Coffee in the Crease: Race to the Finish

Welcome back everyone! For a lot of leagues out there the playoffs came to a conclusion last night, but there are still those leagues that play right up until the final whistle. My main league had that format during the COVID seasons to maximize the amount of hockey we could get, and if there’s one thing that can make or break it this week its players being available to play. For us here on a goaltending site, I think there’s some goalies out there that might not have high roster numbers and could be good pickups for this week. It’s an unlikely bunch, but we need starts now more than ever.

Alex Lyon, Florida Panthers (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues, 10% Fantrax, 7% Yahoo) 9 starts, 6 wins, 1 OTL, 3.25 GA/G, .899 Sv%, 1 SO

Florida’s primary starter Sergei Bobrovsky might return to the lineup tomorrow night at home against the Buffalo Sabres after missing the previous three starts with an illness. In the event he does not come back, I think Alex Lyon makes for a fantastic spot start.

Lyon looked very shaky when he saw time in net earlier in the season but since being named the starter the past week, he has been excellent. He has allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last three starts with a shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Rostering Bobrovsky is still a decent move to make right now but if you’re in need of a spot start, but I think waiting on confirmation tomorrow to decide is the best choice here.

Even if Bobrovsky does return tomorrow, the Panthers still have two more games this week, Thursday at home against the Ottawa Senators and Saturday on the road against the Washington Capitals. I don’t think it’s out of the question that Lyon gets the start in either of those contests and that’s even taking into consideration where Florida is in the overall standings.

Jack Campbell, Edmonton Oilers (Rostered in 54% of ESPN leagues, 70% Fantrax, 51% Yahoo) 33 starts, 20 wins, 4 OTL, 3.48 GA/G, .886 Sv%, 1 SO

I feel like the Oilers gave Jack Campbell a confidence start last week against the Anaheim Ducks and maybe it worked? Campbell stopped all 36 shots earning a shutout and my guess is that he will get a start or two this week for the Oilers. It’s like if you’re losing in NHL online, sometimes you have to go back to rookie mode just to get the confidence back?

The Oilers will be on a road back-to-back this week with games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim on Tuesday/Wednesday and my guess is that Campbell gets the start against Anaheim again. Even if he doesn’t pitch a shutout, he’ll be a great option as I can see a roadmap to where if he doesn’t really blow up, he should be in line for a win. Anaheim has the most shots averaged against them in the NHL and if they get into penalty trouble, this Edmonton club should walk all over them. It might not be for as much volume as we’d like to see, but Campbell makes for a fine start this week.

Laurent Brossoit, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 1% of ESPN leagues, 15% Fantrax, 10% Yahoo) 6 starts, 3 wins, 3 OTL, 2.44 GA/G, .920 Sv%, 0 SO

Here is a very sneaky start here for the week. Laurent Brossoit has already been confirmed the starter for tonight’s game against Minnesota, who he just played fantastic against on Saturday at home. The Knights have had a plethora of goaltending injuries this season, and with Logan Thompson day-to-day and Adin Hill listed as “out”, Brossoit is in line to start in his fifth straight game.

What happened to Jonathan Quick you might ask? Well, the last start we saw him in he gave up give six goals on 34 shots back on March 28th. I thought there would be a little left in the tank for him and I’m not saying that he won’t get a start or two come playoffs, but if I’m Vegas I need a confident starter going into next week and Brossoit just might be that goaltender.

I’ve always liked Brossoit’s game and thought that he was one of the better backups in the NHL that could probably be the everyday starter for about seven teams in the league. He’s a name to keep an eye on this week, but if you need an add this is one that I would look to make now before he’s snatched up in your league.

For continued fantasy news and notes throughout the season, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz