Goalie Start 'Em, Sit 'Em ft. Hill, Dobes, Stolarz and More

Hello hockey fans, thanks for joining us here and you should know that you deserve the best of luck and health going through this final stretch of your fantasy hockey season! And what a grind it has been. This week showcased some shuffling in the standings, as well as, some shuffling on the management side of things, as both Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving and Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy were relieved of their duties. Changeups like this don’t usually happen this late in the season, especially for the head coach of a team in playoff position, but Vegas should get a boost from the prompt hiring of replacement coach John Tortorella, who has an extensive history of coaching that includes a winning culture, but it should be remembered that he could care less about fantasy hockey and it’s superstars. Adin Hill owners, however, may rejoice! Now, onto Thursday night - we are looking at 14 games, which means at least 28 goalies in action, and likely more the way some of these games have been going this week which has already featured 20 teams scoring 4 or more goals, including 7 teams scoring 6 or more goals, and even 3 different teams scoring 8 or more goals! Goalies…you have been warned. With that, let’s dive right into Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em!

(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

Jakub Dobes, Montreal Canadiens - When a goalie gets hot, ride ‘em until they drop and that should be our policy right now with the 24 year old out of Czechia, Jakub Dobes. Dobes enters Thursday riding a streak of 4 straight games with a save percentage above .950! And that’s come against beastly Eastern Conference playoff contenders Columbus, Tampa Bay, and Carolina (twice). The Canadiens, as a team, are riding a 6 game winning streak that has seen them score 25 goals for, with a measly 9 goals against during that stretch. On Thursday night the Red, Bleu, et Blanc will be at Madison Square Garden taking on the Rangers, who have one of the worst home records in the NHL this season at 12-18-7. This is about as clear of an advantageous goalie start as we will get in April, so be sure Dobes finds the starting slot on your team if you have him. Don’t think twice, just Start ‘Em!

START ‘EM

Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights - Believe it or not, Vegas has yet to lose under new head coach John Tortorella - that’s right, they are a perfect 1-0. OK, so the sample size is small, and it was against the last place team in the league, but Adin Hill looked sharp in a 4-2 victory over Vancouver on Tuesday night, turning aside 22 of 24 shots fired his way. We often see coaching changes spark new breath into teams, especially on the defensive side of things where responsibility and accountability are often emphasized by the new regime (for evidence, look no further then Columbus’ 19-6-5 record and league leading 2.60 GA/G since making a coaching change mid January). The 29 year old Canadian has had an uneven campaign in 2026, going 10-9-5 with a 3.06 GAA and .868 SV% through 26 games, but the Golden Knights net minder should find his second straight victory on Thursday night when he faces off against the leagues worst road team in the Calgary Flames (10-23-3 away from Scotiabank Saddledome), so let’s make sure we Start ‘Em!

SIT ‘EM

Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs - Stolarz is currently riding a 3 game win streak, but we really shouldn’t be resting our faith on any Maple Leafs player this week following the firing of Brad Treliving. This situation is far removed from the coaching change in Vegas because first of all, no replacement GM was named, and secondly, this move was not to initiate a spark, so much as it was made to admit that this is a lost season for the Maple Leafs. That type of admission, while honest and perhaps good for an impatient fanbase, usually doesn’t translate to a morale boost for the players, especially on team that has no captain (following the season ending injury to Auston Matthews). It was already a lackluster campaign for Stolarz (10-9-3, 3.29 GAA, .893 SV%), who was smart to ink a 4 year extension (and healthy raise) back in September when optimism still filled the air in Toronto, but his numbers could continue to dip as this season winds down. The Leafs will be out west to face the Sharks, who boast a 100+ point player in 19 year old sensation Macklin Celebrini, and a current 3 game win streak. Look it’s a league full of world class players, so a lot can happen - but if my fantasy season is on the line then I don’t trust the Maple Leafs with it. Sit ‘Em!

SIT ‘EM

Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils - These two Metropolitan Division foes will square off for the fourth and final time this season on Thursday night in New Jersey, with the Caps holding a 2-1 series lead over the Devils so far. And while the Devils have been out of the hunt for a few weeks, the Capitals are playing with renewed desperation, having won 3 in a row to climb back into the thick of it. During that 3 game win streak, by the way, the Capitals have scored a whopping 18 goals (that’s 6 goals a game for anyone who doesn’t want to do math)! The Swedish twine tender, Markstrom, meanwhile, has dropped his past 2 starts and let by 4 pucks in each of them, bringing his season-long metrics down to 22-18-1, 3.12 GAA, and .883 SV% in 42 games played. It’s been 6 games since Markstom posted a save percentage above .900 and if the Capitals continue to roll as they have been, then this doesn’t look like the game he get’s it back above. Save yourself a scare and Sit ‘Em!

DESPERATION MODE START

Alex Nedeljkovic, San Jose Sharks - The Sharks are a young team that has struggled with consistency this year and Nedeljkovic has been as sporadic as they come. Before winning his last game with a .917 SV%, the 30 year old keeper posted save percentages of .684, .923, and .688 in his 3 starts prior (all loses). That kind of Jekyll and Hyde story can leave fantasy managers frustrated over the course of a season, but for us - we need only look at the game in front of him. And on Thursday night, Nedeljkovic and the Sharks square off against the infamous Maple Leafs, who, in addition to the slanderous comments above, boast the league’s 3rd worst defense for the year (3.52 GA/G) and 8th worst offense since February 1 (2.80 GF/G). At just 22% rostered in Fantrax and 8% in Yahoo, Nedeljkovic is readily available, and is a wild card desperation mode start that may be crazy enough for you to win your week on. Desperate times call for desperate Start ‘Ems!

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!