The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

Week 1 is over, so it's time to overreact.

Just kidding.

The Goalie Report is here to help calm these nerves in the first week. Whoosah.

In some ways, the season started as we expected. The defending champion Golden Knights were a force, the Avalanche offense was dominant and the Oilers defense can't, well, defend. (More on that later.)

It's worth remembering that offense tends to spike in the first few months. Granted, we're missing one of the league's best goalies in Andrei Vasilevskiy, so the numbers will be a little skewed. But with so many good young players, the talent level across the league has definitely risen. New players are still getting used to their new environments and teams are still feeling each other out.

Don't fret about a poor save percentage or an absurdly high goals-against average just yet. Over the next few weeks, those numbers will normalize. That means you shouldn't dump Ilya Samsonov just yet, or claim Petr Mrazek thinking you've outsmarted your entire league. Let things play out for a little bit.

Here's The Goalie Report after the NHL's opening week.

Trending Up

Jordan Binnington, Blues (1-0-1, .969 Sv%, 0.92 GAA)

For once, Binnington was more focused on stopping pucks than punching guys, and look what happened. He's been brilliant through two games, and would've had an unblemished record if not for a shootout loss to the Stars that could've gone either way in the season opener.

Granted, these weren't the toughest opponents, as the Stars were missing top center Roope Hintz while the Kraken have struggled offensively with only two goals in three games, but this is a good sign. Binnington came into the season as one of the least desirable starters in fantasy, but he's flipped the script on its head so far and now gets a four-day break before playing two more home games this coming week.

Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets (1-1-0, .950 Sv%, 1.84 GAA)

A revamped Jackets defense has certainly provided Merzlikins with much-needed help. The blueline is so deep that they shouldn't be significantly impacted by the loss of Zach Werenski (quadriceps). Merzlikins hasn't posted numbers this good since his rookie season, and he's battled Joonas Korpisalo and injuries over the past few seasons. That seems to be behind him now, though an illness did cause him to miss Monday's clash against the Red Wings. He should return for Friday's game against the Flames.

Petr Mrazek, Blackhawks (1-1-0, .935 Sv%, 2.54 GAA)

Of all the things we expected from the Blackhawks, good goaltending wasn't one of them. Mrazek battled injuries — again — last season and his performances were particularly poor, causing him to cede time to Alex Stalock. With Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom operating a timeshare to start the season, Mrazek looks determined to command a bigger part of the workload.

The Hawks defense has been porous, allowing at least 36 shots in both of Mrazek's starts, but the upside is Mrazek gets to rack up the saves, assuming his save percentage doesn't dip too much. It's a tough schedule ahead, however, with the Leafs, Avs and Knights coming up. Proceed with caution with Mrazek, though he's worth keeping an eye on when he's playing like this.

Philipp Grubauer, Kraken (0-2-0, .918 Sv%, 2.55 GAA)

Never mind the losing record; Grubauer is playing like a starting caliber-goalie again. That the Kraken offense can't score goals has nothing to do with Grubauer; at the least, he's keeping the Kraken in games, and once the goals start to pour in, the wins should also start to pile up.

Grubauer's performance so far has put a little damper on the idea that backup Joey Daccord might usurp the starting job. Daccord was highly touted following the expansion draft and led AHL Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup final last season. He saved 24 of 25 shots in his first start of the season Saturday against St. Louis and will try to grab a piece of the playing time. If Daccord falters, Grubauer might be worth the stash; remember that just two season ago, Grubauer was a finalist for the Vezina as the league's best goalie.

Trending Down

Jacob Markstrom, Flames (1-1-1, .898 Sv%, 2.96 GAA)

It was such a promising start. Markstrom allowed three goals on 37 shots in a season-opening win against the Jets, but then allowed four goals on 24 shots in the following game despite leading 1-0 going into the third period. This type of inconsistency haunted the Flames and fantasy managers throughout last season.

With backup Dan Vladar preparing for his first start sometime this week and top prospect Dustin Wolf in the AHL, Markstrom has plenty of reasons to be nervous about potentially losing the starting job. Hold Markstrom and take a wait-and-see approach. It's been a mixed bag and warrants some patience, especially since the Flames defense doesn't look entirely in sync. The Flames face the Sabres next, who are struggling offensively.

Jonas Johansson, Lightning (1-1-0, .889 Sv%, 4.09 GAA)

We knew this was coming, but the Lightning's defense is worse than feared. Johansson was never going to be the long-term answer, and at the very least, we could expect some wins. That won't be the case if they routinely get outshot, and their lineup is just so thin. Start Johansson at your own peril.

Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers (1-2-0, .888 Sv%, 3.42 GAA)

Another year, another time Bobrovsky shows up on the naughty list. The Panthers offense didn't offer much help in the season opener, failing to score a single goal against the Wild even though they held them to 19 shots. The next game was a bit of a disaster, with Bobrovsky allowing five goals on 34 shots in their second straight loss. He righted the ship against the Devils, but it's been a shaky start so far. 

Look for backup Anthony Stolarz to get a look soon, and also remember that the Panthers have an ace up their sleeve with Spencer Knight in the AHL. Bobrovsky's fantasy value derives mainly for his workload, but with two other options in the organization, that might not be the case going forward. With each passing year, Bobrovsky's $10-million-per-season contract looks worse and worse.

Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley, Kings (Combined: 0-1-1, .836 Sv%, 4.35 GAA)

This was always going to be the Kings' biggest weakness, and it showed. Talbot lost the season opener after allowing four goals, though it was against a vaunted Avs offense. Comparatively speaking, Copley had a much tougher time, falling behind 3-0 early against the Canes and needing late-game heroics from the Kings to earn a point in a shootout loss.

The Kings' blueline isn't particularly stout, but no playoff-bound team should be allowing 10 goals in two games. David Rittich was on the roster up until the first night of the season, and he's the third option should Talbot and Copley continue to falter. All three are unappetizing options in fantasy and only are worth streaming if the matchups are favorable.

Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner, Oilers (Combined: 0-2-0, .750 Sv%, 6.12 GAA)

Campbell was replaced by Skinner in the season opener after allowing four goals against the Canucks, only to see Skinner also allow four goals in a 8-1 loss. Saturday's rematch was the perfect setup for a potential revenge game, but the Oilers' goaltenders faltered, with Skinner allowing four goals once again in a 4-3 loss.

The Oilers' goaltending was never going to be their strong suit, but nobody thought it would be this bad. Their offense is going to have to bail them out again, just as it did for most of the previous season. Campbell and Skinner were both so bad that it's tough to say who has the upper hand in this timeshare, and at this point, it really doesn't matter. Expect their play to improve after hitting rock bottom, but it's looking like a very sub-par tandem in fantasy, especially compared to other tandems around the league such as Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, or even Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, both of whom are having rough starts to the season themselves.