The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

All eyes will be on the trade deadline on Friday, March 8.

We're still waiting for the big domino to fall and that still may be Jacob Markstrom, who was reportedly close to headed to the Devils before the deal fell through. The goalie market seems to be ever-changing – just look at the Kings' goaltending situation right now and the impending return of Frederik Andersen for the Hurricanes – and it takes one move to affect a seismic change across the league.

One goalie who is likely no longer available unless it's a whale of an offer: The Predators' Juuse Saros. With their recent winning streak, the Preds are now in a good position to make the playoffs, which means Saros will remain their starter, and top prospect Yaroslav Askarov will have to wait a little longer to make the jump from the AHL.

There are some goalie battles to watch, too, as teams decide who they want to go with down the stretch drive: The Bruins' Jennings-winning duo of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark suddenly looks very vulnerable; the Red Wings need to decide if Alex Lyon (more on him later) is "the guy," Cam Talbot seems to be taking back the net from David Rittich for the Kings; the Leafs are still deciding between Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov; and the Knights are suddenly seeing both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson struggle.

Trending Up

Philipp Grubauer, Kraken (Last week: 2-1-0, .944 Sv%, 1.64 GAA)

The longer Grubauer plays like this, the more likely he'll maintain in control of the crease and keep Joey Daccord on the bench. Past history has shown that Grubauer won't be able to keep this up, but if the alternative is Daccord, who owned a 1-3-1 record and .904 Sv% in February, then it's still going to be Grubauer's net. The Kraken have fallen out of the playoff race, but that doesn't mean their goalies won't have any fantasy value. Grubauer may maintain his hot streak for a little longer, and maybe prolonged rest will help Daccord, who has never faced this kind of workload and pressure in the NHL this season. 

The strategy is to hold both Grubauer and Daccord for now; the Kraken play back-to-back in Calgary and Winnipeg on Monday and Tuesday, and how that shakes out will determine who gets Friday's start and their rotation going forward.

Karel Vejmelka, Coyotes (Last week: 2-0-0, .921 Sv%, 2.50 GAA)

Similar to the situation in Seattle, it looks like Connor Ingram might be a little fatigued. He's lost four straight games and posted a save percentage higher than .900 in only one game, and his monthly save percentage has also dipped for the third straight month. Vejmelka has now won two straight starts with only five goals allowed, and he's been instrumental in snapping the Coyotes' 14-game losing streak. With the Coyotes out of the playoff race, it wouldn't be surprising to see a 50-50 split between Ingram and Vejmelka for the rest of the season.

Magnus Chrona, Sharks (Previous game: 36 of 38 saves, .947 Sv%, OTL)

Chrona was magnificent in his second start of the season, nearly stealing a game against the Stars on the road. He held on until the sixth round of the shootout, and with Mackenzie Blackwood on IR, Chrona is expected to stick with the Sharks a little longer and back up Kaapo Kahkonen. Obviously, the Sharks' goalies don't offer much fantasy value, but Chrona's performance was noteworthy.

Frederik Andersen, Hurricanes (4-1-0, .894 Sv%, 2.87 GAA)

There's no return date set, but note Andersen is back on the ice and may return sometime this week. He has not seen any action since Nov. 2, and his return will create a major logjam; Pyotr Kochetkov is the incumbent starter, with Spencer Martin backing him up and Antti Raanta recovering from a lower-body injury. Andersen will get a chance to take back the starting job, but there's all sorts of question marks, from whether the Canes would be carrying three (or four!) goalies, to fears of both Andersen and Raanta aggravating their ailments given their lengthy injury histories.

Backups

Anecdotally, there seems to be a lot more back-to-backs in the final stretches of the season following a period of little action during the outdoor games and the All-Star Game. That means plenty of backups will see action, especially those on teams who have playoff spots locked up early and wish to rest their starters.

Among the backups who may see more action and make for great streaming options include: the Avalanche's Justus Annunen, coming off a shutout performance and having an elite offense supporting him; the Stars' Scott Wedgewood with Jake Oettinger having a subpar season (for his standards); the Oilers' Calvin Pickard; the Panthers' Anthony Stolarz, who has arguably been the best backup this season; the Rangers' Jonathan Quick, who almost overtook Igor Shesterkin as the best goalie in Manhattan earlier this season; the Canucks' Casey DeSmith; and the Jets' Laurent Brossoit.

Trending Down

Alex Lyon, Red Wings (Since Feb. 1: 5-4-0, .885 Sv%, 3.39 GAA)

The 8-3 win against the Caps was a breeze, and Lyon didn't have to be sharp (18 saves on 21 shots) but he then allowed four goals in each of his next two games – both losses. You have to wonder if fatigue has become a factor for the 31-year-old journeyman, and keep in mind James Reimer is 2-0-0 with a .973 Sv% and 0.99 GAA during the same span. Lyon faces a tough test in Colorado on Wednesday and then likely a split with Reimer with a back-to-back on March 8-9 in Arizona and Vegas. Other than the matchup against the Coyotes, I'd be inclined to sit Lyon until he improves his performances.

Nico Daws, Devils (8-10-0, .887 Sv%, 3.47 GAA)

Daws has not limited his opponents to two goals or less in consecutive games since Feb. 13 to 15. Since then, he has a .847 Sv% and 4.36 GAA. In short, the Devils can't keep doing this. They desperately need help in goal if they want to make the playoffs, and the third spot in the Metro is still within reach, but do the Devils have any other choice?

Daws maintains his fantasy value based on the volume of starts, but he's clearly in the lower tier of goalies. Note, too, that Akira Schmid has been perfect in two consecutive relief appearances, stopping all nine shots he faced both times Friday in Anaheim and Sunday in L.A. Even with three home games and no back-to-back this coming week, I suspect Schmid – whose fantasy value is trending up – will get his second start since getting called back up from the minors.