Goalie Start 'Em, Sit 'Em ft. Sorokin, Skinner, Andersen, and More

Greetings friends and fellow fantasy hockey enthusiasts, welcome to Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em - where we break down hot streaks, matchup trends, and goalie fights! Well, maybe we don’t get to talk goalie fights too often, but the topic has seen a big uptick in the state of Florida recently. Just a couple of weeks after Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Nedeljkovic dropped mitts, we got to see Andrei Vasilevskiy square off against Jeremy Swayman in front of 65,000 screaming fans at the NHL’s latest Stadium Series game. The question I have for all of you is - did your league count the penalty minutes given to the goalies in these heavy-weight bouts? I’d like to think that more than a few fantasy matchups are swayed by the additional 5 PIMs handed out to the goalies for their fisticuffs, but from my experience, I have found that not every league counts goalie peripheral stats such as penalty minutes (or even goalie goals and assists). Now, some of the purists out there may still think that twine-tender tussles and goalie goals are too random and un-impactful to be included, but I will share that last year alone keepers were handed 100 PIMs (Kuemper led the position with 12) and scored 50 points, 12 of which were special teams related! If your league doesn’t count these stats, start a campaign in the offseason to get them added because these are points left on the table!
Now, Thursday night is, also, the last night of NHL action before the Olympic break. As a result, that final night of hockey features a scant 7 hockey contests, with a mere 14 goalies in action, meaning we will just have to do our best nailing the right starts and sits out of our limited options, ensuring we end up on the right side of victory at the conclusion this extended matchup week. So without further ado, let’s dive into it - 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

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders - Sorokin and the Islanders are on a short trip to New Jersey this Thursday, as they look to maintain their playoff push. The Russian netminder has had a Vezina candidate campaign, going 19-13-2, with a 2.48 GAA, .915 SV%, and league leading 6 Shut Outs. On the year, the Devils have dropped down to an average of 2.59 Goals Forced per Game, bad enough for third worst in the entire league. Meanwhile, the Islanders, as a team, have the fifth best Goals Against Average in the NHL. New Jersey has now dropped 4 of their past 5 contests, and are limping into the much needed Olympic break. Look for Sorokin and the Isles to give fantasy managers a vintage performance to close out our matchups. Start ‘Em!

START ‘EM

Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes - OK, so not the biggest fan of the Great Dane this year, but matchups, matchups, matchups. Carolina will bring their 14-7-4 road record to the Big Apple, where they will meet the New York Rangers and their abysmal 6-14-4 home record. Woof. So, despite Freddie’s lackluster season numbers (7-10-5, 3.26 GAA, and .871 SV%), we should be able to trust him Thursday night against a Rangers club that has decidedly given up on their season, playing for next year instead. In fact, the Rangers managed only 3 wins in the entire month of January, a month that saw them lose 11 times and give up more than 5 goals 6 times, including an astronomical 10 goals to the Bruins on January 10. So, for now, let’s just start any visiting goalie and not overthink it. Start ‘Em!

SIT ‘EM

Daniil Tarasov, Florida Panthers - Bobrovsky has gotten the volume this year (38 Games Played, tied for fourth in NHL), but the metrics have been in his backups favor. Tarasov has a solid stat line for a secondary starter (8-7-2, 2.67 GAA, .904 SV%), but he finds himself in the “Sit Em” category this week against the surging Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of, well, just about every game for a long time (18-1-1 in last 20 games). For the year, Tampa is second only to the Colorado Avalanche with their 3.57 Goals Forced per Game, and in the last month that number has been even higher (3.92). This is a Battle of Florida, so expect penalty minutes galore, and hell, I won’t be the one to rule out another goalie fight in this one, but with such ample opportunities with man advantage, look for the Lightning to improve upon their 22% Power Play that has now been clicking at 32.4% over the last month. Tampa has been in the category of teams that you just can’t trust a goalie against lately, so even if you are desperate - stay away and Sit ‘Em!

SIT ‘EM

Stuart Skinner, Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins play host to the offensively endowed Buffalo Sabres this Thursday night and you’ll likely want none of it. Buffalo has been averaging over 4 goals a game for over a month now, putting up a whopping 35 tallies over their last 8 games played (6-1-1). Skinner has won 8 of his last 10 starts as a Penguin, but has given up 5 goals in each of his last two games and, unfortunately, faces the team that has scored 5 or more goals 9 times in their past 15 games. If you’ve already been burned by Stone Stu twice in your current fantasy matchup, do not make it a third time. Sit ‘Em!

DESPERATION MODE START

Alex Lyon, Buffalo Sabres - In case you missed it last week, Alex Lyon is featured here again, as his counterpart UPL has been placed on IR and recently ruled out of playing for Finland’s Olympic team (indicating there is a good chance that Lyon continues to see the lion’s share of starts even after the Olympic break). On Thursday, the 33 year old Lyon and his scorching Sabres club host the Penguins in a meeting of the two hottest offenses in the past two weeks (Penguins - 4.43 GF/G, first in NHL, Sabres - 4.38 GF/G, second). Lyon has proven himself to be a reliable start for fantasy managers as you have to go all the way back to December 8th to find a game where he posted a less than .889 SV%, a stretch of 12 games (of which, he won 11). At 54% rostered in Fantrax and 47% in Yahoo, hit the waivers and 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!