The Goalie Report: Risers and Fallers

In this column, we take a look at goalie performances over the past week. We won't include superstars who've been included a number of times before. There are a number of others who have stepped up recently. For a few more, it's time to raise the white flag. 

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Casey DeSmith, Stars (1.50 GAA, .964 SV%)

In recent years, we're seeing more goalie tandems splitting shares of the goalie starts. Dallas has not been one of those teams, as they've leaned heavily on Jake Oettinger.  DeSmith is making a strong bid to make the Stars less dependent on their starter. He's put up impressive numbers all season long and added two more quality starts last week to a string that has now reached nine effective outings in a row. With the Stars locked into no worse than a second-place finish in their division, they have a chance to use DeSmith a little more and rest Oettinger over the remainder of the season.

Karel Vejmelka, Utah (2.53 GAA, .916 SV%)

Vejmelka is enjoying the best season of his four years with the Utah (formerly Arizona Coyotes) Hockey Club. Last week, he added three quality starts out of his four total appearances and has now tied his previous season-high in appearances, while eclipsing his previous best win total. At 28, he's now entering his prime and the team is trending up, so this should be a situation where his career can continue on an upward trajectory. He certainly has solved any doubt about the need to search for a talented number one goalie on this roster. 

Cam Talbot, Red Wings (1.50 GAA, .950 SV%)

The Wings have volleyed the goalie assignments between four starters through this season, in their attempt to stay in the playoff hunt. Last week, Talbot got another turn to take command of the Wings net. He responded with three consecutive solid appearances. He's now 37 years old and has kept his goals against average under 3.00 for a sixth straight year and is on the books for one more season next year at his current S2.5M cap hit.  He can solidify his chances of being in line for a significant role with a strong finish over the remaining schedule     

Jacob Markstrom, Devils (2.27 GAA, .910 SV%)

Markstrom went through a few weeks, following his return from injury, where he was eased into a share of the goaltending assignments for a couple of weeks. Most recently, he has taken on four of the last five starts and put in a quality appearance (allowing three goals or less) each time out. The Devils face a difficult road ahead as they're currently missing their top defenseman and top forward, due to injury. They can, at least, lean on their top goalie to try to offset these issues as they prepare for the playoffs.      

Jordan Binnington, Blues (1.98 GAA, .960 SV%)

Binnington has been a different goalie since backstopping Team Canada to the win at the Four Nations Faceoff. He's looking a lot more like the guy who won the Cup on 2019. Three straight quality starts extended his current hot streak to six straight wins. He's carrying himself with a very visible confidence that has spread to the rest of the Blues roster as they are the hottest team in the league right now. That's put St. Louis in the top wild-card spot. There can't be a lot of teams that want to line up against Binnington in the upcoming first round of the post season, the way he's playing at the moment.  

Sam Montembeault, Canadiens (2.35 GAA, .908 SV%)

The Canadiens have made a good push toward a playoff spot and Montembeault's play has been a key component. It's been a bumpy ride at times for the Habs top goalie, but he turned in three solid starts last week against top opposition to keep fanning Montreal's playoff hopes.  The Canadiens rebuild has been slow and steady, reflected in Montembeault's improving numbers over his four seasons. He's established a personal best in wins (27) and is in line for the first sub 3.00 GAA campaign in his career. He's transformed himself into part of the solution in Montreal.

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Juuse Saros, Predators (6.09 GAA, .787 SV%)

Saros has been rated among the top workhorse goalies for the last three seasons. There were similar hopes for him and his team this year. Both have fallen considerably short this season, despite significant additions to the roster in the past offseason. After 54 starts, he is 17 wins shy of last year's total (35 in 64 appearances). His season-long numbers are only marginally higher than last year, suggesting that he's not the biggest problem, but he can't hide the shortfalls of the rest of the roster, in a very disappointing campaign for the Predators.

Spencer Knight, Blackhawks (4.15 GAA, .805 SV%)

Knight came over in a deal at the trade deadline and, for the first few weeks, showed his pedigree as a puck stopper who could play a key role in Chicago's rebuild. Last week was a different story as it seems clear that this is a team that can't wait for the season to end. There's no way to sugarcoat it, as Knight had a rough week, with three poor starts in a row. The shot totals against him were low, but there were a high percentage of quality chances among them. At this stage of the season, it has to be difficult for also-rans to get geared up for games and goalies will bear the brunt of the outcomes. It's not the time for a fair judgement of Knight.

Ilya Sorokin, Islanders (4.16 GAA, .831 SV%)

The Isles are winless in their last five starts and Sorokin has been in goal for four of them at this critical juncture. While he's not solely responsible for those outcomes, he has to wear them. On the whole, this season has been typical of Sorokin's entire tenure on Long Island. He's provided solid netminding for a team that is somewhat offensively challenged. That puts a lot of pressure on him. He is among the most talented goalies in the league, but needs help in front of him. Until that help arrives in terms of roster upgrades, he looks like he'll be in for a tumultuous battle.