It's Pyotr time! A season of topsy-turvy goaltending performances continues, headlined by the Canes' rookie goalie, who has forced his way into the starting job. Here's your goalie rundown for the past week.
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Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes (Past week: 3-0-0, .967 Sv%, 0.67 GAA, 2 SO)
So, what happens when Frederik Andersen returns? Kochetkov was the best goalie in the league over the past week. He had some help from a very good Canes defense, but he made all the necessary stops as he keeps climbing the fantasy rankings. The Canes have hinted that they may carry all three goalies the rest of the season, and if that's the case, Kochetkov must be their first choice right now. They certainly won't be rushing Andersen back, which means Kochetkov should be rostered in all leagues. The Canes are winning even without top center Sebastian Aho, which speaks to their depth and team defense.
Cam Talbot, Senators (Past week: 3-0-0, .953 Sv%, 1.33 GAA, 1 SO)
Talbot faltered a little bit but has regained his footing and is still in no danger of losing the starting job to Anton Forsberg. The Sens, like any young team, go through some wild ups and downs and struggle to remain consistent, but when they're good, they're very good. Talbot's experience has been a major plus, and as long as both Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are healthy, they'll have at least two players they can trust to provide 20-plus solid
It's Pyotr time! A season of topsy-turvy goaltending performances continues, headlined by the Canes' rookie goalie, who has forced his way into the starting job. Here's your goalie rundown for the past week.
Trending Up
Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes (Past week: 3-0-0, .967 Sv%, 0.67 GAA, 2 SO)
So, what happens when Frederik Andersen returns? Kochetkov was the best goalie in the league over the past week. He had some help from a very good Canes defense, but he made all the necessary stops as he keeps climbing the fantasy rankings. The Canes have hinted that they may carry all three goalies the rest of the season, and if that's the case, Kochetkov must be their first choice right now. They certainly won't be rushing Andersen back, which means Kochetkov should be rostered in all leagues. The Canes are winning even without top center Sebastian Aho, which speaks to their depth and team defense.
Cam Talbot, Senators (Past week: 3-0-0, .953 Sv%, 1.33 GAA, 1 SO)
Talbot faltered a little bit but has regained his footing and is still in no danger of losing the starting job to Anton Forsberg. The Sens, like any young team, go through some wild ups and downs and struggle to remain consistent, but when they're good, they're very good. Talbot's experience has been a major plus, and as long as both Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot are healthy, they'll have at least two players they can trust to provide 20-plus solid minutes per night. The Sens have two back-to-backs before the calendar turns, so expect Forsberg to see some action, but otherwise expect Talbot to play the majority of the games. He should be rostered in all leagues.
Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson, Wild (Past week: 4-0-0, .964 Sv%, 0.75 GAA, 1 SO)
If the Wild get goaltending like this, it won't matter if their center depth is thin and they depend on too few players to provide goal support. Gustavsson's strong play has allowed the Wild to use Fleury a little more sparingly, and that's good news since he just turned 38 years old last month. There's no question that Fleury is the No. 1, but it'll take some pressure off him and also ensure that he stays fresh all season.
From a fantasy perspective, though, this is a tougher situation, because as long as Gustavsson plays well, he's going to keep taking playing time away from Fleury. It won't be an equal timeshare even though they've alternated over the past four games, but if fantasy managers have some room on their rosters, having both goalies in an emerging 1A-1B situation isn't such a bad idea.
Pavel Francouz, Avalanche (4-5-0, .913 Sv%, 2.80 GAA)
There's nothing fantasy managers can do about the injuries that have ravaged the Avs, but note that their goaltending has remained pretty solid through this most recent stretch. Most notably, since Alexandar Georgiev has lost four straight starts, the Avalanche have gone to Francouz to earn some wins, and it's worked out so far. Georgiev's strong play at the beginning of the season limited Francouz's playing time, but Francouz is back in the mix and he'll start to demand more playing time as long as he keeps winning.
The Avs don't have any back-to-backs for the rest of the calendar year, but it's unlikely Jared Bednar will stick with one goalie all the way through considering their current situation. Francouz still likely won't be playing enough to warrant a roster spot over the course of an entire season, but he's certainly worth a short-term hold.
Pheonix Copley, Kings (3-1-0, .901 Sv%, 2.94 GAA)
Forget about the peripheral stats; the more important part is the playing time and the winning record. The Kings' goaltending has been their biggest sore spot all season. Copley was called up to back up Jonathan Quick after Cal Petersen imploded, and now it's looking like the Kings may want to give Copley the starting job, at least in the interim. The former Capitals backup started the season as the Kings' third-string option, and in his most recent game allowed just two goals against the Bruins in a shootout win. All three of his wins this season have come on the road, and take away a lackluster performance in a 6-0 loss to the Sabres and all of sudden Copley's overall body of work looks pretty good.
We should remain somewhat cautious, since Copley has never really been able to hold down a job in the NHL for very long, but the Kings just don't have many options. The Kings should be good enough to make the playoffs, but it's been a struggle to even stay in the race this season. The good news is that the Kings have a slew of easy games coming up, including four games against teams likely headed for the draft lottery (Sharks, Ducks, Coyotes and Flyers) and one game against the struggling Flames. Keep Copley in mind for some streaming starts as long as he's playing well.
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Ilya Sorokin, Islanders (December: 0-3-0, .868 Sv%, 3.37 GAA)
This is a short-term blip, obviously, but it's worth noting that Sorokin has yet to win a game in December. It's hurting his chances of winning a Vezina, and the Isles have now lost six of their past eight with Semyon Varlamov getting a chunk of playing time. When they're not stopping pucks and their offensive production is so inconsistent, the Islanders are obviously going to have a hard time winning games.
Part of that is because Mathew Barzal still hasn't been able to score many goals, and the teams more free-flowing style under Lane Lambert can certainly hurt their defensive structure at times. Sorokin and the Isles have a tough schedule to close out the year until Dec. 29 when they face Columbus. This might be one of those rare times where Sorokin should be benched until the Isles start to right the ship.
Jacob Markstrom, Flames (Past week: 0-1-2, .899 Sv%, 2.87 GAA)
Oof. Friday's loss to the Blues now brings Markstrom's losing streak to four straight games. The Flames might now be forced to turn (back) to Dan Vladar, who hasn't been lights out but has at least managed to win some games. Goal support has been difficult to come by for Markstrom, but it also doesn't excuse his very subpar play this season. He's been one of the most disappointing goalies in fantasy despite playing in a division many thought the Flames would easily win.
At this point, it's either buy low or bench stash for Markstrom because things just aren't turning around quickly enough. The upside is the Flames are still committed to making Markstrom their No. 1, so unless Vladar goes on a tear, Markstrom will continue to get playing time. How he fares in those games is another question.
