Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em ft. Dostal, Wolf, Lyon and More

Hello Hockey World, welcome back to Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em! This week the NHL is back to its old ways of unbalancing the schedule, loading up a busy Thursday night with nearly every single team (30 of 32 teams in action), but then leaving Friday night with a single, lonely contest (Blue Jackets @ Blackhawks). Ahh to be an NHL scheduling god. Well, for us fantasy mortals, we will just have to make the most of our starts, picking some primo goaltending options to start in our crease and leaving the risks to sit on the bench.
And now that we mention it, who exactly has been reliable this year in net, considerably sports most difficult and volatile position to predict? With help from FrozenTools, here is the list of this year’s most consistent keepers of the crease, ranked by percentage of quality starts:

1. Devin Cooley, Calgary Flames 76.5% (13QS in 17GP)
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning 75.8% (25QS in 33GP
3. Dan Vladar, Philadelphia Flyers 75.0% (21QS in 28GP)
4. Brandon Bussi, Carolina Hurricanes 73.9% (17QS in 23GP)
5. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals 68.4% (26QS in 38GP)
6. Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild 68.2% (15QS in 22GP)
7. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers 67.6% (23QS in 34GP)
8. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins 66.7% (24QS in 36GP)
9. Alex Lyon, Buffalo Sabres 65.2% (15QS in 23GP)
10. Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs 65.2% (15QS in 23GP)

I used a minimum of 15 games played to make this list, so, as you can see, Devin Cooley tops the chart even though he has the fewest amount of starts in the top ten. Some notable goaltenders that are just below this list but still above 60% quality starts are Gustavsson, Wedgewood, Rittich, Oettinger, Blackwood, Vejmelka, Greaves, and DeSmith. Basically, if you have one of these goaltenders you are getting great production in 2 out of every 3 games played (and 3 out of every 4 for Cooley, Vasi, Vladar, and Bussi).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we still find plenty of consistency, but, well, it’s not exactly the kind of predictability that fantasy managers are looking for:

1. Calvin Pickard, Edmonton Oilers 18.8% (3QS in 16GP)
2. Frederik Anderson, Carolina Hurricanes 19.0% (4QS in 21GP)
3. Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals 23.5% (4QS in 17GP)
4. Leevi Merilainen, Ottawa Senators 25.0% (5QS in 20GP)
5. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues 26.7% (8QS in 30GP)
6. Samuel Ersson, Philadelphia Flyers 30.4% (7QS in 23GP)
7. Arvid Solderblom, Chicago Blackhawks 31.3% (5QS in 16GP)
8. Samuel Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens 31.8% (7QS in 22GP)
9. Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils 32.1% (9QS in 28GP)
10. Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks 34.5% (10QS in 29GP)

In one year leagues, for the majority of these goaltenders, it is hard to justify a roster spot for them at this stage of the season. Some of the streaks have leveled off at this point and for this list of goalies - we shouldn’t expect any major turnarounds. The exception may be Jordan Binnington. He may end up starting for Team Canada during the olympics (which would boost anyone’s confidence) and has been known to get hot in the second half of the season anyway, so he could be a waiver wire addition to keep an eye on over the Olympic break.

Now that we have reviewed reliability, let’s take a look at this Thursday’s 15 game slate!

(Please note that the goalies listed are considered “probable” to start. Keep refreshing your Goalie Post app to see which goalies are “confirmed” starting. Don’t have the app? Get it for Apple or Android.)

START ‘EM

Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks - This is a tale of two teams heading in very opposite directions over the last couple of weeks. Dostal and the Ducks have won 7 of their last 8 games while the Vancouver Canucks have lost 7 of their last 8 games and 14 of their last 15! For his part, the Czech netminder has won 6 straight starts, allowing only 12 goals on 173 shots faced, good for a 2.00 GAA and .931 SV% over that span. The Canucks, meanwhile, have only scored 30 goals in their last 15 games, which averages out to 2.00 goals per game, and puts their offense dead last in the league over that stretch. Basically, the Canucks are an unprotected empty net and Dostal is an open shooter with the puck. Make sure he is in a starting slot Thursday, Start ‘Em!

START ‘EM

Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken - Daccord, like the team in front of him, has struggled with consistency this year. The American keeper has lost 3 of his last 4 starts, dropping his record down to 13-12-5 on the season, alongside a 2.89 GAA and .901 SV%. But on Thursday, the Kraken host the stumbling Toronto Maple Leafs, losers of 7 of their past 8 games while allowing 40 freakin’ goals in those 8 games, bad enough for an incredible 5.00 goals allowed per game! Even the Kraken’s conservative offensive approach (2.85 GF/G, 8th worst in NHL) should find the back of the net multiple times against such a porous defense. The Kraken have a solid home record at Climate Pledge Arena, going 13-9-5 for the year thus far, so look for Daccord to follow up on his solid win Sunday against the Devils (2 goals against on 29 shots, .931 SV%) with another performance worthy of victory at home against the Leafs on Thursday night. It’s a late game Start ‘Em!

SIT ‘EM

Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils - The Swedish twine tender was featured on our top 10 lowest quality starts percentage list and, as such, should find himself on the outside looking in on a Thursday night with so many other, safer options available in net. For the season, Markstrom has delivered a not-too-shabby 14 wins in 28 games played, but with some rather lackluster metrics of 3.29 GAA and .879 SV%. With 9 really bad starts in 28 GP, Markstrom has proven to hand in really bad starts just as often as he has given fantasy managers quality starts (both 31.9% or almost 1 out of every 3)! So with the Devils now starting to ship out their veterans in exchange for future assets (i.e. dealing Ondrej Palat for Maxim Tsyplakov on Tuesday), we shouldn’t expect Markstom or New Jersey to right the ship anytime soon. Look out for an underwhelming performance from the Devils on Thursday as they play host to the Nashville Predators, who have a top 10 scoring offense (3.57 GF/G) over the last couple of weeks. Sit ‘Em!

SIT ‘EM

Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames - The 24 year old American is off to a wobbly 15-20-3 start on the year, with slightly below average metrics of 3.00 GAA and .896 SV%. On Thursday, the Flames are on the road in Minnesota, playing guest to a Wild host club that is fifth in goal scoring over the last 2 weeks (3.86 GF/G). Wolf, meanwhile, has been floundering through January, dropping 7 of his 8 starts this month, allowing 4 goals against in all 7 of those losses! Maybe February will welcome in better results, but don’t hand this kid the keys to your crease on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, who’s 30 wins and 70 team points for the season have them sitting in 3rd place in the overall league standings. Look elsewhere for your start, this one’s a Sit ‘Em!

DESPERATION MODE START

Alex Lyon, Buffalo Sabres - With only 3 games on Wednesday and 1 game on Friday, there aren’t too many streaming options to choose from, despite a near maximum 30 goalies in action, but if Alex Lyon is still on the waiver wire in your league then Thursday is the time to scoop him up for a start. The Sabres have rattled off 19 wins in their last 23 contests, soaring towards the upper echelon of the league standings. Alex Lyon, the 33 year old journeyman, has won his past 9 starts and is now sitting pretty with a 12-6-3 record, to go along with a healthy 2.70 GAA and .911 SV%. On Thursday, the Sabres host the Los Angeles Kings, who have had an uneven January that has seen them win their last 3 contests after dropping 6 of their previous 7. At only 40% rostered in Fantrax and 27% in Yahoo, if you’re feeling the desperation, Start ‘Em!

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! My name is Garrett Finlay and you can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284 and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social where I am often talking goalies and fantasy hockey. I’ll be back here next Thursday to breakdown another busy night of twine tending action! Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!