UPDATE! – November 19th – Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
Tonight there are 10 games on the NHL slate, as usual there are a number of key matchups. The games I will be keeping an eye on tonight are: Minnesota vs. Montreal, Carey Price has been playing well and the Josh Harding story is unreal – watching him has been a treat this season. Chicago taking on Colorado will be interesting. The Avs are slumping a bit and they will be without Matt Duchene vs. a real good Blackhawks team. And of course for our Red Wings readers, I will obviously be watching Detroit vs. Nashville as they look to snap this ugly streak.
1. Josh Harding (@ MTL) – Nine wins in his last 10 starts… I don’t care who he is playing, he is in my lineup every night until he gives me a reason to bench him.
2. Tuukka Rask (@ NYR) – Rask has won three of his last four and faces a low scoring Rangers team. He is a must-start regardless of matchup. (Bruins would not announce a goalie today, had Johnson as probable – Rask Starts)
3. Roberto Luongo (vs. FLA) – Luongo has rarely allowed two-plus goals in a start this season so the Sedin’s should be able to score at least three on Tim Thomas.
4. Jaroslav Halak (@ BUF) – Halak gets a great bounce-back matchup after being pulled on Sunday. The Blues should overwhelm the Sabres and Jaro should walk away with a W.
5. Carey Price (vs. MIN) – The way Price and Harding are playing this should be a low-scoring affair. The Habs impotent offence hurts Price’s value, but he will still post rock solid numbers on a nightly basis.
6. Corey Crawford (@ COL) – Like Harding he has won nine of his last 10, however he does it because his offence is dominant. Expect Chicago to continue to score and Crawford to continue to win.
7. Jimmy Howard (vs. NSH) – The Red Wings are historically great at home, but they have not won at home in their last seven. The Preds are a team they are familiar with from their years in the West, I fully expect their first home win to come tonight.
8. Jonathan Bernier (vs. NYI) – The Islanders are a team who are capable of scoring so I was conservative with this ranking. Bernier has been solid all year, so he should be a fine start.
9. Robin Lehner (@ PHI) – Ottawa was dusted by the Flyers last Tuesday, I expect them to come out with some more fire tonight. Lehner has won three consecutive starts and his .945 SV% shows how good he has been.
10. Ben Bishop (@ LA) – Bishop is fine after leaving Saturday’s contest, but he draws a tough matchup tonight. Bishop is still worth a start tonight, but just assess your other matchups first.
11. Steve Mason (vs. OTT) – Mason shut-out the Sens last Tuesday, so no reason to believe he can’t do it agin. However expect a better Ottawa team tonight, but Mason still looks like a nice start.
12. Sergei Bobrovsky (@ EDM) – Edmonton is 1-7-0 at home and Bob is coming off of a solid outing, I expect him to win his second straight.
13. Semyon Varlamov (vs. CHI) – Three straight losses and a matchup with the Blackhawks makes Varly less appealing than he was a week ago.
14. Ben Scrivens (vs. TB) – Back-to-back shutouts are nice, but this is still Ben Scrivens. He is a solid netminder with a good team in front of him so he should do fine vs. a Stamkos-less Lightning team
15. Henrik Lundqvist (vs. BOS) – If Tuukka Rask starts, this is a terrible matchup for King Henrik, but if Chad Johnson starts, bump him up a few spots.
16. Devan Dubnyk (vs. CBJ) – Dubnyk has had a terrible season, I have little faith in him right now. However with Ilya Bryzgalov on the bench tonight, it should provide extra incentive for Dubnyk.
17. Tim Thomas (@ VAN) – Thomas has played well, but his team has struggled in front of him. I don’t like him vs. a strong Canucks team.
18. Kevin Poulin (@ TOR) – Poulin will be the Islanders starter for the foreseeable future, but he starts his reign with a tough matchup against the Maple Leafs.
19. Ryan Miller (vs. STL) – Miller has done a great job keeping the Sabres in games, but vs. a hot Blues team, another loss is probably in the cards tonight.
20. Marek Mazanec (@ DET) – The Red Wings need a win at home and for that to happen Mazanec will have to give up some goals. There are better options tonight.