The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

Good goaltending has been scarce this season, so it was no surprise to see a few goalies change addresses in the most hectic trade deadline of the cap era. The Kings shored up their goaltending by acquiring Joonas Korpisalo from the Blue Jackets, but it cost them a franchise goalie in Jonathan Quick, who was unsurprisingly distraught over the trade. Ironically, that move ended up helping the divisional rival Knights, who snatched up Quick from the Jackets to patch up their own goaltending.

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Joonas Korpisalo, Kings (11-11-3, .911 Sv%, 3.17 GAA)

It's been a very good bounce-back season for Korpisalo, and he was rewarded with a move to Hollywood, where he'll likely battle Pheonix Copley for the starting job. Copley has won two straight games but it's been a shaky performance with seven goals allowed, and all signs point toward this tandem eventually being a 1A-1B situation with Copley as the 1A in the moment. Korpisalo's fantasy value gets a huge boost because he no longer has to play behind a poor Jackets squad, though note the Kings don't defend particularly well. Fantasy managers should stash Korpisalo in case he starts to demand more playing time from Copley, who remains untested and has zero NHL playoff experience.

Jonathan Quick, Golden Knights (11-13-4, .876 Sv%, 3.50 GAA)

Those numbers are indeed ugly, but note two important things: one, the Knights play a strong defensive system and are quite good at keeping shots to the outside, not to mention Quick's former Kings teammate Alec Martinez is an excellent shot blocker; two, in Quick's own words, he's very motivated after being jettisoned by the only team he's only ever played for and backstopped to two Cups.

Adin Hill (15-6-1, .912 Sv%, 2.46 GAA) has been very solid for the Knights, which means he's not a threat to lose the starting job just yet, but Quick's fantasy value gets a boost by getting away from a poor Kings defense. Quick will get his chance to show what he can do, but at this point in his career is clearly more suited for a backup role, making him an intriguing streaming option for fantasy managers who want to roll the dice.

Mads Sogaard, Senators (4-0-1, .922 Sv%, 2.33 GAA)

Sogaard has been very good since getting called up and a big reason why the Sens are still in the midst of a tight playoff race. Cam Talbot, an impending UFA, was expected to be dealt at the deadline, but the Sens now need him down the stretch to provide some help. Sogaard's strong performances have certainly eaten into Talbot's playing time, and fantasy managers are now looking at a potential 50-50 split for the rest of the season. Sogaard should be rostered if you have Talbot, and given the Sens' explosive offense, he's very much worth streaming right now even if you don't.

Thatcher Demko, Canucks (Since returning from injury: 1-1-0, .919 Sv%, 6 GA)

Demko looked quite strong in his first game since returning from injury, stopping 34 of 38 shots in a win, and looked even better in his second game against the Wild despite the loss. At his best, Demko was a Vezina-caliber goalie who was forced to bail out a very poor Canucks defense every night. That hasn't changed, but a healthy Demko at least gives the Canucks a chance to win every night. Fantasy managers who have stashed Demko on injured reserve all season should fire him up, knowing he'll rack up the saves. Winning games is still a dicey proposition, however.  

Matt Murray, Stars (NHL debut: 19 of 21 saves)

Murray was forced into action in a back-to-back with Scott Wedgewood still nursing an injury. He was good enough to earn the win though the Stars did their part limiting the Blackhawks to just 21 shots. The undrafted 25-year-old was signed basically out of necessity since the Stars didn't have the cap space to call up Anton Khudobin, and he's unlikely to play a big role the rest of the season. If the matchup is favourable, Murray might be worth a streaming start since the Stars bolstered their roster leading up to the deadline, adding Evgenii Dadonov and Max Domi to shore up their offense.

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Connor Hellebuyck, Jets (Past two starts: 0-1-1, .841 Sv%, 5.77 GAA)

Hellebuyck has been excellent this season overall, but his past two starts have been particularly ugly. It's a bad time to start losing games with the Avalanche surging and the Central Division race tighter than ever. The Jets have now lost six of their past seven and face some tough opponents soon, including the Oilers twice and a swing through the Eastern Conference that includes the Panthers, Lightning, Hurricanes and Bruins. Hellebuyck is usually a safe play against any opponent, but fantasy managers should exercise some caution right now.

Ville Husso, Red Wings (Past two starts: 0-1-1, .828 Sv%, 5.36 GAA)

The Wings were reeling after losing two straight to the Sens, hurting their chances at a playoff spot and leading them to sell some players at the deadline. Husso has generally been good this season but his latest implosion has been rather ugly. Is fatigue a factor? Other than an outstanding October, Husso has been merely average for much of the year, and he's never played this many games before. It's probably safer for risk-averse fantasy managers to fade Husso for the rest of the season.

Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes (Past two starts: 0-2-0, .833 Sv%, 3.10 GAA)

For goalies, sometimes seeing too few pucks is a bad thing. Andersen allowed six goals on 36 shots in his past two games, and on Friday saw Antti Raanta get the start in Arizona. There's no doubt Andersen's still the starter, but his fantasy value might be limited to the ease of earning wins on a very good Canes team. Without seeing a lot of shots, Andersen's peripherals just simply may not be very good.