NHL Fantasy Hockey Resource

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Even though we had a bye week and all-star break, a couple of goalies came out of it still on fire and look to continue that into their next few starts.

• Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens has been on a hot streak over his last eight games having 6 quality starts over that time. The Canadiens chose to use him in back to back games this weekend as they try and claw their way back into the playoff race. Price had a decent game on Sunday allowing three goals on 26 shots in a loss to Columbus. He was much better Saturday against the high powered offense of the Florida Panthers. He stopped all 29 shots for his third shutout of the season. Price is having an up and done type season but if the Canadiens plan to be anywhere near the playoffs down the stretch they will need Price at his best over the last two months of the season.

• Saturday also saw a great performance from Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers as he posted his first shutout of the season against the Detroit Red Wings. Lundqvist has had a bit of a rough go of it this season but he is still doing decently in the quality start category having 13 quality starts in 26 games played. He has only had three really bad starts showing he still has a bit of fire left in him. It\'s hard not to root for a guy like Henrik but his time as a fantasy relevant goalie may be in the past. Cautiously use him when he has a strong matchup like the one against the Red Wings.

• Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins came back from his time off nursing a head injury like he had never missed a game. Rask had a very strong game back against the Winnipeg Jets where he allowed just one goal on 38 shots. Rask is having another very strong season this year and I think rest has been a big part of it. As much as I as a Rask owner would like to see him in net more, it looks like alternating games with Jaroslav Halak has been the smart play this season as Rask still looks quite strong this late in the season. I do expect Rask to get a bit more of an increased workload as the Bruins try and fight off the LIghtning for top spot in the Atlantic.

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This week we are back to a full slate of games after everyone has had their bye week. This week we have 12 teams playing four games so lots of matchups to choose from. Here are a couple of key teams that I think will have a great week.

• I would expect Philipp Grubauer and the Colorado Avalanche to have a great week. The Avalanche first face the Buffalo Sabres where, in nine games Grubauer has eight quality starts and a record of 5-1-2. He has a sparkling save percentage of .957 and a goal against average of 1.15. Then the Avalanche move on to Ottawa where they will play the basement dwelling Senators. In five games against them, Grubauer has three wins. Later in the week you might want to sit Grubauer when they face the Blue Jackets. In five career games Grubauer has never won allowing almost three goals per game. The Avalanche will finish off the week in Minnesota where he has been decent in five games with three quality starts. Overall I think it will be a good week for the Avalanche and Grubauer.

• Frederik Andersen and the Toronto Maple Leafs play four games this week and it starts off against the Florida Panthers who destroyed them in their last match up. Over Andersen\'s last ten games against the Panthers he has just two really bad starts and a winning record of 6-1-2. Then the Leafs move onto a road game against the New York Rangers where Andersen hasn\'t fared as well but does have five wins in ten games. Then the Anaheim Ducks come to town for Andersen to face his old team. In four games against his old team Andersen has two wins. We may see Michael Hutchinson against the Ducks and see Andersen face the Montreal Canadiens in a Saturday road match. Andersen has won six of his last seven games against the Canadiens so this may be the better match up for him. If the Leafs look to stay in third this week they will need excellent play from both Andersen and Hutchinson. I say they do it so start them both with confidence.

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Now is the moment we look at the injury ward. We did see a couple of injured goalies return but there were also a couple of new injuries to report.

• Tuukka Rask returned to action after missing almost two weeks with a concussion. He came back with a strong outing as mentioned above.

• Jonathan Bernier had missed the Detroit Red Wings last seven games before returning to action against the New York Rangers. Bernier was great in his return allowing just one goal on 30 shots in a losing effort.

• Linus Ullmark left the net for the Buffalo Sabres last Tuesday with a little less than 10 minutes left in the game. It looks like he suffered a leg injury and will be out a minimum three to four weeks. Expect Carter Hutton to get the brunt of the starts until Ullmark returns.

• Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers is still dealing with an abdominal issue and has at least another week to go before he will make his return.

• Joonas Korpisalo of the Columbus Blue Jackets is traveling with the team on this road trip but could still be a little ways out as he is only four weeks post surgery and his timeframe to return was four to six weeks. There is no need to rush Korpisalo as Elvis has been playing great in his absence.

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I know I am supposed to say fighting in sports is dangerous and blah blah blah. Maybe I am old school or its the fact I am not the one getting punched in the face but I still think fighting has a place in hockey and I love when two goalies come together for a clash. This Saturday we saw a goalie fight and it was Edmonton's Mike Smith versus Calgary's Cam Talbot. Seeing Mike Smith temper in the past I would not want to mess with him but Talbot answered the call and unfortunately for Talbot he got his bell rung. See below for the glorious tilt.

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Thanks for reading this week\'s goalie ramblings

King Tuna