Allen’s first year as the Blues’ No.1 netminder got off to a nice start last night. Allen stopped 17 of 19 shots in the Blues’ 5-2 win over the Blackhawks. St. Louis dominated possession, which limited Allen’s workload and will allow him to go again tonight vs. the Wild. Last year the 26-year-old was 2-2-0 with a 2.24 GAA and .918 SV% in four starts against Minnesota.
Ward was the better of the two Hurricanes’ goaltenders last year, but that isn’t saying much. Ward was 23-17-10 with a 2.41 GAA and .909 SV% in 2015-16. Ward has been the definition of mediocre over the last four years, going five games over .500 with a 2.58 GAA and .907 SV%. Tonight he faces a Jets team that was tied for 20th in scoring last year, but an infusion of quality young talent has them looking more dangerous this season.
Santini was expected to start the season on the Devils’ third pairing, but a late signing of Kyle Quincey will push him out of the lineup tonight. He has offensive potential, but likely won’t be given enough opportunity to make a fantasy impact this season.
Quincey signed a one-year deal with the Devils a few weeks ago and will play on the third pair with Johann Auvitu on Thursday. Steven Santina will sit in the press box so that Quincey can play. He had just 11 points (4G / 7A) in 47 games with the Red Wings last year.
A week ago it looked as if Bennett was going to play with Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique. Today, he won’t even be in the lineup. Bennett was acquired from Pittsburgh this summer, but his Devils debut will have to wait.
Paajarvi sat out of the Blues’ season opener on Wednesday, but will replace Jaskin in the lineup tonight vs. the Wild. The 25-year-old former first round pick had just nine points (3G / 6A) in 48 games last year.
Jaskin failed to pick up a point in the Blues’ season opener on Wednesday. Jaskin played just 12:14 TOI and will come out of the lineup tonight with Mangus Paajarvi replacing him.
Bortuzzo picked up just one shot on goal in 13:17 TOI in the Blues season opener on Wednesday. St. Louis is back in action tonight vs. the Wild, but Bortuzzo will sit and Carl Gunnarsson will replace him.
Gunnarsson served as as healthy scratch in the Blues’ season opener on Wednesday, but will get into the lineup tonight vs. the Wild. Gunnarsson has little-to-no fantasy value, having posted just nine points (3G / 6A) in 72 games last year.
After splitting the crease for two seasons, Gibson takes over as the Ducks’ No.1 this year. Gibson has a career 37-21-4 with a 2.22 GAA and .920 SV% in 66 NHL games. The Ducks aren’t as deep as they normally are and their new head coach Randy Carlyle is notorious for having poor possession teams, which could hurt Gibson’s value. He draws a tough assignment tonight with the Stars in town.
Hellebuyck split last year between the NHL and the AHL and was impressive at both levels. While with Manitoba (AHL) he was 13-15-1 with a 2.49 GAA and .922 SV%. His numbers actually improved with the Jets, having gone 13-11-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .918 SV%. His promising future allowed the Jets to waive Ondrej Pavelec, who is now in Manitoba. The future in goal starts tonight vs. the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes should be better this year than they were last year, but Hellebuyck remains a solid option tonight.
Etem was originally drafted by the Ducks back in 2010 (29th overall) and played with their organization until the 2014-15 season before ending up with the Rangers and then the Canucks last year. He hasn’t lived up to the billing of a first round pick, having collected just 46 points (22G / 24A) in 170 NHL games.
Last year, Bobrovsky was limited to just 37 games thanks to injuries, but even when he was healthy he was largely ineffective. Bobrovsky finished the year with 15 wins, a 2.75 GAA and .908 SV%, but expect those numbers to improve significantly this season. He would be in the conversation as a potential low-end No.1 option if he can stay healthy, but that’s a massive if. He comes into this year with low expectations on an improving Blue Jackets team. Bob gets his season started on home ice, where he was just 7-11-1 a season ago.
By Rask’s standards, 2015-16 wasn’t a good year for the Bruins’ netminder. However, he still won 31 games with 2.56 GAA and .915 SV%. The 29-year-old has been one of the better goalies in the NHL for the better part of seven season and should improve on last year’s numbers in 2016-17. He is a solidified No.1 in Boston and in fantasy circles and could get off to a nice start in Columbus. Rask was 17-8-3 with a 2.37 GAA and .924 SV% in 30 starts on the road last year--significantly better than his home numbers. Surprisingly.
Mrazek’s first year as an NHL No.1 was a tail of two halves. In the first four and a half months, he was one of the best goalies in the league, going 21-10-4 with a 1.94 GAA and .934 SV%—both first in the NHL at the time. However, his final 17 games resulted in a 6-6-2 record, 3.32 GAA and .887 SV%. The young netminder bounced back in the postseason and should be more prepared for a full-season worth of starts, making him a borderline No.1 fantasy option. That said, he draws a tough matchup in his first game of the year.
Halak was battling an illness earlier in the week, but is good to go for the Islanders’ first contest of the season. Halak was incredible during the World Cup of Hockey for Team Europe and the Islanders are hoping he can carry that into the regular season. Halak had injury problems last year that limited him to 36 games, but he still won 18 with a 2.30 GAA and .919 SV%. He is an under appreciated asset in fantasy circles and should be a solid No.2 option this year. Halak dominated the Rangers last season, going 3-0-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .937 SV%.
Niemi was the better of the Stars’ goalies in 2015-16, but nearly everyone was better than Kari Lehtonen last year. Niemi finished the season with 25 wins, a 2.67 GAA and .905 SV%. His best years are behind him, but he still has a shot at 30 wins if he continues to outplay Lehtonen behind one of the NHL’s most dominant offences. Tonight he starts against an Anaheim team that figures to take a step back from years prior.
O’Reilly was battling a back injury in the preseason but will be in the lineup for the first game of the season. O’Reilly will not be able to take all of the face-offs tonight, which means Sam Reinhart will have to draw in, but he shouldn’t be too limited otherwise. He will play on the top line between Reinhart and Evander Kane.
Kulikov had been practicing with the team leading up to tonight’s season opener, but his bruised tailbone has not healed enough for him to be in the lineup vs. Montreal. Casey Nelson will replace the offseason acquisition to start the year.
