March 27th – Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings

There are 20 teams in action tonight (10 games) and after tonight there will only be five teams left with 10 games remaining (PHI, CBJ, OTT, ANA, DAL). As I am sure you are all getting used to, there are a number of bubble teams in action this evening. In the West you have Minnesota, Phoenix and Vancouver with Dallas idle. In the East you only have Detroit and New Jersey with Toronto, Washington, Columbus and Philadelphia getting the night off. Below are my goalie rankings for tonight’s games to help you decide which goalies to start. There are a ton of spot-start options, so take a peak at which ones I have ranked the highest. Also if you have not seen them yet, we have Fantasy Hockey Champion T-shirts on sale for $19.99, click HERE to get yours now!

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1. Ben Bishop (vs. NYI) – Bishop is third in wins (34), third in SV% (.927) and sixth in GAA (2.18)… He got you here, no way you don’t start him vs. the Isles.
2. Antti Niemi (vs. WPG) – Niemi leads the NHL in wins with 36 and has been the hottest goalie in March going 7-1-1 with a 1.88 GAA and .931 SV%. Tonight, he faces a struggling Jets team. Get him in your lineup.
3. Ryan Miller (vs. MIN) – Miller is 8-2-1 with a 2.12 GAA and .913 SV% with the Blues and meets a Wild team who are lacking an identity right now.
4. Tuukka Rask (vs. CHI) – Rask is 7-1-1 with a 1.75 GAA and .938 SV% in March so it is tough to not start him even with the difficult matchup.
5. Semyon Varlamov (vs. VAN)- Varlamov ranks second in the NHL in Wins (35), eighth in SV% (.924) and 22nd in GAA (2.51). He has yet to face Vancouver, but comes into play tonight having gone 21-9-3 in his previous 33 starts at Pepsi Center.
6. Carey Price (@ DET) – Price has won four of five starts with a 2.62 GAA and .920 SV% since returning from a lower-body injury. The Red Wings don’t score a ton, but they have the hottest scorer in the NHL right now in Gustav Nyquist.
7. Roberto Luongo (vs. CAR) – Despite playing on a struggling team, Luongo has managed to go 4-4-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .923 SV%. He will face a Hurricanes team heading in the wrong direction in the standings.
8. Corey Crawford (@ BOS) –  Crawford has won six of his last eight starts while only giving up 12 goals on 188 shots (.936 SV%). He’d be ranked higher if his matchup wasn’t as difficult as they get.
9. Carter Hutton (vs. BUF) – Since January 14, Hutton is 8-4-2 with a 2.45 GAA and .908 SV% in 14 starts.While those are not off the charts numbers, tonight’s matchup against the Sabres, who have seven goals in their last six games, is as juicy of a spot-start matchup as you will find.
10. Thomas Greiss (@ NJD) – Greiss played very well vs. the Penguins on Tuesday, so there is no reason to think he won’t have a strong game tonight in New Jersey.
11. Jimmy Howard (vs. MTL) – Howard has played well of late, but continues to give up multiple goals. The Red Wings really need him to be more consistent, but they also need to step up in front of him. He makes for an average start vs. a quality Habs lineup.
12. Martin Jones (@ PIT) – Jones sits at 10-5-0 with a 1.90 GAA and .932 SV% on the season, but it is never easy to face Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh. (Likely)
13. Anto Khudobin (@ FLA) –  Khudobin has gone 2-5-0 with a 2.55 GAA and .927 SV% in March, and has only won twice in his last 11 outings. However, he is 2-0-0 vs. Florida this season, but those wins came when the Hurricanes weren’t slumping.
14. Jeff Zatkoff (vs. LA) – Zatkoff  will get a chance to face the team that drafted him and his former AHL teammate Martin Jones. Zatkoff has won three of four with a 2.32 GAA and .929 SV% but will face an L.A team who have won four in a row.
15. Martin Brodeur (vs. PHX) – Brodeur has lost three straight games while posting a 2.67 GAA and .910 SV% and will take on the Coyotes, who have won six of their last nine games.
16. Matt Hackett (@ NSH) – In his first two starts with the Sabres, Hackett has impressed many by posting a 1.51 GAA and .958 SV%. However, it is a risky time of the Fantasy season to put a ton of trust in a young SABRES netminder.
17. Darcy Kuemper (@ STL) – Kuemper was yanked last night and has lost each of his last four starts. It will be difficult for him to get off of the schnide are he prepares to take on the Blues.
18. Al Montoya (@ SJ) – Montoya has won two of the previous five starts with a 2.69 GAA and .902 SV%, but a matchup vs. the red-hot Niemi in San Jose should be avoided.
19. Evgeni Nabokov (@ TB) – Nabokov is coming off of a 41-save shutout, but prior to that he allowed 3.71 goals per game in his previous seven starts.

Unconfirmed

Vancouver – Eddie Lack / Jacob Markstrom