This week we highlight a number of goalies who are trying to drag their teams into the playoff hunt, with current hot streaks that are among the best in the league. There are also a couple of key injured goalies and a personal issues with a third goalie that are tough pills to swallow for affected teams.
Rising goalies Helping Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
Jet Greaves 
Columbus Blue Jackets
Greaves tops our list this week, largely due to him playing the most minutes of any goalie over the past two weeks, which also has lead to the most saves in that period (52 more than the second highest total). He also registered three wins and an impressive .924 save percentage during this stretch. Fantasy managers who are looking for a likely available, clear No. 1 goalie in their leagues, can expect that Greaves will get the majority of Columbus goalie starts over the second half of this season.
Philipp Grubauer 
Seattle Kraken
Grubauer is currently part of a 50/50 goalie share in the Kraken net, alongside Joey Daccord, as the Kraken battle to hold onto a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Over the past two weeks he has outplayed his partner by a significant margin, accounting for wins in each of his three starts, while limiting the opposition to a total of three goals against, and making 97 saves. This trend continues a disparity between the two goalies through the first half, although Grubauer did miss time due
This week we highlight a number of goalies who are trying to drag their teams into the playoff hunt, with current hot streaks that are among the best in the league. There are also a couple of key injured goalies and a personal issues with a third goalie that are tough pills to swallow for affected teams.
Rising goalies Helping Keep Playoff Hopes Alive
Jet Greaves Columbus Blue Jackets
Greaves tops our list this week, largely due to him playing the most minutes of any goalie over the past two weeks, which also has lead to the most saves in that period (52 more than the second highest total). He also registered three wins and an impressive .924 save percentage during this stretch. Fantasy managers who are looking for a likely available, clear No. 1 goalie in their leagues, can expect that Greaves will get the majority of Columbus goalie starts over the second half of this season.
Philipp Grubauer Seattle Kraken
Grubauer is currently part of a 50/50 goalie share in the Kraken net, alongside Joey Daccord, as the Kraken battle to hold onto a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Over the past two weeks he has outplayed his partner by a significant margin, accounting for wins in each of his three starts, while limiting the opposition to a total of three goals against, and making 97 saves. This trend continues a disparity between the two goalies through the first half, although Grubauer did miss time due to injury. He's certainly building a case for a larger share of the net here.
Dustin Wolf 
Calgary Flames
Wolf has been the second busiest goalie over the past fortnight, appearing in five games, earning three wins and making 134 saves out of 146 shots on goal (.918 save percentage). He is the clear No. 1 in Calgary, but his win probability is not as high as netminders' percentages on most teams, as the Flames are 30th in the overall standings, so that is a concern. However, Calgary is 6-4 in their last 10 games, offering some hope that they can continue some upward mobility in the playoff chase. The thinking around using him in your fantasy leagues is that he is playing more often than most goalies in the league and has a chance to win his fair share, without harming you in a GAA category (2.90 in 32 starts).
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen 
Buffalo Sabres
In an odd coincidence, the Sabres have caught fire since replacing their general manager. Solid goaltending has been a key component of this turnaround. Luukkonen has won three of his last four starts and has stopped 103 of 112 shots he's faced along the way (.920 save percentage). As his contract has the highest AAV (44.5M) among Sabres goalies, the expectation now that he's healthy is that he should be in line for a majority of the remaining starting assignments the rest of the way. His 2.61 GAA in 15 starts to date is due in equal parts, to his skills and an improved roster around him. Suddenly, there's renewed hope in Buffalo.
Joseph Woll 
Toronto Maple Leafs
Over the last two weeks, Woll and the Leafs have produced a season-best 5-0-2 mark in their last 7 games. He has been in goal for four of those wins and is undefeated in regulation time in his last six appearances. With his lengthy injury history, the team will want to manage his usage, so we expect that Dennis Hildeby will see action from time to time, but the Leafs need Woll to continue to deliver his winning ways if they expect to stay in the playoff hunt.
Dan Vladar 
Philadelphia Flyers
In his first year with the Flyers, Vladar was expected to have a relatively equal share of the starts alongside returning veteran, Samuel Ersson. However, he has outplayed the holdover by a wide margin and has been getting a much larger percentage of goalie starts recently because of his strong stats to date (2.37 GAA, .910 save percentage) in this career-best campaign. His 16-6-3 record has made him a popular pickup in fantasy leagues as he has emerged as the go-to goalie on a team that is currently holding a playoff spot in the East.
Fallers Struggling to Get Wins
Akira Schmid/Carter Hart 
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have a tenuous hold on the top rung of the Pacific Division because neither Schmid or Hart has been able to hold fort during the team's recent 2-5-3 mark in their last 10 games. Consider these numbers. Schmid is winless in his last three starts, surrendering nine goals on only 62 shots (.855 save percentage), and Hart has been even worse, allowing 17 goals out of 90 shots (.811) in his last four starts. This turn for the worse is something that has to change if Vegas has serious aspirations for this season.
Lukas Dostal 
Anaheim Ducks
Dostal started the season on an impressive pace, winning 13 of his first 20 decision. Things have gone sour recently, as he is now winless in his last seven appearances (five starts). In that span, he has allowed 25 while facing 163 shots (.847 save percentage). The Ducks have leaned heavily on Dostal since he returned from a nine-game absence. He might benefit if they could spell him more often, making more use of veteran backup Ville Husso, or even Petr Mrazek, who is currently out with a minor injury and should return soon
Jake Oettinger 
Dallas Stars
Oettinger has been a steady workhorse for the Stars over his six-year career, but he's going through a rare rough patch at the moment. He's lost his last three starts and is winless in his last four games played overall. In that time, he's been blitzed for 16 goals and has posted a pedestrian .835 save percentage. Casey DeSmith is a quality backup who will likely step in to give Oettinger the opportunity to reset himself over the next couple of games.
Injury News
Igor Shesterkin 
New York Rangers
Shesterkin, undoubtedly the Rangers MVP, has been in top form this season. However, earlier this week he suffered what looks like a groin strain that will sideline him for a while. The severity of the injury is currently unknown. He's been placed on injured reserve. Jonathan Quick and Spencer Martin will share the Rangers net in his absence.
Tristan Jarry 
Edmonton Oilers
Jarry, who was recently acquired by the Oilers, has missed the last eight games and has now been moved to the long-term injured reserve list, with a lower body injury. Connor Ingram and Calvin Pickard will cover the goalie starts for now.
Linus Ullmark 
Ottawa Senators
After his last start on December 27, Ullmark announced that he was taking a leave of absence from the club. There is still no indication regarding the cause and duration of his departure. Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard will appear in goal for the Sens in upcoming games.
