This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
The NHL goaltending landscape is constantly being influenced by injuries, which way too often force people like me to be the bearers of bad news. Investigating the injury front doesn't always have to be a sad endeavor, though, as there are plenty of positive revelations to report this week. By this time next week, a number of currently missing, familiar faces should be back to manning their respective creases.
While Lightning fans were clamoring for the hot-starting Andrei Vasilevskiy to see more work early on, the results were disastrous when he got the chance after Ben Bishop went down with a lower-body injury on Dec. 20. Luckily, Bishop could be back as soon as Thursday against Buffalo after being a regular participant in Tuesday's practice. The 6-foot-7 veteran has a very unspectacular 2.79 GAA and .907 save percentage, but he can't get back soon enough given how poorly his replacement has performed under a starter's workload.
Just like Bishop, Pittsburgh's Matt Murray has been out since late December due to a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old won't be out much longer, though, as he returned to practice Monday and could be back in uniform as soon as Wednesday. While Marc-Andre Fleury has played well in Murray's absence, getting back a goaltender who's 13-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .918 save percentage is never a bad thing.
Buffalo's Robin Lehner, Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky and Fleury have all dealt with illnesses recently, but all three should be back before long. Fleury has
The NHL goaltending landscape is constantly being influenced by injuries, which way too often force people like me to be the bearers of bad news. Investigating the injury front doesn't always have to be a sad endeavor, though, as there are plenty of positive revelations to report this week. By this time next week, a number of currently missing, familiar faces should be back to manning their respective creases.
While Lightning fans were clamoring for the hot-starting Andrei Vasilevskiy to see more work early on, the results were disastrous when he got the chance after Ben Bishop went down with a lower-body injury on Dec. 20. Luckily, Bishop could be back as soon as Thursday against Buffalo after being a regular participant in Tuesday's practice. The 6-foot-7 veteran has a very unspectacular 2.79 GAA and .907 save percentage, but he can't get back soon enough given how poorly his replacement has performed under a starter's workload.
Just like Bishop, Pittsburgh's Matt Murray has been out since late December due to a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old won't be out much longer, though, as he returned to practice Monday and could be back in uniform as soon as Wednesday. While Marc-Andre Fleury has played well in Murray's absence, getting back a goaltender who's 13-3-1 with a 2.18 GAA and .918 save percentage is never a bad thing.
Buffalo's Robin Lehner, Columbus' Sergei Bobrovsky and Fleury have all dealt with illnesses recently, but all three should be back before long. Fleury has started each of Pittsburgh's last six games, and is expected to make it seven Wednesday thanks in large part to the timing of his ailment coinciding with a break for the team. Bobrovsky sat out Tuesday in Carolina, but has plenty of time to recover with the Blue Jackets off until Friday. Lehner's bout with the flu left him unavailable Tuesday in Philadelphia. The Sabres would love to have him back in time to play at least half of a Thursday/Friday back-to-back, but they're in good hands with backup Robin Lehner, who has started three of the past four games while winning two.
The aforementioned Fleury and Vasilevskiy are highlighted below for opposite reasons, and you can find out who else joins them in this week's top performers, three rising and three falling by reading below.
Top Performers:
Braden Holtby, WAS - Holtby was spectacular in three starts over the past week, allowing just one goal on 82 shots in defeating the Blue Jackets, Senators and Canadiens. He has flown under the radar due to incredible campaigns from Bobrovsky and Devan Dubnyk, but those who invested an early draft pick in the 27-year-old netminder can't complain about his 19-8-4 record, 1.90 GAA and .931 save percentage. Holtby's fantastic play has him in the running for a third consecutive 40-win season despite a slight decline from the Capitals offense.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG - Hellebuyck has posted a .932 save percentage in winning three of his past four starts. The 23-year-old goaltender has unsurprisingly been inconsistent in his second NHL campaign, but continues to flash major upside as the goalie of both the present and future in Winnipeg. While the Jets' occasional defensive lapses will continue to depress Hellebuyck's numbers a bit, his success over the past week is just the latest indicator of great things to come.
Ryan Miller, VAN - Miller had a five-game winning streak snapped by the Predators on Tuesday, but has still allowed two or fewer goals in six consecutive starts. The veteran also has a .951 save percentage in that span, which has helped improve his season rates to a more respectable 2.59 GAA and .915 save percentage.
Three Rising:
Chad Johnson, CGY - Johnson played well in consecutive starts Saturday and Monday, winning one of the two while posting a .949 save percentage in allowing three goals on 56 shots. This strong stretch was key for taking back momentum from Brian Elliott, who just had a five-game winning streak snapped Friday. Elliott has certainly earned a large share of the work moving forward with his recent resurgence, but Johnson's strong response should keep his role hefty as well.
Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT - Fleury's victory over the Lightning on Sunday gave him five consecutive wins, and he's projected to be right back in net Wednesday night despite taking a maintenance day Monday. Murray will soon be back to siphon off playing time, but Fleury's owners can finally feel good about him every time he mans the Pittsburgh crease despite an ugly 3.07 GAA inflated by a slow start.
Louis Domingue, ARI - While one game is obviously an incredibly flawed sample, Domingue does deserve credit for ending Arizona's nine-game skid by holding the league's 10th-best offense to one goal on 28 shots Saturday. The 2010 fifth-rounder has left much to be desired with a 3.24 GAA and .899 save percentage, but his strong performance against the Islanders could earn him more playing time moving forward with veteran Mike Smith boasting a 2.83 GAA and a personal eight-game losing streak.
Three Falling
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM - Vasilevskiy made this section last week, but has actually played demonstrably worse since. The young Russian has allowed 20 goals in his last four appearances, losing them all while posting a pathetic .852 save percentage. He has now allowed three or more goals in seven of his past eight starts, casting serious doubts on the Lightning's hopes that he can handle a full-time starter's workload next season. Bishop will undoubtedly take the starting job back from Vasilevskiy as soon as he returns.
Kari Lehtonen, DAL - Lehtonen was building momentum with a three-game winning streak to close out 2016, but all of that progress has fallen by the wayside as the Finnish veteran has opened 2017 with three consecutive defeats. He has allowed 11 goals on 68 shots for an .838 save percentage in that span, and his season-long 2.90 GAA and .890 save percentage suggests serious improvement is unlikely moving forward.
Frederik Andersen, TOR - Andersen sandwiched a win over the Devils with putrid performances in losses to the Capitals and Canadiens. All told, the Danish goaltender is 1-1-1 with 13 goals allowed and an .859 save percentage over that span. That level of play represents a drastic decline from the preceding four-game winning streak in which he allowed just seven goals and posted a .955 save percentage.
