NHL Goalies Risers & Fallers: Rising Stars Vs. Vets Struggling Early in 2025-26 Season

More goalies outside the top tier are dragging their teams into the early fight for playoff spots, leading to a better-than-expected outlook for their teams. Meanwhile, a couple of veterans have to take some blame for their teams' current struggles.  

Find out who is expected to be between the pipes with RotoWire's NHL Starting Goalies page!

Rising Goalie Stars Fuel Underdog Playoff Push

Yaroslav Askarov, San Jose Sharks

After a sluggish start, Askarov is now riding the crest of a four-game win streak, following three outstanding efforts in the past week, where he allowed a total of three goals against, while making 95 saves in that span. The Sharks had been holding their own even prior to this stretch by Askarov, to rank among the surprising teams in October. Askarov's personal improvement brings even more belief to the Sharks' locker room. He and the team have to feel good about and plenty of confidence is radiating throughout the roster. They are taking a big step forward in their development as a good, young team and Askarov should continue to play a large role.

Spencer Knight, Chicago Blackhawks

Knight has been noted on the wrong side of this column in the past, but last week, he was among the top goalies in the league. He is a big reason for the Hawks' surprising start, picking up wins in both of his starting assignments last week, allowing two goals out of 80 shots on goal. He's now sporting excellent stats (2.33 GAA, .926 save percentage) through 11 starts this season, far outpacing any of his five prior campaigns. This performance has to make the 'Hawks brass feel very good about locking Knight up to a three-year, $17M contract extension last summer. That deal won't even kick in until next season.

Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild 

Minnesota showcased its goalie depth, as its backup, Jesper Wallstedt, delivered a pair of strong starts, both resulting in victories last week. He stopped 61 of 63 shots during these assignments. That's a real luxury as the success was earned without using their top goalie, Filip Gustavsson, who had been struggling through a heavy workload during the last couple of weeks.

While these results won't change expectations in this goalie depth chart, the Wild brass have to be heartened by the way Wallstedt stepped up last week.  With a busy schedule, teams need these contributions from their second stringers.    

Scott Wedgewood, Colorado Avalanche

Wedgewood has taken full advantage of Mackenzie Blackwood's absence due to injury this season. He added three strong efforts last week to extend a personal win streak to five games. You can certainly give a lot of credit to the whole roster, as Colorado sits atop league standings, with only one regulation loss through 17 games, but they don't achieve that record without Wedgewood's great start to this season. He's never handled so much work because he's been a career backup, but he has flourished in starting 14 games to date (2.25 GAA, .9123 save percentage). Even with Blackwood's return to action last week, Wedgewood has done enough to expect a larger number of goalie starts here.    

Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals

Thompson enjoyed a great first season with the Caps last year, and he seems well on his way to repeating that success, based on his excellent stats (1.56 GAA, .935 save percentage) through 11 starts so far this year. He won two of his three starts last week, surrendering a total of five goals in facing a total of 75 shots. He allowed three goals in one of these games, his highest single-game total thus far, to underscore his outstanding and consistent level of play to start this season. He's making a determined bid to be named Team Canada's starting goalie at the upcoming Olympic Games in Milan.

Veteran Goalies Facing Struggles Amid High Expectations

Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers

Skinner has been on the wrong side of this ledger before, and that does not bode well for a team that's hoping to return to the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year. It's notable that Skinner's star has been in decline during that interval. He was once viewed as a good option to bolster the Oilers' netminding, but his subsequent efforts have come under significant scrutiny this season.

His stats line is headed in the wrong direction for a third straight season, as his .864 save percentage is now in an unsightly range, far below what's necessary for a team with high ambitions. On the heels of a week that saw him surrender 11 goals out of 62 shots, he's running out of favor here.   

Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs

Stolarz has been forced into a much heavier-than-expected workload in Toronto because his tandem partner, Joseph Woll, missed training camp and the start of this season due to a personal issue. He has wilted under the pressure, made worse by the subpar play of the team in front of him. Last week was a low point, as he gave up 10 goals out of 54 shots, and was pulled from games in consecutive starts – a career first.  

Stolarz has never been faced with such a large role before, and it seems that it's taking a physical toll on him already, with two minor injuries early this season.  

He's currently dealing with an upper-body injury from his last start and may benefit from a stint on the sidelines to catch his breath. Dennis Hildeby was promoted from the AHL to back up Stolarz recently. Woll is close to being return for his return to NHL play.

Injuries Disrupting Goalie Rotation and Team Stability

Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes

Andersen continues to pose an annual conundrum for the Hurricanes and his fantasy hockey alike. On one hand, he's posted one of the very best career win percentages of goalies in hockey history, while on the other hand, he just can't stay healthy. He's only played as many as 30 games only once in his last five seasons, despite playing for two of the top teams (Carolina and Toronto) during that time span.   

He's currently sidelined with a concussion with no timeline for his return. Pyotr Kochetkov will handle most of the starts in his absence, with Brandon Bussi (called up from AHL Providence) backing him up.

Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks

After an injury-plagued 2024-25 season, Demko had been enjoying a good return to action in October and early November (2.80 GAA, .903 save percentage) through 10 appearances. However, the injury bug has struck  again, as he suffered a lower body injury on November 11. The early indicatuion is that he could be sideline for two to three weeks. Kevin Lankinen will be tasked with taking on a heavier workload in his absence. Jiri Patera has been called up from Abbotsford AHL to be his backup.

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