Risers and Fallers: Bleu Blanc Rough

Olympic roster decisions will soon be made and your resident American writer for what I presume to be a primarily Canadian readership, has high expectations for the stars and stripes. The ‘22 Olympics were robbed by the COVID-19 pandemic with the USA having what I felt was a good chance to grab gold for the first time since the Miracle On Ice. Those sentiments haven’t changed for me four years later.

My one glaring concern though is Auston Matthews “drop-off” from perennial 60-goal threat to not even point-per-game for a lengthy duration of time now. Have injuries taken a toll already at only 28 years of age? Or are the burdens of expectation in Toronto just beating him down.

Your best bets to stream from at the midpoint of the week are the off-night exclusive teams. Look at Seattle and Utah with three games left today, Friday, and Sunday. If you need peripherals, Adam Larsson offers a nice floor. Despite providing nothing to warrant ownership, Barrett Hayton’s deployment for Utah with Logan Cooley on the shelf is good enough to take a chance on.

Risers

Brandon Bussi

If you had told me in the summer that a goaltending triumvirate would arise in North Carolina I’d have laughed in your face. But you’d have the last cackle now in December with Frederik Andersen falling off a cliff and Pyotr Kochetkov not taking firm grasp of the reins either.

Instead we have the 27-year-old Bussi holding his own if not currently being the best option between the pipes. In my opinion, Andersen is finished as an everyday NHL goalie. The injury history is substantial and now 36-years-old, the decline looks like it’ll be rough. Carolina’s elite shot suppression gives almost any goalie the capability to thrive.

Filip Gustavsson

Jesper Wallstedt has been a great storyline thus far but as I said when I covered him a couple weeks back, when it comes to goaltending you must “follow the contract.” Going back to the second half of November, Filip Gustavsson is performing like a true number one.

This is still 50/50 timeshare territory but the former Ottawa Senator has six straight quality starts in his last six tilts. While this year they make relatively similar money, next year the chasm widens tremendously when Gus starts raking in 6.8 million per year over the next four. I still believe Wallstedt can win out but for the time being the money is talking.

Casey DeSmith

He’ll never take the crease from Jake Oettinger but boy has the former Pittsburgh Penguin been good when called upon over the past month.Like Gustavsson above, he too has six quality starts in his past six. Proving to be a go-to streaming option whenever he gets the call, don’t be afraid to call upon his services when you see the green check mark.

Fallers

Sam Montembeault

A truly atrocious season so far. There’s just really no other way to cast light on it now in December. With only four quality starts total in 14 calls to the crease, last year’s 60-start, 31-win campaign looks to be a one off for Sam.

Although Jakub Dobes posted a stinker on the seventh, he has seemingly rebounded from a brutal stretch from 10/28-11/20. With Sam instilling no confidence in Martin St. Louis to start him whatsoever, I would expect the younger Dobes to see the majority of starts for the time being. This will be an ever changing landscape throughout the season so check in later in case the script flips.

Alex Lyon

Now that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) is back in the fold, the freshly anointed 33-year-old Lyon is seeing little to no action with one start since November 13th. The journeyman netminder was a solid option in the first month and a half of the campaign but that’s clearly in the rear view now.

This is another scenario where you look to the contract as UPL is the most expensive option with the longest term left. You’ve probably moved on already but if anyone is still somehow holding onto Alex’s corpse, please move on.

Calvin Pickard

Late season heroics of last year are not carrying over whatsoever so far in ‘25-’26. Some of you may have picked him up during fantasy playoffs last campaign when Stuart Skinner went down with an injury. He assisted in delivering several championships for managers, mine included.

Alas, that was a one off with Edmonton finding themselves in the same boat once again between the pipes; mediocre at best. Having only two quality starts total to this point, Calvin is back to being barely above or at replacement level in the game’s top league.

Other Thoughts

Injuries are piling up hard and fast league-wide.

Will the Olympic ice rink be ready to go? What will the condition of it be?

Jake Neighbours is back for St. Louis. Nice grit/scoring add if you have room.

So much for a Washington Capitals drop-off.

Matt Duchene has returned. See if he’s available on your wire(s).

Only the Rangers can lose Adam Fox and proceed to play their best hockey of the season against the top teams in the West.

What is wrong with Robert Thomas?

Pretty wild Charlie McAvoy may return from that graphic jaw injury sometime this week.

Be ready to grab Boone Jenner once activated.

It’s safe to drop Brock Boeser. Don’t keep holding out expecting a return to 40-goal form this year; Vancouver stinks.