Crashing the Crease: Who's Hot, Who's Not

The season is about a month old and it's still unwise to overreact to early successes or struggles, but trends are emerging. Below are goaltenders who are heating up the ice, and others were are cold, cold, cold.

Who's Hot

Pheonix Copley, Capitals - We'll forgive the funny spelling of his first name because he's been very impressive taking over the net for Braden Holtby. He's allowed just six goals in his last three games, two of which were back-to-back. It must give Todd Reirden comfort knowing his backup is capable, considering Copley's unassuming rise to the NHL as a 26-year-old rookie with no major individual or team awards to his name. Holtby is day-to-day, but the Caps won't push it with Copley's strong play, which means more gametime for him.

Carter Hutton, Linus Ullmark, Sabres - It's been more Hutton than Ullmark lately, but the Sabres are cutting up their opponents with a five-game winning streak. All have been one-goal games, so be wary of this hot streak crashing like a meteor, but the list of victims is impressive: Minnesota, Winnipeg and Tampa Bay. Last season, both Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson finished with GAA's above 3.00 and save percentages below .910; this season, both Hutton and Ullmark are on pace for numbers better than the league average (2.82, .910). Hutton will continue to get the bulk of the starts but the Sabres have back-to-backs on Nov. 23 and 24.

Keith Kinkaid, Devils - He allowed three goals Saturday against Detroit but prior to that won two games in a row, including a shutout against Philadelphia. His season numbers (8-5-2, 2.60, .917) are fairly average, but he has the inside track to the starting job compared to Cory Schneider, who has zero wins this season. Kinkaid hasn't been outstanding and people still aren't noticing him enough, but his value has certainly increased a lot since the beginning of the season and deserves to be owned in all leagues (64 percent owned on Yahoo). The goaltending situation at the swamp is definitely … fluid.

Darcy Kuemper, Coyotes - First impression: not bad. With Antti Raanta injured, Kuemper's run as the starter didn't start off very well, but it's gotten much better. He won two games last week with a .918 save percentage, and held Boston and Nashville to just three goals. However, some caution still needs to be exercised with Colorado and Minnesota coming up, and defensemen Jason Demers and Jakob Chychrun are hurt. Backup Hunter Miska is not expected to see a lot of playing time.

David Rittich, Flames - Three weeks ago someone really smart wrote in this same space that Mike Smith is on the verge of losing his job. After another woeful start, Rittich got the nod last night on national TV and made good with 24 saves in a comeback win, 4-2. The Flames play host to the Knights and Jets next, and it's safe to assume Rittich will start those. If he plays well, the No. 1 job will probably be his.

Who's Not

Peter Budaj, Kings - Cal Petersen is the starter in L.A. now, winning 2-1 against Chicago and making 38 saves against Nashville. He's a promising young goalie in a season that has already fallen off the wagon, so the Kings are making the right decision to play him. That leaves Budaj, the owner of a 5.50 GAA and .833 save percentage, in exile, and writing on the wall is pretty clear. Budaj will serve as relief for Petersen if he tires, but, y'know, if getting Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko is starting to look more realistic than making the playoffs, maybe it'll end up being a campaign for tank commander Budaj.

Martin Jones, Sharks - Fun fact: Jones has held opponents to two goals or less four times in 15 games (26.7 percent) this season, compared to the previous season when he did it 34 times in 60 games (56.7 percent). He's allowed nine goals in two games, both at home and against Cup contenders. There are plenty of things wrong with the Sharks at the moment and to pin it all on Jones would be unfair, but there's no denying his performances have been very poor. It's worth noting Aaron Dell had a 29-save shutout last night.

Jacob Markstrom, Canucks - Anders Nilsson remains sidelined with an injury and clearly Richard Bachman is not an NHL-caliber goalie, so tending net for a suddenly vulnerable Canucks squad isn't such a nice gig anymore. Markstrom's allowed 10 goals in his last three games, some of which have been disastrous and inexplicable. Chalk it up to a subpar defensive corps or poor luck, but the Canucks are (unsurprisingly) diving toward the basement once again. A late power-play goal sunk an otherwise decent performance by Markstrom on Saturday against the Habs, and the Canucks' inconsistent goal support makes him a high-risk play.

Matt Murray, Penguins - Was letting Marc-Andre Fleury go to Vegas the right move? Murray was tabbed as the goalie of the future after a Cup win, but he's looked like anything but since. It could be injuries, the team in front of him, or simply the yips, but Murray's lost six consecutive games with 22 goals allowed, including three goals on seven shots against the Senators before getting pulled. At the very least, Mike Sullivan has to be thinking about naming Casey DeSmith the No. 1.

Cam Talbot, Oilers - The Battle of Alberta saw a changing of the guard for both teams, so with Rittich taking over for Smith, the Oilers mirrored the decision and sat their starter in favor of Mikko Koskinen. It didn't change much with the Oilers, who dropped their fifth game in six tries, but it's the third consecutive game Koskinen has posted a .917 save percentage or better. Talbot has lost four straight starts with 14 goals allowed, and he has one more chance to prove himself Sunday.