UPDATE! December 10th – Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
Hey Y’all we got 12 games on the schedule tonight, here are my marquee matchups: Los Angeles makes a rare appearance in Montreal to take on the RED-HOT Canadiens. Dallas and Chicago meet again after the Stars beat them last week – if last night’s Monday Night Football game was any indication, the Blackhawks are going to run away with this one. I’m also interested to see what happens in Edmonton between the Hurricanes and the Oilers. Those are two teams who have loads of young talent between the two of them and each appear to be righting the ship to a certain degree. I expect that to be a high-scoring affair. Good Luck to everyone tonight and here are my goalie rankings for this evening’s games… ENJOY!
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1. Tuukka Rask (@CGY) – 15-7-2 with 1.91 GAA and .934 SV% and is a must-start every night.
2. Antti Niemi (vs. NYI) – Struggling a bit as of late, but in the end San Jose is too strong for the Isles so Niemi is a great play tonight.
3. Robin Lehner (@ BUF) – Lehner is a great young goalie and this matchup is ideal.
4. Ben Bishop (@ WSH) – Bishop has allowed only five goals in his last five starts while posting a .969 SV%.
5. Henrik Lundqvist (vs. NSH) – Nashville is on a five-game losing skid and have been out scored 19-7 in those games.
6. Carey Price (vs. LA) – Not an ideal matchup but he has won seven straight so you aren’t benching him!
7. Jimmy Howard (@ FLA) – Howie has had a terrible start to the year, but nothing like a trip to Sunrise, Florida to kick-start your game.
8. Martin Brodeur (@ CBJ) – Columbus will likely be gassed after a hard-fought game vs. the Pens last night. Brodeur is still Brodeur and this is still a strong matchup.
9. Brian Elliott (@ WPG) – Elliott is 4-1-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .915 SV%, that is good enough for me against an Evander Kane-less Jets team.
10. Semyon Varlamov (vs. PHX) – Varly’s game as slipped recently, but the extra rest should help him against a ‘Yotes team who are 4-4-2 in their last ten.
11. Kari Lehtonen (vs. CHI) – Lehtonen was stellar against the Blackhawks last week, lets see if he can do it again.
12. Braden Holtby (vs. TB) – Tampa Bay has just four goals in their last four games, despite Holtby’s inconsistent tendencies, he is a viable option tonight.
13. Curtis McElhinney (vs. NJ) – McElhinney has filled in nicely so far, but he likely is not used to back-to-back starts. Regardless the Devils offence is not one to be scared of, you can roll McE tonight.
14. Antti Raanta (@ DAL) – Raanta is the man in Chicago for a couple of weeks now. He hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game yet, but this Stars offence has some fire power, so he is a risky start tonight.
15. Cam Ward (@ EDM) – Ward is 3-3-1 with a 3.00 GAA and .900 SV% since returning from his lower-body injury. Mediocre numbers on a mediocre team. You always have too be a little nervous about a tendy heading to Edmonton to face all that talent. (Probable)
16. Mike Smith (@ COL) – Smith’s 3.27 GAA and .904 SV% are driving me far away from this road matchup tonight.
17. Ondrej Pavelec (vs. STL) – St. Louis has no problem putting the puck in the net, so Pavelec is a risky start tonight.
18. Martin Jones (@ MTL) – Jones has been really good in his first two NHL starts, but he runs into the NHL’s hottest team right now on the road.
19. Tim Thomas (vs. DET) – Thomas beat a Datsyuk-less Red Wings club, but I don’t think he’s got it in him to beat the Wings with the Magician tonight.
20. Devan Dubnyk (vs. CAR) – Dubnyk’s last two starts have to be acknowledged, but Carolina is coming in having just had their best week of the season.
21. Carter Hutton (@ NYR) – Regardless of the Rangers offensive struggles from time-to-time, Hutton’s .894 SV% on the season doesn’t give you a lot of faith in him.
22. Ryan Miller (vs. OTT) – Miller has done a decent job keeping the biscuit out of the net this season, but the Sabres are bad and he never gets the W… So what is the point?
23. Reto Berra (vs. BOS) – Sure the Bruins are banged up, but did you see what they did to the Leafs on Sunday? No thanks on Berra tonight.
24. Kevin Poulin (@ SJ) Poulin has an .876 SV% in his last nine outings… Just don’t.