Coffee in the Crease: The replacements

Happy start to the week everyone! I’m back after a two-week hiatus and excited to dive back into the world of netminders in fantasy and DFS. We have a short week with the Christmas break upcoming this weekend but there’s lots to cover, so let’s dive in!

Pytor Kochetkov

We really have to start out this Coffee in the Crease with a goaltender that I’ve been itching to write about, and that’s Canes starter Pytor Kochetkov. Unfortunately, being away I was not able to recommend him sooner, or highlight his play and thus his ownership has skyrocketed and with good reason, Kochetkov has gone from fun story to, “Is he the real deal?”

In the 14 games Kochetkov has started in Frederik Andersen’s absence he is 9-1-4 and just looking at the last eight games, he has won seven of them and that includes two shutouts. His only loss came on four goals against versus Anaheim, but hey, we all have our days. I’m going to mention this for the two goalies I’m highlighting this week, but it’s important to note that with the Christmas break upcoming, injured players may very well sit out this week to get a longer break and not have to see time on IR. For those already on IR, it’s also good for that same reason, and not forcing the club to make a move to open up a roster spot. In Carolina my guess is that we don’t see Frederik Andersen this week and I think moving forward it is going to be very hard for Freddie to really regain the amount of starts in net that he would have seen otherwise.

Sidenote, is there a goaltender in the league unluckier than Freddie Andersen? He gets injured right before playoffs last season and now this year has battled an injury while potentially seeing his number one goaltender status slip away due to Kochetkov’s stellar play in net. This will be something to watch for once he returns but for now if you have Kochetkov on your roster, he remains a must start.

Charlie Lindgren

Another goaltender who is starting due to an injury that has also looked fantastic. Like Kochetkov, Lindgren has won seven of his past eight starts and has looked dialed in every time I’ve turned on the Caps, which admittedly is much more than previous thanks to Alex Ovechkin. I was hesitant on Lindgren at first, but he’s been excellent for Washington. In the month of December he has yet to surrender more than three goals in a game on a Caps club that has gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.

Like Kochetkov above, Lindgren keeps getting the nod in net due to an injury to the Caps previous number one starter in Darcy Keumper. The difference in Washington though is that we’ve gotten a little bit more clarification as to how close Keumper is to potentially returning to the lineup as it was reported that he did face shots prior to last Thursday’s game versus the Dallas Stars. My guess here is that Kuemper may sit this week but once he’s ready to come back I think the Caps are going to give him full run as the primary starter. For now though, Lindgren is a goaltender that I like here in the short term as his good play in net continues.

Goalies to target this week

Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild (Rostered in 9% of ESPN leagues, 11% Fantrax, 36% Yahoo) 11 starts, 7 wins, 1 OTL, 2.31 GA/G, .922 Sv%, 1 SO.

Although the starts have been spread out, Gustavsson has won his past six on a Wild team that has shared the workload between Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury more than I think we anticipated. Gustavsson looked great in Sunday’s game against the Sens stopping 26 of 28 shots, and with this week being shorter for fantasy, we need to target someone who has been playing well that we know will start at least once game. Minnesota has a back-to-back on the road against the Ducks and Sharks this Wednesday and Thursday, so anticipate Gustavsson being named the starter in at least one of those contests. I don’t think the matchups particularly matter there, sorry Anaheim and San Jose.

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