H2H Faceoff: Taking a minute to acknowledge milestones
Head-to-Head Faceoff is a weekly column by Mollie Krupp which will run every Sunday and continue into Monday. Here you’ll find a breakdown of each team’s schedule for the week as well as which goalies you can expect to see in net so you can make sure to set your fantasy rosters accordingly.
Before ringing in the new year, both the Sabres and Wings had something to celebrate, Miller got his 200th career win and Osgood reached his 400th. Congrats to both netminders on their achievements!
In 2011 news, Roloson news may be the most notable thus far. If he’s free in your league, he may be worth the pick up. He was traded to Tampa Bay on Saturday and this could mean good things for both the Lightning as Roloson. He was eager to leave the Islanders and the Lightning have been struggling with their goalies, Roloson could be just what this team needs and maybe your team as well, if you’ve been struggling with your goalies like Tampa Bay has.
4 Games
Hurricanes (Fla, @NYR, @Fla, Atl) Cam Ward can be expected in net this week for the Hurricanes. They don’t have any back-to-backs and Ward has won his last 3 games, which includes a shutout against the Senators.
Blackhawks (@LA, Dal, Ott, NYI) Corey Crawford will return to the lineup against the Ducks after sitting out the last 3 games due to having the flu. As long as he continues to feel better, he will get the starts this week.
Panthers (@Car, Atl, Car, @Was) Tomas Vokoun will get the majority of starts for his team this week. But with a heavy week and back-to-back games, Scott Clemmensen is likely to get another start.
Wild (@NJ, @Bos, @Pit, Dal) Niklas Backstrom suffered a knee injury after he ran into another player during practice last Thursday. He’s listed as DTD for now so expect to see Jose Theodore in the lineup in the meantime.
Devils (Min, Phi, @Phi, TB) Martin Brodeur has lost the last 7 games he has started. The Devils faith in him may be beginning to dwindle. Johan Hedberg may be seeing more playing time this week and if he plays well, we might be seeing more of him in the future as well.
Islanders (@Cgy, @Edm, @Col, @Chi) Dwayne Roloson was traded to Tampa Bay on Saturday, which means Rick DiPietro is officially the number one goalie for the Islanders.
Sharks (Van, Buf, Nsh, @Anh) Antero Niittymaki and Antti Niemi will continue to share net time. Niemi got a shutout against the Kings in their last contest which may mean you’ll see more of him, but he hasn’t done well enough to be named the number one goalie yet.
Lightning (@Was, @Pit, @Ott, @NJ) Dwayne Roloson was traded to Tampa Bay on Saturday and will most likely take on the role of number one goalie right away.
Canucks (@SJ, Cgy, Edm, Det) Roberto Luongo served as backup in the game against Dallas last week, as he had taken time off to return home for the birth of his son. Schneider has proved himself to be a reliable backup for the Canucks.
3 Games
Ducks (Nsh, Cls, SJ) Jonas Hiller will start this week for the Ducks. Hiller has won three of his last four games.
Thrashers (@Fla, Tor, @Car) Ondrej Pavelec stopped 42 of 44 shots in the Thrashers game against Boston and will continue to mind the net this week.
Bruins (@Tor, Min, @Mon) There’s no question that Tim Thomas will take care of the netminding for the Bruins this week. Tuukka Rask was pulled in the game against the Sabres on New Year’s day after he allowed three goals on 16 shots in the first period.
Sabres (@Col, @SJ, @Pho) Ryan Miller celebrated his 200th career win against the Oilers last week and although he hasn’t seen much of a break as of late, he will continue to start for the Sabres this week.
Flames (NYI, @Van, Det) Miikka Kiprusoff has won his last 4 games and with a fairly light schedule this week, he will continue to start for the Flames.
Avalanche (Buf, Pho, NYI) Craig Anderson continues to be inconsistent for the Avs, it’s possible Peter Budaj will get another start this week, check the site game days to be sure.
Blue Jackets (@Pho, @Anh, @LA) Steve Mason has won his last three games and earned the starting spot this week but that could easily change again, as the team and its goalies have been inconsistent.
Stars (@Chi, NYR, @Min) Kari Lehtonen has lost the last 4 games he played and will be looking to break his losing streak this week as it is likely he will get the starts this week. Despite Andrew Raycroft’s good performance against Nashville last week, he will continue to be a reliable backup for the Stars.
Wings (@Edm, @Cgy, @Van) Chris Osgood celebrated his monumental 400th career win against Colorado last week. Jimmy Howard will start this week for the Wings, he’s coming off a OT loss to the Islanders so expect to see him work extra hard to make up for it.
Oilers (Det, NYI, @Van) Nikolai Khabibulin and Devan Dubnyk are both likely to make appearances this week. The Oilers continue to struggle and haven’t seen a win since they played the Blue Jackets a few weeks ago.
Kings (Chi, Nsh, Cls) Jonathan Quick allowed 6 goals in the Kings game against the Coyotes last Wednesday but it seemed to be a fluke and he will be ready to step up this week as he should see all 3 starts.
Predators (@Anh, @LA, @SJ) Pekka Rinne has performed well since returning from injury, despite only 1 win. Rinne will get the starts this week as he continues to get back into the swing of things. However, the Preds do have a back-to-back games this week, so make sure to check the starting goalies page to make sure your lineup is set accordingly.
Rangers (Car, @Dal, @StL) Henrik Lundqvist continues to be the Rangers netminder and a great fantasy hockey player for anyone who owns him.
Coyotes (Cls, @Col, Buf) Ilya Bryzgalov has returned from injury and should get all 3 starts this week to get him back into the swing of things.
Penguins (TB, @Mon, Min) The Penguins lost against the Caps in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. Marc-Andre Fleury has won three of his last 7 games. With back-to-back games this week, Brent Johnson could get a start to allow Fleury to rest for a night.
Maple Leafs (Bos, StL, @Atl) JS Giguere plans to return to the lineup against the Blues this week.
2 games
Habs (Pit, Bos) Carey Price has lost his last 3 games but should still see the two starts in the Habs light week.
Senators (@Chi, TB) Brian Elliott has lost his last 3 games and upon the return of Pascal Leclaire he won’t be seeing much playing time as long as LeClaire can stay healthy.
Flyers (@NJ, NJ) The Flyers continue to rotate their goalies. Michael Leighton got his first start and win last week as Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky seemed to struggle a little bit in their latest netminding appearances. Check the goalie page on game days, as it’s still hard to tell who they’ll start on any given day.
Blues (@Tor, NYR) The Blues have a light week and will start Jaroslav Halak as he continues to be a reliable starting goalie for their team and yours.
Caps (TB, Fla) Semyon Varlamov has won his last 3 contests including the Winter Classic against the Penguins on New Year’s Day. The Caps will ride him while he’s hot.
Home Sweet Home: The Caps, Habs, Leafs, Avs and Ducks will play at home all week.
Packing Their Bags: The Islanders, Lightning, Blue Jackets, Sabres, Wings and Predators will hit the road this week.