A few household names are hit with injuries, while a few others could be close to making long awaited returns. Our Fantasy Hockey Goalie Report has all the details.
Fantasy Hockey Goalie Report
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Traded
The Edmonton Oilers traded Cam Talbot to the Philadelphia Flyers for Anthony Stolarz.
Talbot hasn’t been the same since setting a franchise record 42 wins back in 2016-17, but then again, the entire Oilers team in front of him hasn’t been playing at the same level either. He has just 41 wins in the 98 games since then.
Talbot goes to the Flyers, where we can mentor Carter Hart, who he trains with in the offseason. Brian Elliott is in the AHL on a conditioning assignment, and should be nearing a return after being sidelined since November 15 with a lower body injury. There’s no room for Elliott now, so a trade wouldn’t be surprising once he’s ready to return.
The Oilers get much needed cap relief in the deal, so they can call up Andrej Sekera. The writing was on the wall for an eventual Talbot trade anyway, after Mikko Koskinen was extended for three more years.
Injury News
John Gibson, ANA: Gibson is on injured reserve with head and neck issues, meanwhile Chad Johnson is also on injured reserve with a head injury. Thankfully Ryan Miller is available after missing over two months of action with a knee injury. Although he wasn’t quite ready to start, so Kevin Boyle made his first NHL start. That sounds like a complete disaster for Anaheim, especially given how far they’ve fallen. However, Boyle made 35 saves en route to a shutout victory over the Canucks Wednesday. Boyle became just the second goalie in Ducks history to earn a shutout in his first start. The other was, you guessed it, John Gibson, who also did so against the Canucks.
Corey Crawford, CHI: Crawford has been sidelined with a concussion since December 16, but is close to returning. Considering this is his second concussion in less than two years, it’s definitely encouraging to see he’s not thinking about hanging up the skates. However, when he does take back the crease, it will create a logjam for the position. Chicago already has Cam Ward, but Collin Delia has excelled. It would be a shame for Delia to go back to the AHL, but that’s the more likely scenario, unless the Blackhawks are confident enough in Crawford’s health to warrant a trade involving Ward.
Craig Anderson, OTT: The veteran netminder has missed the past four contests with an eye injury. He is travelling with the team, which opens the possibility of him making a return shortly. Anders Nilsson has started every game in Anderson’s absence, going 2-2 while collecting a shutout. The Senators have four games this week, taking on Chicago, Columbus, New Jersey and Calgary. The middle two are a back-to-back, so the Sens will be hopeful Anderson is available to start one of those outings. 20-year-old Filip Gustavsson, is the current backup to Nilsson, so he could get his first taste of NHL action should Anderson need a bit more time to recover.
Ben Bishop, DAL: Bishop has missed the past four contests with an upper body injury, and finds himself on injured reserve. It’s possible that he doesn’t miss any more time, but that was also the expectation a week ago. The Stars certainly could have used Bishop’s services Thursday, when the Lightning walked all over Dallas to a 6-0 win. Anton Khudobin has gone 1-2-1 over his past four starts, but can’t hold the fort down forever, especially with the Stars in the thick of the playoff race. Bishop remains one of the best goaltenders in the league, sporting a 19-12-2 record with a 2.30 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Other Injuries: Antti Raanta, ARZ (lower body) remains out indefinitely.
NHL Teams with the Most Games
Columbus Blue Jackets: The Jackets are the only team to feature two sets of back-to-backs on the calendar. The first has them facing Tampa Bay and Montreal, while the second involves Ottawa and San Jose. It would be natural to assume that Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo each start two games. What makes this interesting is the fact the NHL trade deadline is just over a week away. With Bobrovsky being a pending unrestricted free agent, could this be his last week in Columbus?
Other teams with four games this week include: Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, and the Washington Capitals.
NHL Teams with the Fewest Games
Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks are the only team with just two games on the schedule, where they host the Coyotes on Thursday and the Islanders on Saturday. Jacob Markstrom figures to start both contests. Marek Mazanec was acquired from the Rangers to provide some depth. Thatcher Demko remains out with a knee injury, and Richard Bachman tore his Achilles and will miss the remainder of the season. These injuries forced the Canucks to call up 19-year-old Michael DiPietro on an emergency basis.
The plan was for him to back up Markstrom, but then Markstrom suffered a lower body injury in warm up, forcing DiPietro to start Monday against the Sharks. This isn’t an ideal situation for DiPietro to be in, making his NHL debut against an NHL powerhouse. The Sharks won 7-2, but it could have been worse. With Mazanec in the fold, hopefully they don’t find themselves in a similar situation again.
Ending the Drought
Corey Schneider, NJD: It took 418 days, but Schneider finally won a game. He entered the game in relief of Keith Kinkaid, and the Devils came back from a 4-1 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime. Now that the monkey’s off his back, perhaps Schneider can string together a few more victories.
For more great fantasy hockey talk, listen in on Chris Meaney and Neil Parker on the Fantrax Fantasy Hockey Podcast, as they hit on all the injuries, streamers, and recent trends you need to know to stay on top of the fantasy ice.
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