Goalie Announcements (Jan 12)

Only five games on the schedule on Friday night, which isn't too busy for the start of the weekend, so I think we'll cover all of the games this afternoon, just for shits and giggles.

Jacob Markstrom (Wes) versus Sergei Bobrovsky (Derek B.)
Wes gets the first of his two starts in Columbus tonight, with the Canucks giving Jacob Markstrom the nod against the Blue Jackets, who are on back-to-back nights after losing in Buffalo on Thursday night.  On Friday afternoon, there was no confirmation about who would get the nod for the Blue Jackets, but there was some suggestion earlier in the week that Sergei Bobrovsky would take both ends of the back-to-back nights, but that could have changed with the loss last night.  Derek is sure hoping that he gets the start, as his team is running hot and could use a Mover & Shaker nod this week.

Daivid Rittich (N/A) versus James Reimer (Troy)
Troy's team has probably been hit the hardest this week, in terms of games being played, as his team has the least amount of projected games going into this weekend, with only 10 to his name and one of those games is a start for James Reimer tonight.  Reimer has been a bit of a blessing, for sure, now ranking 128th overall in pool scoring, after a slow start to the season.  Troy's team is 52 points out of the money, but has been good in the second segment, ranking 7th since the start of Week Ten.  A win tonight against a non-pool goalie, David Rittich and the Calgary Flames, who are on back-to-back nights, could be a big help.

Philipp Grubauer (Grant) versus Cam Ward (Stacey M.)
The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes finish a home-and-home series on Friday night, which generally means that whichever goalies played last night would get the night off on the second night and that appears to be the case.  Grant gets a second start in this series with Philipp Grubauer, while Stacey M. gets a start from Cam Ward in the home half of the series.

The two pool teams are pretty close in the standings, as Grant holds a 5-point advantage in 7th over Stacey's 9th place team, while both teams are still a fair ways behind the money teams to open play tonight.

Connor Hellebuyck (Neil) versus Jeff Glass (N/A)
Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been on some kind of stretch run, as his numbers have lifted him to 3rd in overall pool scoring, giving Neil the 2nd and 3rd place players on his team.  Why is his team in 19th then?  Hellebuyck and the Central Division-leading Jets are in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks, who are still auditioning goalies for the Week Eighteen Waiver Draft, as it doesn't sound like Corey Crawford is coming back any time soon.  Tonight's keeper, Jeff Glass, who has 2 wins and 4 points in four appearances.  Who's interested?

Cam Talbot (Wes) versus Antti Raanta (Ryan)
It's a goalie battle at the bottom of the standings, but it is also a battle of two teams vying for the Mover & Shaker this week as well.  Wes' 21st team is off to a big week, 22 points through Thursday night, well ahead of anyone else in the weekly scoring, and he gets another start from Cam Talbot and the Edmonton Oilers in Arizona tonight.  At the other side, Ryan's team is tied for 3rd in weekly scoring with only 14 points, but also has a start in this one, Antti Raanta in net for the home side.  Ryan's team is still 8 points up on Wes' team in 20th place, so a win would be a good bit of defense in that race.