This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
Every season, a few teams prove themselves to be so inept defensively that any goaltender they try fails. The Flames were a prime example last year, and their acquisition of Brian Elliott from the Blues has done fantasy owners few favors besides finally freeing up the starting job in St. Louis for Jake Allen. Calgary is far from alone, though, as seven other teams are allowing at least 3.60 goals per game as of this writing. It's important to determine whether their slow starts are systemic or just small-sample issues so you can be proactive in minimizing their goaltenders' role on your team or, conversely, buy low on slow starters destined to turn it around.
Arizona (five games, 4.20 GAA) has been absolutely horrendous with Louis Domingue in net, but Mike Smith's 3.27 GAA in two appearances prior to getting injured was nothing to write home about, either. It's probably safe to cut bait with Smith while he's week-to-week, as he'll be returning to a young team that's still very prone to defensive zone breakdowns.
Calgary (seven games, 4.00 GAA) ranked dead-last in the league with 3.13 goals allowed per game last season, and the offseason additions of Elliott and Chad Johnson in net don't seem to have helped. Expect a bumpy ride for both netminders for the remainder of the season.
Carolina (five games, 4.00 GAA) was a mid-to-bottom tier defensive team with 2.70 goals allowed per game last season, but that number was likely propped up
Every season, a few teams prove themselves to be so inept defensively that any goaltender they try fails. The Flames were a prime example last year, and their acquisition of Brian Elliott from the Blues has done fantasy owners few favors besides finally freeing up the starting job in St. Louis for Jake Allen. Calgary is far from alone, though, as seven other teams are allowing at least 3.60 goals per game as of this writing. It's important to determine whether their slow starts are systemic or just small-sample issues so you can be proactive in minimizing their goaltenders' role on your team or, conversely, buy low on slow starters destined to turn it around.
Arizona (five games, 4.20 GAA) has been absolutely horrendous with Louis Domingue in net, but Mike Smith's 3.27 GAA in two appearances prior to getting injured was nothing to write home about, either. It's probably safe to cut bait with Smith while he's week-to-week, as he'll be returning to a young team that's still very prone to defensive zone breakdowns.
Calgary (seven games, 4.00 GAA) ranked dead-last in the league with 3.13 goals allowed per game last season, and the offseason additions of Elliott and Chad Johnson in net don't seem to have helped. Expect a bumpy ride for both netminders for the remainder of the season.
Carolina (five games, 4.00 GAA) was a mid-to-bottom tier defensive team with 2.70 goals allowed per game last season, but that number was likely propped up by strong play from Cam Ward in net. If Ward's level regresses slightly to mirror that of fellow Hurricanes netminder Eddie Lack, the team's lack of defense will make it a long season for both.
Ottawa (five games, 4.00 GAA) needed to outscore opponents to win while allowing 2.94 goals per game in 2015-16, and seems to have brought back the same philosophy this season. Starter Craig Anderson has three wins in four games to go with his 3.66 GAA, so that approach seems to be working thus far. You should've known that Anderson's wins come with gaudy save totals and plenty of goals allowed for the fast-paced Senators, and these early returns have done nothing to change that outlook.
Winnipeg (five games, 3.80 GAA) was more effective at limiting shots than Ottawa last year, but gave up a similar 2.88 goals per game due to poor play in net. The goaltending duo of Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson has returned for another season of mediocrity, with each of the two posting no better than a 3.40 GAA or .887 save percentage thus far. Neither is a very appealing option, but some of that blame can be attributed to the Jets' skaters.
Philadelphia (six games, 3.67 GAA) has been up and down defensively to start the season, but should ultimately be fine after ranking 12th in the league with 2.56 goals allowed per game last season. A lot of the problems for this team may in fact be in net, as Steve Mason looks like he still hasn't recovered from a poor postseason showing while backup Michal Neuvirth promptly turned back into a pumpkin after winning the season opener. Once the goaltending situation sorts itself out here, the defensive numbers will start to climb.
Los Angeles (five games, 3.60 GAA) has been an excellent possession team for years, and the loss of star netminder Jonathan Quick shouldn't affect that. The now also-injured Jeff Zatkoff and AHL call-up Peter Budaj both sport sub-.900 save percentages, but their numbers should start to look much better once they get used to the increased workload. While it would be foolish not to expect some drop-off from Quick's elite level, whomever the Kings put in net should be serviceable moving forward.
