Tuesday, January 08, 2019

Goalie Announcements (Jan 8)



Coming off a Mover & Shaker week, Wes' team is running white-hot these days, already posting 9 points on Monday night and ready to assault the top three here soon, if his team keeps up its pace. 

Monday was also a pretty light night in the NHL, so it should come as no surprise that seven teams didn't post a single point, so the Basement Dweller race is alive and well too. 

Thankfully, we've got 11 games tonight and there will be plenty of opportunity for points for everyone!

Alex Stalock (Ryan) versus Tuukka Rask (Jesse)
With the Wild playing last night, it's a rare start for Alex Stalock, which should put a smile on Ryan's face, as his 9th place team still has a shot at some money, but it will have to start picking up its socks here rather soon.  Jesse's 12th place team gets another platoon start out of the Boston Bruins, not quite what he signed up for with the pick of Tuukka Rask, but that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Keith Kinkaid (Neil) versus Carter Hutton (Wes)
Wes' team continues to rock the goalie numbers and he gets another start tonight out of the Buffalo Sabres, where Carter Hutton will get the nod tonight, up against the New Jersey Devils.  Neil's team was able to post a point last night, so it isn't one of the seven without, but a start tonight could help his team stay clear of the basement for another week.

Curtis McElhinney (Wilton) versus Robin Lehner (Chelsea)
We know that Curtis McElhinney will be going for the Hurricanes tonight, meaning that Wilton's Waiver Draft pick is making good with a few more minutes tonight.  McElhinney hasn't been putting up the points or the starts much, since being activated, but now's a good time to start picking up the pace.  For the home side, the Islanders coaching staff were not going to name a starter this afternoon, so it's our best guess for tonight and we have decided to guess Lehner, since he has been more than decent of late.

Roberto Luongo (John P.) versus Matt Murray (N/A)
Much like Wes' team tonight, John P.'s team is also up for nights with back-to-back shutouts (or wins, at the very least) with a second goalie start in as many nights.  He'll get Roberto Luongo for the Panthers, as they head into Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.  At the opposite end of the ice, it will be the best player available in the next Waiver Draft, Matt Murray, going for the Pens.

Mike McKenna (N/A) versus Pheonix Copley (N/A)
Looks like it's a wash in the crease between Philadelphia and Washington tonight.  The Flyers are expected to start the newly-acquired McKenna, while the Capitals have confirmed that they are starting Copley again.  Copley does appear to have some hockey pool value, if you're still shopping for goalies at the Waiver Draft, but tonight... this game isn't worth magic beans.

Antti Niemi (N/A) versus Jimmy Howard (Tony)
Tony is hoping that Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings can take advantage of a Canadiens team that played last night at home and then traveled to Detroit for their game tonight.  Tony's team is trying to get back to the equator of the standings, but has already fallen 12 points back of 13th and is lacking in projected games left to be played this week.  Time to make the most of the opportunities!

Sergei Bobrovsky (Kristy & Don) versus Andrei Vasilevskiy (Dale C.)
If you're the Russian head coach at an Olympics or a World Cup, who are you starting?  Sergei Bobrovsky or Andrei Vasilevskiy?

The duo picked up a trio of points last night, while Dale C. picked up 5 points last night, both getting off to reasonable starts to Week Fifteen and both could make some head way with a solid start from their Russian keeper.

Ben Bishop (Clayton) versus Jake Allen (Steve)
It has been confirmed that Ben Bishop will go for the Stars, while the Blues, on back-to-backs, are expected to go back to Jake Allen tonight.  This makes for a 7th versus 10th match-up in the hockey pool, as Clayton and Steve get the respective nods in St. Louis tonight.  Both teams picked up points last night and are looking to build on that Monday night success, trying to track down Wes' streaking team and maybe join the money conversation.

Philipp Grubauer (Jesse) versus Connor Hellebuyck (Jeremy)
Good Central Division match-up in the 'peg tonight, as the Avalanche are in town to take on the Jets.  We know that the Jets will be going back to Hellebuyck in their cage tonight, which is good news for Jeremy, who has one of the seven teams with no points yet this week.  The Avalanche were another one of those teams that didn't want to reveal their plans ahead of time and they are starting back-to-back nights, which makes it a bit of a toss-up.  We're expecting Grubauer today, giving the soon-to-be-returning-from injury Varlamov one more night to rest and get ready for action.

Alexandar Georgiev (N/A) versus Marc-Andre Fleury (Troy)
Troy gets another call from Marc-Andre Fleury and the Golden Knights, when they play host to the struggling Rangers.  In the past couple of weeks, Troy's team has struggled, but Fleury has been his rock for the better part of the season, playing a lot of minutes and leading his team in points with 61 this season.  This one kind of looks like a short putt for birdie, but that's the sort of attitude that can cost your team and goalie a couple of points.

Cam Talbot (Mike) versus Martin Jones (Brenda & Seward)
The Oilers have confirmed that they are going back to Cam Talbot tonight, on the road in San Jose, much to the delight of Mike, who has an 8th place team, only 29 points out of the money.  The Oilers might be finding some more faith in their old starter again and if he can string together some starts and wins, things are looking up for Mike.  The Sharks didn't confirm their starter for tonight, said it was a game-time decision, but the indication suggests Jones on back-to-back nights, but who can be really sure nowadays?  Sneaky NHL clubs...

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