In Columbus, Pascal Leclaire is looking to take back what was rightfully his when Marc Denis (Dale C.) went to Tampa Bay. Leclaire has opened the season with a couple shutout wins for a glorious 8 points and the growing confidence of Head Coach, Ken Hitchcock. He could, before long, have the bulk of the work for the Blue Jackets.
In a platoon situation, much like last season, Chris Osgood is making the best of his starts, winning 2 games so far this season. While Dominik Hasek is the preferred number one, Osgood will take his starts when they come and being a Red Wing, there's always a good chance for a win.
Even with J-S Giguere's (Dale C.) injury at the beginning of the year, I found it suprising that no one had Ilya Bryzgalov on their list. Now, with his two wins, he might be an interesting commodity, especially if Giguere's back doesn't hold up for all that long. There are no guarantees in the crease, but the next few weeks could give a good idea of whether or not Bryzgalov is a worthy pick-up.
In the back-up sense, the numbers show that there are very few who compare to the Wild's Josh Harding. Harding has 3 career shutouts in 8 career starts... including a 37-save effort in his season debut against the Ducks on the 14th. Niklas Backstrom (Peter) is the number one in Minnesota, but Harding should be a good back-up through the year, one who will give Backstrom a few extra days off before the playoffs start.
Now, there are several goalies who only have 1 win and 2 points on the season so far, but I thought I would point towards Carey Price, who will get his second start against Ottawa tonight (Thursday). The rookie stayed up with the team after training camp and played well in his first career start against Pittsburgh. Now, Cristobel Huet (Stuart) hasn't played badly, but the Habs are not getting the results. Will this open the door for Price to play a bit more? Maybe if he's getting the wins.Technorati Tags
NHL, Hockey, Hockey Pool
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