We are now into the home stretch toward the postseason and can point to several goalies who are having a very positive impact on their team's playoff hopes.
Risers
Filip Gustavsson 
Minnesota Wild
There may not be a tandem of goalies that's been more impactful to team success than Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, who are taking turns holding down the fort behind a talented Wild roster. It looks like Gustavsson is making a bid to be the clear top option based on his recent level of play. Last week, he won two of his three starts while turning aside 89 of 93 shots on goal (.957 save percentage), giving him five wins in his last six starts. When we consider that he's among the league leaders – as he was last season – in games played and goals against average, he has cemented his status as an elite goalie in the NHL.
Joey Daccord 
Seattle Kraken
Daccord is similarly cast – in tandem with Philipp Grubauer – with providing above average netminding for Seattle's playoff hopes. Daccord has played the majority of the games here, despite posting slightly inferior stats compared to his partner. Last week, he won two of his three starts, limiting the damage to six goals against out of 96 shots faced (.938 save percentage). It's not clear which goalie will be the "go-to" option over the remaining schedule. We'll likely see these goalies play in streaks, as long as they don't suffer a blowout loss. The message will be "win and you stay in."
Dan Vladar 
Philadelphia Flyers
Vladar has been on a nice streak since the Olympic break providing three straight quality starts, allowing only five goals and recording two wins, while defending against 86 shots on goal (.942 percentage). Despite the fact that the Flyers are a long shot to make the playoffs, Vladar has given every indication that he is the solution to a lengthy search for a quality goaltender here. He's on the books at a modest $3.35M AAV through next season and should be a key building block as the organization looks forward to better days.
Arturs Silovs 
Pittsburgh Penguins
This was expected to be a painful rebuilding year for the Penguins, but a team-wide commitment to defensive play has them in an enviable playoff position at this time. Silovs has certainly held up his end of the bargain in posting a solid 2.68 GAA over 28 starts and has formed an effective tandem with the recently acquired Stuart Skinner. Last week Silovs won both of his starts, allowing only one goal, while blocking 51 shots (.981 save percentage).
Jacob Markstrom 
New Jersey Devils
The Devils are another team that is unlikely to qualify for the playoffs, but Jacob Markstrom continued his strong play in backstopping the club to two wins over three consecutive quality starts, where he was beaten by only five of 83 shots (.940 save percentage). He's enjoying a far better second half of this season, but it looks like a case of too little and too late. His season-long numbers (3.13 GAA, .886 save percentage) are the worst he's posted in a decade. He signed a new, two-year, $6M AAV deal that begins next season, so the club would like to see this recent trend continue in order to feel more confident about that commitment.
Anton Forsberg 
Los Angeles Kings
Forsberg has taken on the majority if game starts while his partner in goal, Darcy Kuemper, has dealt with a minor injury and illness in recent days. Forsberg started three of four games last week and was tagged for eight goals against out of 91 shots (.912 save percentage). His statistics for the season are almost identical to Kuemper's, which is all you can ask from a backup goalkeeper. The defense-first posture of the Kings style of play bodes well for both goalies in LA.
Fallers
Adin Hill 
Vegas Golden Knights
Hill has assumed the larger share of goalie starts, since his return from injury in mid-January. Oddly, the Golden Knights haven't defeated a club with a winning record since November. However, he did play well enough to earn one win out of his two starts last week. The nine goals against out of only 41 shots (.780 save percentage) in those two games is a concerning sign, particularly because Hill has been leaking goals for a while. That's resulted in only four quality starts out of his last nine appearances.
Joseph Woll 
Toronto Maple Leafs
Woll and Anthony Stolarz are in a bad spot behind a roster that has not played well defensively over much of this season. The number of high-danger chances that this team surrenders on a nightly basis is among the highest in the league. Woll has performed better than his totals indicate, and last week is a case in point. He was only able to stop 55 out of 63 shots on goal (.873 save percentage). His win probability is expected to suffer as the Leafs shed talent prior to the trade deadline.
Andrei Vasilevskiy 
Tampa Lightning
Vasilevskiy has once again established himself over the season as one of the best goalies in the league. He is carrying a heavy workload and saw a personal nine-game win streak snapped with a pair of bad losses, during which he was blitzed for nine goals against, while making only 26 saves (.742 save percentage). That sure looks like a guy who needs a bit of a rest, even if it's only for a game or two.
Injury News
Thatcher Demko 
Vancouver Canucks
A lingering hip injury finally led the Canucks to shut down Demko for the rest of this season, as he underwent a surgery recently. These troubles date back to last year when this issue first cropped up and makes it back-to-back seasons in which this presumptive No. 1 goalie didn't appear in more than 25 games.
What may be more troubling is the fact that his three-year contract extension, with an $8.5M AAV, kicks in next season.