Tending goal in Toronto (five games, 3.60 GAA) is a double-whammy, as you have to deal with constant media scrutiny and pressure while also playing behind a poor defensive team. The addition of first overall pick Auston Matthews obviously helps the Maple Leafs' chances of outscoring opponents, but has done little to address the defensive zone breakdowns suffered by many of the team's youngsters. Frederik Andersen has been the victim of those breakdowns, as evidenced in his GAA increase from 2.30 last season in Anaheim to 3.63 with Toronto.
Unsurprisingly, only one player from the above situations made the Trending Up section, but you'll have to read on to find out who that is.
Top Performers:
Jimmy Howard, DET - Howard got his first two starts of the season over the past week, and was brilliant in both outings. The veteran is now 2-0-0 with just one goal allowed on 63 shots despite facing a pair of high-powered offensive teams in the Rangers and Sharks. With starter Petr Mrazek posting a 3.03 GAA and .912 save percentage in his first four starts, it wouldn't be surprising to see Howard's role begin to grow thanks to this fast start.
Carey Price, MTL - What flu? After missing the first three games of the season with an illness, Price showed no ill effects with a 3-0-0 record over the past week. His GAA and save percentage sit at 1.67 and .939, respectively, following wins over the Coyotes, Bruins and Flyers.
Cam Talbot, EDM - Talbot had owners worried when he allowed six goals on 23 shots to the Sabres back on Dec. 16, but he has been lights-out since. The former Rangers backup was stellar in wins over the Hurricanes, Blues and Jets over the past week with 96 saves on 99 shots. It's a bit worrisome that the Oilers continue to allow north of 30 attempts on goal per game on a nightly basis, though.
Three Trending Up:
Devan Dubnyk, MIN - Dubnyk allowed six goals in his first two starts, but he has righted the ship with 61 saves on 65 shots in his past two appearances. His grip on the starting job in Minnesota also got more secure with backup Darcy Kuemper allowing five goals in Sunday's loss to the Islanders. Any early-season worries about Dubnyk seem to have been unfounded.
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR - Remember when I said not to worry about Lundqvist's slow start last week? Well, he did indeed bounce back in his last three outings, surrendering two goals in a tough-luck loss to the Red Wings before limiting the talented Washington and Arizona offenses to two goals apiece in back-to-back wins. The Rangers offense is off to a hot start, and Lundqvist will win a lot of games if they keep supporting him with 3.67 goals per contest. The brief buy-low window on the Swedish veteran has closed.
Peter Budaj, LAK - Budaj has allowed six goals in his first two starts with the Kings, but he did manage to win both. As was mentioned in the intro, Quick was far from the only reason for Los Angeles' defensive success over the past few seasons, so the veteran journeyman from Slovakia should continue to find success while tending to the Kings net with Zatkoff (groin) on IR. Zatkoff is projected to be back reasonably soon, but Budaj could push him for the starting role after that point with some strong showings in the meantime.
Three Trending Down:
Louis Domingue, ARI - Domingue has been awful for the Coyotes, with zero wins, a 5.03 GAA and a save percentage of .851 through four starts. Those terrible stats are a combination of his own shortcomings and Arizona's poor defensive play, and neither problem looks close to fixed. He'll likely continue to get playing time with Smith (lower body) on IR, but I wouldn't touch the 24-year-old netminder with a 10-foot pole.
Ben Bishop, TBL - It's time to worry about Bishop. His 2-1-0 record thus far isn't indicative of the veteran's poor play, as the Lightning have actually been outscored 11-9 in his three starts while benefitting from a shootout win. Backup Andrei Vasilevskiy, on the other hand, looks hungry for the starting job after signing a three-year deal to be Tampa Bay's goalie of the future. The young Russian is 2-0-0 with a 1.51 GAA and .952 save percentage, and will quickly start to see a ramped-up workload if Bishop doesn't right the ship soon.
Pekka Rinne, NAS - Rinne has allowed six goals while going winless in his last two starts, though it's tough to put the blame for those defeats on the Finnish netminder given his 73 saves in that span. The veteran proceeded to get food poisoning and was forced to miss a game after those two starts, which was enough to earn him a trip to the Trending Down column. Still, his long-term outlook is fine assuming Nashville starts to curb the number of chances against a bit.
