This article is part of our Crashing the Crease series.
Smith has been very consistent besides a positive outlier in 2011-12 and a negative one in 2014-15. While some could blame his lower-body injury on old age, it's fair to say it was more a product of bad luck. Smith's still playing at the same 2.67-GAA level that he has maintained throughout his career, and any decline this season would likely be due to poor defensive play by the young team in front of him.
Rinne is looking spry as ever at age 34, as indicated by his appearance in the Top Performers section below. He has finished with a 2.53 GAA or less in seven of the past eight seasons, and shouldn't have a problem exceeding that mark again this year.
Lundqvist continues to play at the same elite level he has displayed since cracking the NHL in 2005-06. Any slight dropoff from the veteran this season will be overshadowed by the Rangers' improvement on offense, anyway.
Budaj looked like the NHL had finally passed him by after appearing in just one
Smith has been very consistent besides a positive outlier in 2011-12 and a negative one in 2014-15. While some could blame his lower-body injury on old age, it's fair to say it was more a product of bad luck. Smith's still playing at the same 2.67-GAA level that he has maintained throughout his career, and any decline this season would likely be due to poor defensive play by the young team in front of him.
Rinne is looking spry as ever at age 34, as indicated by his appearance in the Top Performers section below. He has finished with a 2.53 GAA or less in seven of the past eight seasons, and shouldn't have a problem exceeding that mark again this year.
Lundqvist continues to play at the same elite level he has displayed since cracking the NHL in 2005-06. Any slight dropoff from the veteran this season will be overshadowed by the Rangers' improvement on offense, anyway.
Budaj looked like the NHL had finally passed him by after appearing in just one game last season, but has returned to prominence at 34 thanks to Jonathan Quick's injury. While only time will tell if his aging body can handle the rigors of extended work, Budaj is looking great so far.
Anderson has alternated strong and weak seasons since being traded to Ottawa in 2010-11, and this projects to be an "on" year for the 35-year-old veteran. He has done little to disprove that notion thus far, and looks quite spry for the third oldest goalie in the league.
Miller is the first player on this list that looks clearly affected by his age. The 36-year-old has won just two of his first nine starts for the Canucks while posting a 2.92 GAA and .899 save percentage. Those last two numbers are far cries from his 2.60 and .915 career marks, respectively. Things aren't likely to get any better for him at this point, as Jacob Markstrom should continue to steal starts in Vancouver.
Luongo has looked fine early in his age-37 campaign. The Panthers signed James Reimer to a five-year deal as insurance this offseason, but Luongo's 2.36 GAA through 11 starts is just .01 higher than his marks from both 2014-15 and 2015-16. He might need more rest than some of his younger peers down the stretch, but age doesn't appear to have taken its toll on the NHL's oldest netminder.
Now that we've discovered that most of these old guys are still going strong, here are the top performers and risers/fallers of all ages:
Top Performers
Pekka Rinne, NSH – Rinne has been outstanding over his last three starts, posting a 0.67 GAA and .976 save percentage in wins over the Senators, Blues and Ducks. Unfortunately, a mysterious lower-body ailment has put a damper on the Finnish veteran's momentum. He's day-to-day for now, but deserves to be put right back into lineups as soon as he's back in net for the Predators.
Tuukka Rask, BOS – Rask's four-game winning streak gives him 10 wins in 11 starts. Two of those last four victories have come via the shutout, lowering his GAA to 1.54 and raising his save percentage to .945. He'd be running away with the Vezina in the early going if it wasn't for Carey Price.
Matt Murray, PIT – Murray remains undefeated with a 4-0-0 record, 1.25 GAA and .961 save percentage since returning from a broken hand. The 22-year-old Thunder Bay native upgraded from AHL success to a Stanley Cup title last season, and is now gaining the most coveted prize of all (at least to us): fantasy stardom.
Three Rising
Martin Jones, SJ – Jones has reversed his fortunes quickly after some early-November struggles. He allowed three goals in each of his first three appearances of the month, but has subsequently stopped 71 of 74 shots in a trio of road wins. The 26-year-old netminder has a 2.20 GAA overall, so his recent results more accurately reflect his true value than the slump that preceded them.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB – Vasilevskiy's steady push for the starting job in Tampa continues. He was promised roughly a 30-70 split with Ben Bishop at the beginning of the season, but has earned at least an even split with his strong play. The two have alternated starts over the past week, with Vasilevskiy continuing to be the clearly superior option. Two wins and 65 saves on 66 shots in that timeframe have only increased the young Russian's stock while Bishop continues to struggle. Vasilevskiy is a great daily start whenever he's out there, and should be scooped up in season-long formats if he hasn't been already.
Semyon Varlamov, COL – Varlamov's grip on the No. 1 role in Colorado had been slipping, but he has bought himself some leeway with a strong past week that also saw challenger Calvin Pickard struggle for the first time. Pickard allowed four goals on 25 shots in a loss to the Coyotes, then had to watch from the bench as Varlamov beat the Jets and made 44 saves in a tough-luck 1-0 loss to the Bruins. You still can't feel great about owning Varlamov, but his stock is much higher than it was a week ago.
Three Falling
Jimmy Howard, DET – Howard's push to take over the starting job was going swimmingly until he ran into the Canadiens on Saturday. Montreal burned him for five goals on 20 shots, while Petr Mrazek came in and made 12 saves in relief. That poor Howard outing is exactly the opening Mrazek needed to take back the No. 1 job he lost due to the veteran's early success. If Howard can't rebound in his next appearance, he'll likely be relegated to backup duties for good.
Cam Talbot, EDM – Talbot allowed 10 goals in losses to the Penguins, Stars and Rangers over the past week, and has now won just one of his past six starts while allowing at least three goals in each. Cracks are starting to develop in the Oilers' defense after a solid start, but Edmonton should continue to score enough to get Talbot back in the win column more often than not. Just don't be surprised when he continues to allow plenty of goals through little fault of his own.
Jaroslav Halak, NYI – Halak has taken part in seven straight games for the Islanders, but has come up victorious just once while allowing 20 goals in that span. Much of the reason for his struggles is poor defensive play in front of him, so the solution isn't as simple as waiting for personal improvement from the Slovakian. He'll be tough to trust regardless of opponent until the Islanders get it together in their own zone.
