Every Saturday, we give you a rundown of notable goalies to help you stay a step ahead in the 2022-23 fantasy season.
Trending Up
Logan Thompson, Golden Knights (2-0-0, .947 Sv%, 1.50 GAA, 1 SO)
If Thompson keeps this up, the Knights have nothing to worry about in net. Thompson entered the season as one of the most intriguing players in the league from a fantasy perspective, as he was slated to take over a team with big aspirations even though he has little experience and technically still qualifies as a rookie. We shall see if Thompson is up to the task in upcoming games against the Flames, Avalanche and Leafs, but note that the Knights also look much improved with three solid lines and a healthy defense. Keep starting Thompson until his performance drops off, which inevitably will happen during the course of a very long season as the path is never smooth.
Ville Husso, Red Wings (29-save shutout in season debut)
Husso looked sharp against the Habs, raising the bar for Alex Nedeljkovic in their battle for the starting job. Husso definitely has the inside track for now, but more importantly, the Wings looked pretty good and were no longer reliant on Dylan Larkin's line to do everything. It looks like Husso's fantasy value is just starting to rise, and this is a great time to get on the elevator.
Jake Allen, Canadiens (1-1-0, .943 Sv%, 2.03 GAA)
Allen deserves a shoutout for his
Every Saturday, we give you a rundown of notable goalies to help you stay a step ahead in the 2022-23 fantasy season.
Trending Up
Logan Thompson, Golden Knights (2-0-0, .947 Sv%, 1.50 GAA, 1 SO)
If Thompson keeps this up, the Knights have nothing to worry about in net. Thompson entered the season as one of the most intriguing players in the league from a fantasy perspective, as he was slated to take over a team with big aspirations even though he has little experience and technically still qualifies as a rookie. We shall see if Thompson is up to the task in upcoming games against the Flames, Avalanche and Leafs, but note that the Knights also look much improved with three solid lines and a healthy defense. Keep starting Thompson until his performance drops off, which inevitably will happen during the course of a very long season as the path is never smooth.
Ville Husso, Red Wings (29-save shutout in season debut)
Husso looked sharp against the Habs, raising the bar for Alex Nedeljkovic in their battle for the starting job. Husso definitely has the inside track for now, but more importantly, the Wings looked pretty good and were no longer reliant on Dylan Larkin's line to do everything. It looks like Husso's fantasy value is just starting to rise, and this is a great time to get on the elevator.
Jake Allen, Canadiens (1-1-0, .943 Sv%, 2.03 GAA)
Allen deserves a shoutout for his strong performance thus far, but let's not forget that the Habs got off to a hot start when Martin St. Louis was hired last season only for their play to fizzle. They ended the season losing nine of their last 11. Allen's play is trending up, but I'm still not buy any stock in the Habs this season.
Martin Jones, Kraken (1 goal allowed in season debut)
Jones was featured in this space just last week, thanks to a strong preseason performance and how successful he's been every October. He allowed just one goal on 27 shots against the Kings in the Kraken's second road game in as many nights, and given how mediocre Philipp Grubauer looked in Seattle's season opener, it's opened the door for Jones to get more starts early in the season. This is a timeshare in the making on an improved Kraken squad.
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Matt Murray, Maple Leafs (4 goals allowed on 19 shots in season debut)
"GLOVE HAND!!!" That's what is going through every shooter's mind every time they see Murray in net. A promising preseason was completely deflated in a last-minute loss to the Habs in their own building, and to make matters worse, Ilya Samsonov won his season debut against his former team. If there's one thing we learned about Murray it's that he doesn't bounce back very quickly, so I'm all over Samsonov in case he becomes a top-10 fantasy goalie on a very good team.
Darcy Kuemper, Capitals (4 goals allowed on 29 shots in season debut)
Not the best start for Kuemper, who will once again hear criticism that he's not only injury prone but also not very good in general even when healthy. Charlie Lindgren is pushing for a timeshare, and while it's too early to panic or dump Kuemper on the waiver wire, the situation is worth monitoring. The Caps really depend on Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson to win games, and they're a combined minus-7 to start. They will snap out of it, but don't trust Kuemper to steal games on his own. Keep him on the bench until things turn around.
Pavel Francouz, Avalanche (5 goals allowed on 27 shots in season debut)
It's a little hard to say if Francouz was bad or if the Flames were really good, but allowing five goals isn't a good result in any matchup. This means Alexandar Georgiev has the inside track on the starting job, and his low save percentage (.882) conceals the fact that he only faced 17 shots, not to mention the fact that he was picked to start the season opener. Georgiev was a popular pre-season pick as late-round gem among goalies, and it's definitely held true so far.
