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Antti Raanta, Hurricanes (December totals: 5-0-0, .896 Sv%, 2.63 GAA)
The Canes are on a 10-game winning streak entering New Year's weekend, with four of their recent wins thanks to Raanta, including back-to-back victories in the Keystone State. Pyotr Kochetkov was supposed to get the start in the second game, Dec. 23 against the Flyers, but Rod Brind'Amour indicated Kochetkov was nursing a minor injury and they didn't want to risk making it worse. Things didn't look better after the break, as Raanta started against both Chicago and Florida, but it's encouraging that Kochetkov was at least healthy enough to dress as the backup.
Until Kochetkov's injury status clears up, expect Raanta to get the starts going forward, since it also looks like Frederik Andersen isn't healthy enough to serve as the backup. Worst-case scenario, Kochetkov is scratched or placed on injured reserve when Andersen returns, and when Kochetkov is finally 100 percent, the Canes will make a call on how to handle their three-man rotation. No need to panic just yet, which means keep Kochetkov on your roster until the situation clears up a bit more.
Jacob Markstrom, Flames (Last week: 1-1-0, .911 Sv%, 1.99 GAA)
The save percentage still isn't where you'd like it to be — it's .905 for December so far — but the Flames have won four of their past six, with both losses coming by just one goal, and it seems like they're righting the ship. Part of it
Trending Up
Antti Raanta, Hurricanes (December totals: 5-0-0, .896 Sv%, 2.63 GAA)
The Canes are on a 10-game winning streak entering New Year's weekend, with four of their recent wins thanks to Raanta, including back-to-back victories in the Keystone State. Pyotr Kochetkov was supposed to get the start in the second game, Dec. 23 against the Flyers, but Rod Brind'Amour indicated Kochetkov was nursing a minor injury and they didn't want to risk making it worse. Things didn't look better after the break, as Raanta started against both Chicago and Florida, but it's encouraging that Kochetkov was at least healthy enough to dress as the backup.
Until Kochetkov's injury status clears up, expect Raanta to get the starts going forward, since it also looks like Frederik Andersen isn't healthy enough to serve as the backup. Worst-case scenario, Kochetkov is scratched or placed on injured reserve when Andersen returns, and when Kochetkov is finally 100 percent, the Canes will make a call on how to handle their three-man rotation. No need to panic just yet, which means keep Kochetkov on your roster until the situation clears up a bit more.
Jacob Markstrom, Flames (Last week: 1-1-0, .911 Sv%, 1.99 GAA)
The save percentage still isn't where you'd like it to be — it's .905 for December so far — but the Flames have won four of their past six, with both losses coming by just one goal, and it seems like they're righting the ship. Part of it has been the improved play of their forwards, namely Jonathan Huberdeau, but this has been an egregiously streaky team. That's a surprising development because streakiness usually isn't a hallmark of teams coached by Darryl Sutter, who continues to really spread out his minutes.
Regardless, that's a good development for Markstrom's fantasy value, who entered the season as one of the most sought-after goalies only to disappoint since game one. We'll see if this keeps up, but Markstrom is looking like a good buy-low candidate, and fantasy managers who had the patience and nerve to stick with him might see some positive returns in the new year.
Pheonix Copley, Kings (8-1-0, .905 Sv%, 2.58 GAA)
Kind of fitting that a goalie named "Pheonix" is saving the Kings' season in December and that he's literally from a place called North Pole. With Jonathan Quick struggling for most of the season and Cal Petersen already banished to the minors, Copley has taken over the starting job in Hollywood and rattled off wins against Boston, Calgary, Vegas and, most recently, Colorado. That's a gauntlet, and Copley's strong performances breeds a ton of confidence.
It's hard to see Quick taking back the starting job, especially considering his age, which means Copley might have the net going forward. He's immediately worth rostering because of the opportunities he's getting, though note that Copley hasn't made much of a mark at the NHL level, so there's definitely some risk. This isn't really some late bloomer a la Tim Thomas but rather a capable backup who's outplayed anyone else on the Kings' roster. I wouldn't be surprised if the Kings trade for some goalie help at some point during their playoff race, but for now, Copley's the guy.
Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson, Wild (December combined: 10-4-0, .916 Sv%, 2.42 GAA)
When Gustavsson plays this well, it's actually good for both goalies' fantasy value. For one thing, Gustavsson isn't really a threat to take Fleury's job. They've already committed to Fleury by giving him a new contract and jettisoning Cam Talbot, so that much is clear. But when Gustavsson is playing well, it makes him an excellent streaming option and also takes some pressure off Fleury, who gets a little more rest and time to prepare for his starts. The Wild have been handling a fairly even split since mid-December, and that might be the way going forward. There was no way Fleury was going to handle a huge workload anyway, but you're looking at a goalie who has a shot at 30 wins with roughly 50 starts. That's a pretty good winning percentage, making him a solid No. 2 or No. 3 option on most fantasy teams.
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Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, Maple Leafs (Past two weeks combined: 3-2-0, .859 Sv%, 3.39 GAA)
There's no need to panic because the Leafs are a top-tier team that just got top defenseman Morgan Rielly back from a knee injury, but it's a little concerning that both goalies' play has fallen off a little. They're both extremely streaky and it's bad news if both of them are in a downturn at the same time. Given that neither of them has really stood out, it's been pretty much a 50/50 split recently. If fantasy managers roster both goalies, that's great, but if you don't, it's another headache that managers will have to navigate for the next little while until one or both goalies start to string together good performances.
