Behind the Mask
Here are some notes of interest for fantasy goaltending heading into the weekend:
Jimmy Howard, Detroit – we’ve been pounding the table during the past few weeks on the emergence of Jimmy Howard as a legitimate threat to Chris Osgood’s playing time. Indeed, Howard not only had more appearances in November than Osgood, but he also outplayed him. In Howard’s 8 starts last month, he posted a 6-2 record with a 2.10 GAA and a .923 SV%. Compare that to Osgood’s mediocre 2-3-1 record and .909 SV%, and it’s clear that Howard’s stock is on the rise and, if he continues his current pace, will at some point become the bonafide number one goalie in Detroit. At the bare minimum, Howard should be held as insurance to Osgood, but can also be a solid number 3 goalie on your fantasy team (with strong potential to be a number two), and perhaps even dangled as potential trade bait for panicking Osgood owners.
Tuuka Rask, Boston – it’s a problem every NHL team would love to have: two stud goalies, who both deserve to play. So who do you start? That’s the situation in Boston, with Tim Thomas and former-Leaf Tuuka Rask both putting on clinics each time they start in goal. Thomas is still playing well enough to keep the number one title for now, but fantasy owners are surely getting nervous as the prospect of Rask cutting into Thomas’ playing time lurks in the horizon. Thomas isn’t the type of goalie to shoulder a heavy workload either – he’s started just 54 and 55 games over the past two years, so having Rask as an insurance is a must for any Thomas owner, even barring injury to Thomas. It will be interesting to see how the Bruins’ goaltending situation develops if Rask continues to show he can play at the NHL level. Thomas signed a 4-year extension in April 2009 with the Bruins, and went on to win the Vezina trophy that year, but could find himself slowly getting squeezed as the younger and cheaper Rask continues his ascent.
J.S. Giguere, Anaheim – a month after Giguere said publicly that he did not want to be a backup to Jonas Hiller, he’s gone out and played like you would expect from a number one goalie: 3-1-2 with a 2.11 GAA and .928 SV% in November. Hiller on the other hand has gone on a bit of a swoon, posting a GAA over 3, and a save percentage less than .900 in the same time period. Anyone looking for an extra goalie should definitely be on the lookout for Jiggy, who seems to be finally getting his game on track after a lacklustre 2008-2009 season that was filled with emotional turmoil. Fantasy owners can expect some sort of platoon going forward, but based on Giguere’s track record and his apparent return to form, it seems like Hiller fantasy owners may be better off moving Hiller – if you can swing a deal for Jimmy Howard or even Tuuka Rask, you’ll most likely be laughing in the months to come.
Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers – for whatever reason, the month of December has been downright awful for King Henrik over the past few years. Consider his GAA/SV% numbers for December during the past three seasons: 3.74/.873, 3.11/.875, 3.12/.903. Oh, and in case you were wondering, his win-loss record is just as ugly. Nevertheless, Lundqvist has always finished the year as a top ten fantasy goalie, which implies that his other months are in fact, stellar. This year, Lundqvist might be showing signs of the same trend – in November, he’s posted a SV% less than .900 in 7 of 10 games, and the first half of December will be no cakewalk either, as the Rangers start the month against the Red Wings, Sabres (2), Blackhawks, and Thrashers. This might present an opportunity for some owners to try and wrestle Lundqvist away, especially during what could be a tough December schedule. You can also expect Lundqvist to shoulder the vast majority, if not all, of the load in the short term, since backup Stephen Valiquette was placed on waivers earlier this week, leaving Lundqvist as the only option in goal.
Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders – the Isles franchise goalie (remember that 15 year deal??) has almost gone forgotten as a series of knee injuries and surgeries have reduced his play to a total of five starts in the past two years. Nevertheless, the fragile DiPietro is slowly clawing his way back and seems to be en route to returning to the Isles in mid-December, following a rehab stint in the AHL. Will he be the same goalie he was in the past? Despite playing for one of the worst teams in the league, Dipietro has always posted decent numbers – for example, during a forgettable four year span for the Islanders (2003-2007), he managed to post a respectable .908 SV%. It will be tough to say how he will perform when he returns, but it’s sure that the Islanders will ease him in slowly and gently. If you’re looking for a 3rd (or even 4th) goalie, DiPietro may be worth a flyer, but at this point it’s clearly a gamble – keep your eye on how he plays in Bridgeport as an indicator. His return however, raises the issue of what the Islanders will do with Martin Biron. He’s on a 1-year, $1.4 million contract, and could be attractive to a team looking for some depth for a playoff run. We’ll keep you posted.
Craig Anderson, Colorado – the descent of Craig Anderson continues as he went 4-5-3 with a 3.19 GAA and a .897 SV% in November, and started December with an ugly 6-5 shootout win against Florida. Although I don’t think he’s as bad as the November numbers indicate, Colorado was never that good of a team. They’re starting to come back down to Earth and Anderson’s numbers will suffer because of it. Look for him to post decent, but not stellar, numbers for the remainder of the season. Thanks to an outstanding October, his overall numbers still look strong however, so if you can even squeeze off a trade for a Ray Emery, I would take it.
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