Coffee in the Crease: The Case for Copley

Welcome back everyone! We have a loaded Tuesday slate upon us with plenty of goaltending options, not just for tonight, but for the week ahead as well. Let’s dive in!

Pheonix Copley

If you’re reading this and navigating the site regularly (which you should be doing anyways), you’ll know that goaltending is the most unstable position in fantasy hockey. Outside of two or three names, there’s more day-to-day change and uncertainty in the position, so whenever a starting goaltender trend gets traction it can make all the difference to be early on adding that player in fantasy. In the past month or so Pheonix Copley has been that player and if he’s not on your roster now it may be well worth making the addition before the Los Angeles Kings next game tomorrow.

In fantasy, I personally have stayed away from rostering Los Angeles goaltending the past two seasons, or so. There was always questions as to who was staring between Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen and to make things more difficult the Kings play out West, meaning their puck drop is usually well past lineup lock. I still think Quick is an adequate goaltender but in the past 20 games, Copley has taken the lead as the primary starting goaltender for the Kings, and I think this may be a trend that is here to stay.

To add to just how unpredictable the fantasy landscape for goaltending is, Copley was getting starts in the AHL last season and I did not at all think he would be someone that you could lean on for starts but here we are. Copley has won 11 of his last 12 games and in the past week has a .902 save percentage with a 2.51 goals against average. Not to mention the Kings have had good special teams as of late which only helps him out front. If Copley is still available in your league, I suggest making this addition and see where it takes you. As much as the Kings like to throw a wrench into a start streak with a random Quick start, I still think they’ll give Copley the bulk of the starts in net moving forward.

Juuse Saros made 64 saves in a game. Discuss.

Hand up, I went up against Juuse Saros in my primary league last week and in our league chat I get this text, “Carolina 41 SOG’s already.” Now, this worried me because that means saves for Saros but then I began to think on it. If Nashville has seen that many shots on goal, that might mean that it was a quick night for Saros and he’s out of the game? My optimism was quickly altered when I checked the game sheet. Saros not only made 64 saves, but Nashville won 5-3.

Saros’ 64 save game is not a fluke though, as he has been unbelievable lately and making up for a lot of mistakes and problems that this Nashville club has up and down the roster. Since American Thanksgiving (around 20 games per club) Saros is first in high danger saves, keeping Nashville in the majority of games that they’ve played in.

Nashville is an interesting team, they’re one that I thought many of their players peaked last season which would be hard to replicate. Saros though has still been exceptional and for his size, is so fundamentally sound in his mechanics and is quick to regain his net if he goes down too early. He will be a must start for those rostering him in any matchup moving forward.

Goalies to target this week

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres (Rostered in 6% of ESPN leagues, 49% Fantrax, 17% Yahoo) 13 starts, 9wins, 1 OTL, 3.16 GA/G, .907 Sv%, 2 SO

UPL was sent down to the AHL yesterday but will likely be recalled today for the Sabres start against the Kraken. I like Luukonen as an addition because he’s lower rostered and will potentially get a good number of starts in the upcoming future. Not only starts though, but wins are very much in play for a Buffalo Sabres club that is number one in goals scored in the NHL. Sure, shutouts happen like last night versus the Philadelphia Flyers but with the amount of firepower on this roster I would be surprised if this team sees a significant slump down the stretch.

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders (Rostered in 99% of ESPN leagues, 99% Fantrax, 99% Yahoo) 11 starts, 14 wins, 1 OTL, 2.35 GA/G, .924 Sv%, 3 SO

This is my pay up option in DFS this week and it’s Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin will likely guard the net on Tuesday versus the Dallas Stars and Thursday versus the Minnesota Wild and just looking at the clubs on each large slate I think a way to get different here is to pay up for goaltending. It’s something I don’t often do; I usually like to pair at least one defenseman with my goaltender, but I think for Tuesday and Thursday paying up for goaltender and punting on defensemen is a great way to get unique. Sorokin has lost two of his last three and going up against a Dallas club that’s fourth in offense with 3.51 goals a game is no easy task but I’m going to play the upside here.

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