Crashing the Crease: The Good, Bad & Ugly

Unless you're in one of those crazy leagues that doesn't have a trade deadline, you've already made your moves for a championship run. Now the only course of action is making you sure you start the right players and being diligent and smart on the waiver wire. With one month until the last day of the season on April 6, here's a rundown on goaltenders.

GOOD

Jordan Binnington, Blues - Allowing three goals on 20 shots in a loss to the Stars on Saturday was a blip on the radar, but otherwise he's been quite the silent assassin, launching the Blues back into playoff contention and still three points ahead of the Stars. Since Jan. 1, only three goalies in the league have registered 15 wins: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Darcy Kuemper (we'll get to him) and, yes, Binnington. Despite playing just 20 games for the Blues, he's arguably their MVP.

Darcy Kuemper, Coyotes - The Coyotes looked like they were cooked after Kuemper went 1-6-0 in December, but since then he's gone 15-3-3 and they find themselves in the midst of a playoff race. He's one of a few twentysomething goalies who've managed to re-invent their careers this season. The Coyotes will face the Ducks twice, but four of their last five games are against Central Division playoff contenders, so fantasy owners might want to find another tendy for the stretch drive.

Mike Smith, David Rittich, Flames - This is basically the Flames' dream, where both Smith (5-2-1, .919 Sv%, 2.43 GAA in February) and Big Save Dave (2-0-0, .953 Sv%) are both playing well and Bill Peters doesn't have to worry about who has the hotter hand. Smith has the experience (and the contract) so he will probably get the bulk of the starts barring another meltdown, but their schedule is favorable with games against the Sens, Canucks, Oilers, Kings 2x and Ducks 2x in their last 10 games.

Curtis McElhinney, Petr Mrazek, Hurricanes - The duo combined to go 12-3-0 with four shutouts and a .937 save percentage last month, leading the charge into the playoffs. The Hurricanes are young and talented, and with their Storm Surge silliness they have a ton of bandwagon potential. McElhinney and Mrazek are alternating starts, and with five consecutive wins it seems like they're in rhythm, though they have tough tests coming up with four of their next five on the road. They will face the Lightning, Leafs and the Pens and Caps twice each before the end of the season.

Robin Lehner, Thomas Greiss, Islanders - They haven't been quite as impressive as McElhinney and Mrazek, but still the numbers are solid: 8-5-1 with three shutouts and a .941 save percentage. The Islanders' 6-1 win against the Leafs was seriously impressive, and the Isles were leading the Caps before allowing three goals in the second half of a back-to-back.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning - I'm going to assume that the Lightning will give Vasilevskiy a break once they've clinched the Presidents' Trophy and conference title, which means tons of quality upside but perhaps not in quantity down the stretch. I'm not sure if the Lightning are interested in chasing records (probably not – it's Cup or bust for them), but they're on pace for 129 points, which would be the highest total in the cap era, surpassing the 2005-06 Red Wings' record of 124.

Devan Dubnyk, Wild - Maybe Doobie's mediocre performances at home (10-11-4, .906 Sv%) is the reason, but Bruce Boudreau elected to play him in Calgary on Saturday rather than have him face the Predators twice. Ideally, Dubnyk would start every game from now until the end of the season because Alex Stalock doesn't instill much confidence, but their upcoming schedule is tough and five of their last eight games are on the road.

BAD

Corey Crawford, Cam Ward, Blackhawks - Just for the sake of watching that awesome power play for a few more games, I'd love to see the Blackhawks make the playoffs. But, nope, their chances have basically vanished as they are seven points out of a playoff spot, and their only chance of winning is to outscore the opposition. Crawford, Ward and Collin Delia were a combined 9-5-0 in February, but also had a .889 save percentage. The bright side is that eight of their final 17 games will be against teams with a below-average offense (Stars, Coyotes, Canucks, Kings, Blues).

Connor Hellebuyck, Jets - We wouldn't be this worried if the Jets weren't considered a Cup contender, but the effort in front of Hellebuyck has been concerning at times. He's not entirely without blame, allowing 20 goals in his past five appearances, and his overall numbers have been just average so far. The Jets close out the season with a four-game road trip with three potentially desperate teams: the Wild, Coyotes and Avalanche.

Martin Jones, Sharks - The Sharks and Jets kind of have the same problem with shaky goaltending, except the Sharks' problem is potentially way worse. Jones has not finished any month with a save percentage higher than .907, and Aaron Dell, who hasn't posted stats this bad since his freshman season with North Dakota, isn't an option either. Jones provides the least fantasy value among the top-tier teams and despite the soft schedule isn't really a reliable option.

UGLY

Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Bernier, Red Wings - There's a chance Howard re-signs, which is why the Wings didn't seem too desperate to deal him at the deadline, but after 13 seasons with the team and two mediocre seasons the relationship seems to have run its course. Mired in a seven-game losing streak it doesn't matter who Jeff Blashill chooses to start, though Jonathan Bernier has been slightly better. Note that they play two of their final three games against the Pens.

Craig Anderson, Anders Nilsson, Senators - Nilsson is showing once again that his hot streaks are never to be trusted, having lost four of his last six appearances and allowing 14 goals in the process, despite winning six of his first 10 appearances with the Sens. Craig Anderson went 0-7 in February and neither had a save percentage above .893. There's just no reason to start any Sens goalie for any reason unless you're looking for comedy.