This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
Home/road splits are an often underused weapon in the fantasy player's arsenal. While almost everyone performs better at home, there are different degrees of better. With the season at least 50 games in for every team, a large enough sample size has built up to examine some of the more polarized home-road splits among goaltenders. These numbers aren't necessarily indicative of future performance, but they should be kept in mind when thinking of deploying certain netminders at specific venues. Jake Allen, Ryan Miller and Pekka Rinne in particular have posted very polarized splits to date.
Allen is 13-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .907 save percentage at the Scottrade Center, and just 5-8-1 with a 3.34 GAA and .883 save percentage elsewhere. His level of play hasn't been pretty regardless of venue, but the team in front of Allen clearly does a much better job of shielding its netminder at home. Allen's GAA drops by .83 at home, and he ends up victorious more often than not. Conversely, his road GAA and save percentage compare unfavorably to the season-long numbers of every NHL goaltender save for Semyon Varlamov's 3.38 GAA.
Despite some recent stumbles at home, Miller remains an excellent 12-6-1 with a 2.29 GAA and .923 save percentage at Rogers Arena. Those numbers would rank the veteran eighth in GAA and seventh in save percentage across the league. He has been atrocious on the road, however, with a 2-8-2 record, 3.18 GAA and .904 save percentage. Using
Home/road splits are an often underused weapon in the fantasy player's arsenal. While almost everyone performs better at home, there are different degrees of better. With the season at least 50 games in for every team, a large enough sample size has built up to examine some of the more polarized home-road splits among goaltenders. These numbers aren't necessarily indicative of future performance, but they should be kept in mind when thinking of deploying certain netminders at specific venues. Jake Allen, Ryan Miller and Pekka Rinne in particular have posted very polarized splits to date.
Allen is 13-6-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .907 save percentage at the Scottrade Center, and just 5-8-1 with a 3.34 GAA and .883 save percentage elsewhere. His level of play hasn't been pretty regardless of venue, but the team in front of Allen clearly does a much better job of shielding its netminder at home. Allen's GAA drops by .83 at home, and he ends up victorious more often than not. Conversely, his road GAA and save percentage compare unfavorably to the season-long numbers of every NHL goaltender save for Semyon Varlamov's 3.38 GAA.
Despite some recent stumbles at home, Miller remains an excellent 12-6-1 with a 2.29 GAA and .923 save percentage at Rogers Arena. Those numbers would rank the veteran eighth in GAA and seventh in save percentage across the league. He has been atrocious on the road, however, with a 2-8-2 record, 3.18 GAA and .904 save percentage. Using Miller on the road this season has netted almost no positive results, while he has played like a legitimate top-10 option at home despite the mediocre team in front of him. Guess it's no coincidence he was so dominant for Team USA at the Vancouver Olympics.
Rinne's differences are more reasonable than the two above, but still quite striking. He's 12-5-4 with a 2.03 GAA and .927 save percentage at Bridgestone Arena. Those numbers translated to a full season would make the 34-year-old Finn a top-5 netminder any way you slice them. On the other hand, he's just 8-9-2 with a 2.64 GAA and .918 save percentage away -- the equivalent of a lower-echelon starter. His .009 swing in save percentage is less than half of the change seen by Allen or Miller, but that coupled with the change in level of play from the rest of the Predators makes a world of difference.
While Allen is dealing with the pressures of being a No. 1 goaltender for the first time, there's little to explain Miller's and Rinne's splits that hasn't already been stated. These trends may or may not continue down the stretch, but you can never be too informed when making a decision regarding your fantasy goaltender. Here's some more information for you to peruse in the form of the top performers, three rising and three falling:
Top Performers
Peter Budaj, LAK - Budaj makes this section despite surrendering nine goals in his past two appearances, as he had won five straight with only three goals allowed coming in. His three shutouts in that span have the Slovakian veteran tied with Braden Holtby for the league lead with seven. Look for Budaj to keep doing his thing with Jonathan Quick (groin) still a month from returning.
Cory Schneider, NJD - Schneider has emerged victorious in three of his past four appearances while holding his last two opponents to just one goal apiece. While he has just 17 wins in 41 games played for the low-scoring Devils, Schneider's 2.66 GAA and .912 save percentage have been creeping in the right direction since an extended rough stretch from mid-November through the new year.
Cam Ward, CAR - Ward is right back to playing at a high level following a disastrous stretch heading into the All-Star break. Since play resumed, he has gone 3-0-0 with six goals allowed. Backup Eddie Lack's long-awaited return from a concussion will help keep Ward's workload more manageable down the stretch, and can help him avoid some rough matchups as evidenced by Tuesday's 5-0 loss to Washington with Lack in net.
Three Rising
Michal Neuvirth, PHI - Neuvirth has started four of the past five games for the Flyers while allowing just five total goals in that stretch. A lack of support from Philadelphia's 20th-ranked offense held the 28-year-old Czech to two wins in that span, but his strong play has Steve Mason owners holding their breath. If Neuvirth can keep this up, he's going to get the lion's share of work at Mason's expense.
Petr Mrazek, DET - Mrazek has started three consecutive games for the Red Wings, winning the first two before falling to the Blue Jackets in overtime Tuesday. Still, seven goals allowed and five points represent a tremendous three-game stretch for a netminder who has posted a 3.07 GAA and .899 save percentage overall. Mrazek's .933 save percentage over this three-game span has likely earned him the opportunity to keep manning the Detroit crease until he cools down.
Carter Hutton, STL - Hutton got the start Monday after watching Allen man the crease for three straight, and took advantage by shutting out the Flyers on the road. The backup now has two shutouts and one clunker in his past three appearances, which could be enough to start earning him more playing time given Allen's struggles. Hutton's 2.66 GAA and .902 save percentage are nothing to write home about, but Allen has been even worse with 2.82 and .897 marks, respectively.
Three Falling
Tuukka Rask, BOS - Rask's appearance here adds insult to injury. While the Finnish veteran hasn't missed any time due to his groin injury, he has been far from his best in allowing nine goals on 36 shots for a .750 save percentage over his past two appearances. Going back further, Rask has surrendered at least three goals in five straight starts for a total of 18 over that span.
Frederik Andersen, TOR - The All-Star break couldn't have come at a worse time for Andersen. He was as hot as anybody with back-to-back shutouts coming in, and has been arguably the worst goaltender in the league since with 19 goals allowed and just one win in four starts. Hopefully sitting in favor of backup Curtis McElhinney on Tuesday will help clear his head.
Ryan Miller, VAN - Miller's aforementioned recent home struggles have seen him surrender 10 goals in his past two outings. Prior to that, he had given up five total goals in a pair of road losses. The silver lining in this four-game losing streak is that Miller has made at least 28 saves in each game.
