Goalie Start 'Em, Sit 'Em ft. Sorokin, Hofer, Greaves and More

Happy Halloween hockey fans and welcome to this week’s edition of Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em. This Thursday evening features a king-sized 11 game slate, which means (at least) 22 goalies will be in creeping in the creases tonight and, of course, some goalie voodoo. So let’s crunch the numbers, ride the streaks, check our guts, and let’s dive right into Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em!

(Please note that at the time of writing this article, most of 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. Stats from FrozenTools.)

Start ‘Em

Joel Hofer, St. Louis Blues - Hofer has been playing like a man possessed for the Blues and has a 2.40 GAA and .917 SV% through 8 games as the starter in St. Louis this year. The 26-year-old keeper will be playing host to the Boston Bruins, who have been looking supernatural so far, but aren’t quite the same team on the road (4-2-1, 3.14 GF/G) as they are at home (5-1, 4.5 GF/G). The Blues, themselves, have been holding hexed sticks at home recently, having been shut out in two straight games. However, recent reports suggest that the St. Louis staff and players have been burning sage around the Enterprise Center to help reverse the effects ahead of Thursday’s battle with the Bruins. With their jinx now lifted, look for the Blues and Hofer to bewitch the Bruins and finally give their home fans something to scream about. Start ‘Em!

Jet Greaves, Columbus Blue Jackets - After earning the role of No.1 netminder just last year, Greaves must be raging with the fires of hell after getting ghosted by head coach Rick Bowness and being forced to watch journeyman Cam Talbot take over his crease. Still, the Blue Jackets have started to flip their narrative, winning two in a row and three out of their last five overall, so the potential to turn the season around is still present. Greaves, 25, has provided fantasy managers with a ghoulish 3.34 GAA and .883 SV% in 6 games thus far, a raven’s cry below the 2.60 GAA and .908 SV% he offered through 55 appearances last year, but a date with the defending Stanley Cup Champs could be just what the witch-doctor ordered to get his game back on track. Carolina leads the league in Shots Forced per Game, so Greaves will pad his numbers a bit if he can pull out a victory in Raleigh. It’s time for Greaves to drop his Dr. Jekyll act and return to being Mr. Hyde, who has a career .911 SV%. Let’s buck this sinister streak and Start ‘Em!

Sit ‘Em

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders - The Russian twine tender has been a phantom force in the crease for the Islanders this year going 5-3 in 8 starts while posting a 2.26 GAA and .919 SV%. On Thursday night, however, Sorokin will face off against Kirill the Kill, Matt Bloody, Harley-Quinn Hughes and the rest of the Wild’s deadly offense at Grand Casino Arena in Minnesota. The Wild come into this game on a three game winning streak, outscoring opponents 12-4 over that span, while simultaneously riding an unrelated four game winning streak on home ice. The Islanders, meanwhile, have dropped two of their last three contests, conceding a chilling 12 goals during that time. The Islanders, also, have a ghastly 1-2-2 record so far against teams that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year. Unless Sorokin knows some counter spells to slow down the Wild’s offensive onslaught, it may be better to sit than be sorry. Sit ‘Em!

Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks - Talk about scary, Dostal’s number have been simply horrific to start the year. The 26-year-old has been bled out for three goals or more in five straight starts (1-3-1) and hasn’t offered a save percentage above .880 in any of his past four. Playing behind a defense of the damned, Dostal looks positively petrified between the pipes recently and the only thing saving his starting role right now is creasemate Ville Husso’s own spine-chilling metrics (3.09 GAA, .888 SV% in 3 starts). Their opponent Thursday, the Buffalo Slay-bres dropped five goals on the Ducks in each of their head-to-head matchups last season and enter this contest coming off of a 2-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Sharks. Until the Ducks figure out how to stop the bleeding, Lukas Dostal is a Sit ‘Em!

Desperation Mode Play

Los Angeles Kings Goalie - Darcy Kuemper (54% Fantrax, 45% Yahoo) and Anton Forsberg (19% Yahoo, 7% Yahoo) are both available in a hair-raising number of fantasy leagues and whoever gets the start on Thursday night could be worth a stream if your goalie numbers are grim this week. Forberg is still winless on the year (0-3-1) but has been rocking a 2.39 GAA and .909 SV% for some rather enchanting play. Kuemper, on the other hand, has a gruesome 3.47 GAA and .889 SV% through 7 starts, but has recently won three in a row, stopping 94 of the past 101 blasts fired his way. The Kings will host the Ottawa Senators, who have allowed a frightening 14 goals over their last 3 games (1-2), following their emotional victory over former Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, his older brother, and the Florida Panthers. Oh and they are still missing their former Vezina Trophy winning netminder, Linus Ullmark, who is dealing with a lower-body curse. Check your fantasy league’s graveyard to see if these two netminders are lying there and check out Goalie Post to see who’s starting, then dig up their bones and Desperation Mode 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. You can also find me providing injury news and updates every Wednesday on Dobber Hockey. I’ll be back here next Thursday to try to breakdown the night’s goaltending slate, so until then - Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!