The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

Who would've guessed the two best goalies over the past week were Alex Lyon and Pheonix Copley? Together they allowed just two goals on 103 shots (.980 Sv%) and won two games apiece.

Before the season, they were mere afterthoughts. Copley might've been a zero-G option in deep leagues, but no doubt there was some regression to come, and the Kings had just signed Cam Talbot.

Goaltending is weird, man.

Here's The Goalie Report as we head into December and Week 8 of the fantasy hockey season.

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Alex Lyon, Red Wings (2-1-0, .952 Sv%, 1.35 GAA)

Lyon has now started three of the past four games for the Wings, and to think he wouldn't have even gotten his first start in the Global Series had Ville Husso not stayed behind for the birth of his child. Just like he did for the Panthers last season, Lyon is taking advantage of the opportunity and now sits at the top of the depth chart. With Husso struggling and James Reimer letting in bad goals at least once per game, Lyon is going to get the starts going forward until he starts to falter. Add Lyon in your leagues right now and hope that he gets the bulk of the shares for the rest of the season.

Jonathan Quick, Rangers (6-0-1, .930 Sv%, 1.99 GAA)

Quick's strong play has earned him the right to get more playing time, and the Rangers would be wise to give it to him so they can keep Igor Shesterkin fresh for the playoffs. Relegated to full-time backup status for the first time in his career, fewer games and more time between starts suits Quick, who's getting old but still relies on his athleticism to make saves. As far as streaming options go, Quick is in the top tier.

Connor Ingram, Coyotes (7-3-0, .920 Sv%, 2.64 GAA)

The rotation has thankfully stopped. Ingram has now started three straight games after Andre Tourigny stubbornly refused to move away from his rotation. The proof is in the pudding; Ingram's stats are much better, and he bounced back after two straight losses to record a 34-save shutout against the Knights. Ingram's the 1A starter going forward and needs to be rostered if you're short on goaltending.

Cayden Primeau, Canadiens (2-2-0, .898 Sv%, 3.41 GAA)

The Habs are working an unwieldy three-goalie rotation right now with Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen and Primeau rotating starts in that order. The Habs are forced to do this because all three goalies will require waivers to be assigned to the minors, and there's no chance the Habs will want to risk losing a potential trade piece for free. It's not like the Habs' goalies are in high demand, but Primeau's usage is worth noting, and in the right matchup he might be worth a gamble.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres (Past two starts: 2-0-0, .932 Sv%, 2.00 GAA)

Buffalo is another team with a three-goalie rotation, but between Luukkonen, Eric Comrie and Devon Levi, Luukkonen has fared the best so far. He's been excellent in his past two starts while Levi lost in overtime, allowing four goals on 30 shots (.867 Sv%) against the Caps, and Comrie was pulled after one period in a 7-2 loss to the Devils. The Sabres have been disappointing this season, and until their offense picks it up and their defense improves, their goalies will have limited fantasy value. However, if you're going to roster one, right now that's Luukkonen.

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Antti Raanta, Hurricanes (6-3-0, .854 Sv%, 3.47 GAA)

If you can stomach the awful save percentage and goals against, you'll get wins. But it's getting a little ridiculous that the Canes' goaltending remains so unreliable two months into the season even though they're the league's best at suppressing shots. Pyotr Kochetkov started Sunday and stopped 21 of 23 shots against the Jackets in a game the Canes dominated, and he'll likely get the next start. Raanta's still worth rostering but it's frustrating because he's playing too poorly for managers to start him despite racking up enough wins to maintain some fantasy value. This might be a theme all season, so unless you can trade Raanta (who's always an injury risk as well) you might be stuck with him on your roster for the rest of the season.

Darcy Kuemper, Capitals (4-3-2, .892 Sv%, 3.04 GAA)

Kuemper's numbers aren't terrible, but Charlie Lindgren has just been better. True, Lindgren allowed five goals in a loss to the Oilers in their most recent game, but Lindgren has played well enough that this is starting to become a timeshare. In deep leagues, Lindgren is worth a speculative add just to see if he can keep his streak going. Hold on to Kuemper for now, but if Lindgren keeps outplaying him, he's not going to get a big workload to justify holding onto him in 10-team leagues.

Jonas Johansson, Lightning (4-5-2, .894 Sv%, 3.41 GAA)

With Andrei Vasilevskiy back, we won't be seeing much of Johansson for the rest of the season. He's clearly only good enough to be a backup, and even that's a dicey statement considering how many times he's failed to latch onto a team. Johansson remains with the Lightning mostly because they don't have anyone else. Johansson deserves to be dropped, and I'm not sure he's even a good streaming option, either, though that will ultimately depend on the matchup.

Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer, Blues (Past week combined: 2-1-0, .840 Sv%, 5.00 GAA)

It's been a horror show for the Blues' goalies, who salvaged their week with a 4-2 win against the Hawks thanks to Binnington's 32 saves. The Blues are either winning by a lot (8-2 and 5-0 wins against the Avs and Lightning, respectively) or losing by a lot (most recently 8-3 to the Preds), and it's hard to tell which versions of Binnington and Hofer will show up. Unless fantasy managers have the time to keep tabs on who's starting and how they're faring, this is a time-consuming and stressful goaltending situation to have. It's best to avoid it altogether and search for options elsewhere.