Goalie Announcements (Dec 9)

Friday night was a pretty crazy night in the standings, as there was a 4-way tie for top spot in the standings at one point, of course that was ironed out through the last couple games of the night, to where we have separation in those top four spots again, but they have been shuffled a bit more.

The top 10 teams are now separated by 18 points, top to bottom, and we'll focus on those teams in this goalie post today.

An early afternoon game has the blog shuffling its projections a little earlier today, so we're going to be throwing some best guesses out again, no matter how poorly they do in the evening.

Jaroslav Halak (Benson) versus Tuukka Rask (Clayton)
It's a top 10 team match-up in Boston tonight, as the Islanders are into the TD Garden to take on the Bruins.  Jaroslav Halak is getting the call for the Islanders and for Benson's 6th place team, while Clayton's 8th place team, 9 points back of Benson's, will get Tuukka Rask in the home net.  Both teams are also vying for the Mover & Shaker this week, which is also turning out to be a tight race in Week Ten.

Keith Kinkaid (Stuart) versus Ondrej Pavelec (N/A)
With the Devils playing last night in Columbus, they will be going to their backup for the Rangers match-up tonight, playing a team that was also on the road on Friday, playing in Washington.  Stuart's 7th place team is getting their first start from a Waiver Draft pickup in Keith Kinkaid, while Ondrej Pavelec went unclaimed in the player swap last week.  Stuart's team opens up the night 5 points out of the money and has a reasonable shot at points in a battle of the backup goalies.

Connor Hellebuyck (Neil) versus Andrei Vasilevskiy (Wilton)
It has been a great week for Wilton, as his team leads the weekly scoring with 24 points, through Friday's action, and has taken the overall lead in the standings by a single point.  Andrei Vasilevskiy is thought to be giving him yet another start tonight with the Winnipeg Jets in town, hoping to extend that lead a little bit further.  At the other end, Connor Hellebuyck is expected for the Jets against a tough Bolts side, giving Neil yet another start this season.

Ben Bishop (Kristy & Don) versus Maxime Lagace (N/A)
It's too early to tell for sure, but one could safely assume that the Dallas Stars, who didn't play last night, will go back to their number one, while the Golden Knights did play last night in Nashville and will go to their number two for their return home.  Kristy & Don, the current 4th place team, sit 4 points back of the lead and will get a start from Ben Bishop, making this game notable in this post.

Craig Anderson (Tony) versus Martin Jones (Chris)
Chris' team holds down the 10th place spot, the last of the notable teams this morning, and he should be getting a pair of starts, starting with Martin Jones and the Sharks in one of the late games in San Jose.  The Senators' goaltending situation has been a little more fluid of late, but a reasonable guess would be seeing Craig Anderson back in the net for Tony's team, a start that Tony needs badly, to help him stay out of the Basement Dweller nod this week.

Scott Darling (Clayton) versus Jonathan Quick (Chris)
Finally, it's a pair of second starts in Los Angeles, as both Clayton and Chris should be getting these nods in another one of the late games in Los Angeles tonight.  Clayton and Chris are only separated by 2 points heading into action today, as they are not only racing each other up the standings, they are trying to close the gap on the money.  Scott Darling and the Hurricanes against Jonathan Quick and the Kings... the home side has to be the favourite, as they're running hot, but the visitors are unpredictable on any given night.