UPDATE! January 21st – Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
There was supposed to be 10 games tonight, but with the Carolina at Philadelphia game getting postponed there are only nine games left on the NHL schedule. There should be a number of good goaltending matchups tonight – Two American veterans go head-to-head with Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller facing off in Buffalo. Brian Elliott and Cory Schneider will meet each other, both are playing extremely well as of late. Lastly, Martin Jones likely returns to the Kings crease tonight and faces the red-hot Sergei Bobrovsky. Here are tonight’s Fantasy Hockey goaltending rankings to help you decide who you should start this evening.
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1. Brian Elliott (@ NJ) – Elliott is an impressive 13-3-2 with a 1.93 GAA and .922 SV% and will meet a Devils squad who ranks 27th in the NHL in scoring and are 3-3-2 in 2014.
2. Jonas Hiller (vs. WPG) – Hiller lost to the Blackhawks, but had won his previous 14 starts. Winnipeg has played much better under head coach Paul Maruice, but Hiller is an outstanding 14-0-2 at home.
3. Sergei Bobrovsky (vs. LA) – Bobrovsky is 5-0 with a 1.74 GAA and .945 SV% since returning from his lower-body injury and despite the Kings 29-15-6 record, they only rank 23rd in scoring.
4. Craig Anderson (@ WSH) – Anderson has struggled in his last two starts (4.49 GAA / .833 SV%) but he faces a potentially Alex Ovechkin-less Capitals squad who has lost five straight while only scoring seven goals.
5. Semyon Varlamov (vs. TOR) -Varlamov is riding a four-game winning streak and has won eight of his last nine outings, so despite facing the Leafs 16th ranked O and 4th rated power-play he remains a strong start.
6. Roberto Luongo (@ EDM) – Luongo stopped 31 of 33 shots in a shootout win in his return on Saturday and tonight he meets a rival Oilers team who has two wins in their last 11 games.
7. Martin Jones (@ CBJ) – Jones was 8-3-0 with a 1.41 GAA and .950 SV% when filling in for Jonathan Quick, if he can pick up where he left off, he should make for a strong spot-start whenever he gets the call.
8. Cory Schneider (vs. STL) – Schneider holds a 1.91 GAA and .924 SV% but those numbers have only translated into seven wins. His team will be hard-pressed to score on tonight when they face the Blues.
9. Ryan Miller (vs. FLA) – Miller sits at 2-1-2 with a 2.11 GAA and .929 SV% in January. He will face the Panthers who rank 28th in the NHL in scoring (2.24 G/PG)
10. Tim Thomas(@ BUF) – Thomas is 3-3-2 with a 2.17 GAA and .935 SV% in his last eight games and faces a struggling Sabres squad.
11. James Reimer(@ COL) – In two starts and three games in 2014, Reimer is 1-1-0 with a 4.47 GAA and .869 SV%. His season has taken a turn for the worse and tonight his matchup is an ugly one. (Probable)
12. Cameron Talbot (vs. NYI) – Talbot is 10-3-0 with a 1.62 GAA and .940 SV% on the season. He has become one of fantasy’s best spot-start options this season and should be considered for a start again tonight.
13. Darcy Kuemper (@ DAL) – Kuemper is 4-1-0 with 1.37 GAA and .954 SV% since his recall and will face the Stars again on Tuesday. With Dallas in a huge slump right now Kuemper should make for another strong start.
14. Ben Scrivens (vs. VAN) – The Oilers are bad defensively and even against a Canucks team that is struggling to score goals and missing Henrik Sedin, he is a risky start.
15. Ondrej Pavelec (@ ANA) – Pavelec has won three straight while posting a 1.66 GAA and .921 SV%, but a matchup with the Ducks is not one you want to take a risk on.
16. Braden Holtby(vs. OTT) – Holtby appears to be the number-1 in Washington again, but he is 13-11-2 with a 3.04 GAA and .911 SV% this season so until he turn things around, stay away.
17. Kevin Poulin (@ NYR) – Poulin has given up 10 goals in his last three outings and faces a Rangers team who have won six of their last seven while outscoring the opposition 20-9
Unconfirmed
Dallas – Kari Lehtonen / Dan Ellis