This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
As I fill in for Sasha for the second week here, it doesn't seem possible to write this column without discussing what happened in Arizona on Saturday, when the Blue Jackets put fully 60 shots – yes, 60, sixty, six-zero shots – on Mike Smith. The shot chart for that game (you'll need to page down a bit) looks like nothing so much as an overhead view of the entrance to Best Buy at 8 a.m. on Black Friday.
That game somehow went to a shootout, in which Smith was surprisingly downed after two rounds. It was the only way to defeat the veteran on a night when he set a franchise record with 58 saves – including 23 (a whole game's worth on its own) in the third period. The Jackets set a franchise record of their own for shots on goal. Sure, the Coyotes have been giving up the most shots in the league, so it's not totally shocking to see a game like this, but this was only the second time in the last seven years that a goalie made so many saves in a game.
Unfortunately, that losing effort qualifies as a bright spot of the season for Smith – despite strong stats overall, he's now taken four consecutive losses, including a pair of four-goal duds sandwiching Saturday's game. His .925 save percentage deserves better results than the four wins he's delivered in 11 starts – an excellent reminder that no goalie can do it
As I fill in for Sasha for the second week here, it doesn't seem possible to write this column without discussing what happened in Arizona on Saturday, when the Blue Jackets put fully 60 shots – yes, 60, sixty, six-zero shots – on Mike Smith. The shot chart for that game (you'll need to page down a bit) looks like nothing so much as an overhead view of the entrance to Best Buy at 8 a.m. on Black Friday.
That game somehow went to a shootout, in which Smith was surprisingly downed after two rounds. It was the only way to defeat the veteran on a night when he set a franchise record with 58 saves – including 23 (a whole game's worth on its own) in the third period. The Jackets set a franchise record of their own for shots on goal. Sure, the Coyotes have been giving up the most shots in the league, so it's not totally shocking to see a game like this, but this was only the second time in the last seven years that a goalie made so many saves in a game.
Unfortunately, that losing effort qualifies as a bright spot of the season for Smith – despite strong stats overall, he's now taken four consecutive losses, including a pair of four-goal duds sandwiching Saturday's game. His .925 save percentage deserves better results than the four wins he's delivered in 11 starts – an excellent reminder that no goalie can do it on his own.
Top Performers
Chad Johnson, CGY – Since overtaking Brian Elliott nearly a month ago, Johnson has been on a rampage as the Flames' starting goalie. After downing the Stars on the road Tuesday, he owns a four-game winning streak during which he's allowed only six goals with a .953 save percentage; extend your sampling out to his last 11 games, and the result is a 9-2-0 record with a 1.63 GAA and .946 save mark. Can he maintain his lofty season ratios? Well, perhaps he won't be able to keep them quite this lofty, but the guy did turn in a .920 save mark for a bad Buffalo team last year. The one major concern is that he's never seen a bigger workload than last season's 45 games, so it wouldn't be totally surprising to see the pendulum swing back Elliott's way at some point this year.
Steve Mason, PHI – Plagued by inconsistency in the early going, Mason has found himself over his last five starts, winning each one and posting sparkling ratios – 1.74 GAA, .947 save mark – in that span. That includes a pair of 40-plus-save performances, with the latest being Tuesday's 42 stops on 44 shots against Florida. The Flyers have been a distinctly mixed bag defensively, but their offense is clipping along healthily and Mason is rapidly erasing the bad memories of October and November.
Jaroslav Halak, NYI – Halak's 36-save gem against the Rangers on Tuesday looks good on paper, but it looked even better on the ice; he made a number of game-altering saves on incredible scoring opportunities. Although he did throw down a four-goal dud against Detroit over the weekend, he at least lasted into overtime, and his shutout of the Capitals last Thursday combined with Tuesday's outing gives Halak a 2-0-1 record with a .945 save mark in the last week. It looked for a period like Thomas Greiss might be a legitimate threat to steal away the bigger end of this timeshare, but no longer.
Three Rising
Scott Darling, CHI – Corey Crawford had to get his appendix carved out, so the Chicago net has fallen to Darling for at least a couple weeks. He's off to a marvelous start despite taking two losses in the last three games, as he's posted a 1.70 GAA and .940 save mark in that span – thanks in no small part to Tuesday's 22-save shutout of the Coyotes. The version of Darling that dominated the league down the stretch two years ago was probably just a mirage, but he's a credible backup who projects to see consistent starts (at least for a bit) behind a high-quality team.
Kari Lehtonen, DAL – The competition between Lehtonen and his fellow Finn Antti Niemi has mostly been more about who's less bad than who's better, but Lehtonen's drawn three of the last four starts, including a shutout of the Avalanche. He hasn't been special in the other two, but he's still limited the opposition to two goals both times. This isn't to say that Lehtonen's grown into a trusty fantasy netminder, but he's now appeared in two more games than Niemi, who for his part has allowed nine goals in his last two starts.
Cam Ward, CAR – I feel like these words need to be pried out of me with the Jaws of Life, but… Ward… is… good again. Actually, over his last 10 starts, he's been downright great, allowing just 13 goals and posting a .951 save percentage to go with a 6-3-1 record. It's been a bit of a streaky period, including as it has both a five-game winning streak and a four-game losing skid, but Ward has mostly played well even in defeat. Just when it looked like he was on the verge of washing out of Carolina (and maybe even ending his run as a starter at the NHL level), Ward has resurrected his career in a major way.
Three Falling
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG – Last week, I wrote that Hellebuyck "has officially pulled out of his downward spiral"; well, maybe not. He answered my praise with a six-goal disaster against Edmonton, generated some fresh optimism with a sparkling win against Chicago, and most recently dumped on his fantasy owners again by blowing a two-goal lead in Tuesday's loss to Detroit. It all adds up to six losses in the 23-year-old's last nine starts, a period in which he's compiled a 2.95 GAA and .903 save percentage – numbers that don't play in most fantasy formats. The talent here is undeniable, but the inconsistency can be unbearable.
Peter Budaj, LOS – The Czech veteran has delivered a trio of duds over the last week, giving up nine goals on 59 shots for an .847 save mark; he's fortunate that Jeff Zatkoff and his offense were able to mount a comeback last Thursday in Arizona. Budaj was riding high before that, winning five straight, but between his .909 save percentage and the niggling feeling that something just isn't right about this guy starting for the Kings, he's been a nerve-wracking fantasy own despite his 12 wins. Injured No. 1 netminder Jonathan Quick is two months into his rehab, which means he could theoretically be back within another month; look for Zatkoff to work his way into a few more starts during that span, as it's been surprising how heavily the Kings have leaned on Budaj.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM – Last week, I discussed how Vasilevskiy had an opportunity to steal a bigger role from Ben Bishop, but his five-goal misstep against Columbus muffled his momentum. Well, it got worse from there – the Blues slashed him for four goals on 16 shots before he got yanked last Thursday, and the Bolts have been rewarded by turning back to Ben Bishop, who's bounced back from his slump by recording 63 saves on 65 shots over the last two games. Bishop still has a ways to go to make us forget about how inconsistent he was through October and November, but as the established starter, he's going to get the benefit of the doubt – and let's not forget that this is a guy who put up a 2.06 GAA and .926 save mark last year. Vasilevskiy's just going to have to keep biding his time.
