL) – Niemi’s play is slipping right now and the matchup is terrible, but when the Sharks play well they are one of the best teams in the NHL – he is start-worthy on that notion alone.
12. Braden Holtby (@ PHI) – Holtby is well rested having sat the last two and a half games and had been playing very well prior to a rough start vs. the Lightning.
13. J.S Giguere (@ DAL) – The Avs dismantled the Stars last night, but heading back to Dallas tonight, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are enough to keep you honest.
14. Ondrej Pavelec (@ BUF) – Pavelec has lost four consecutive starts, but it seems like a lot of goalies find their game against the Sabres.
15. Mike Smith (@ MTL) – Even when Smith is winning games he is giving up a couple goals. It is a bad matchup against a good Habs team, in a hostile environment.
16. Steve Mason (vs. WSH) – Mason is 2-3-0 with a 3.31 GAA and .890 SV% in his last five starts and faces Mr. Ovechkin tonight.
17. Jonas Gustavsson (vs. ANA) – Gustavsson has played very well this season, but against a good Ducks team with all the injuries the Red Wings have, he is very risky tonight.
18. Ryan Miller (vs. WPG) – Miller has a solid 2.51 GAA and .924 SV% in his last eight starts… But he only has two wins. Is the risk worth the reward?
19. Ilya Bryzgalov (@ LA) – Bryz had a strong return to the crease on Sunday, but he draws a very difficult matchup in Los Angeles.
20. Carter Hutton (vs. CHI) – Second star of the week is impressive, but Chicago has way too much fire-power to be investing in Hutton tonight.
21. Evgeni Nabokov (vs. TB) – Nabokov looked good in his return from a groin injury, but if he is going to get the W, the Islanders are going to have to scored on Ben Bishop… Easier said than done.
22. Scott Clemmensen (@ TOR) – Two strong starts in a row is nice, but he has career 2.75 GAA and .906 SV%, so he is not worth a spot-start.
23. Reto Berra (@BOS) – Despite the Flames improved play as of late, this is an UGLY matchup.
Unconfirmed
Dallas – Dan Ellis / Kari Lehtonen