Two weeks in, the fantasy goaltending picture already looks nothing like it did on draft day.
Igor Shesterkin is on injured reserve, and the New York Rangers crease now belongs to Dylan Garand, who is still available in 58% of ESPN leagues even though New York leads the NHL in goalie fantasy points. In Carolina, Pyotr Kochetkov has delivered a good start (2.4 fantasy points or more) in all three of his outings while splitting the crease evenly with Brandon Bussi. And in Vancouver, Kevin Lankinen's .786 save percentage has left him at -33.4 fantasy points. Put another way, a fantasy team made up of only Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini and Lankinen would be in the red so far.
Meanwhile, Andrei Vasilevskiy, last season's top fantasy goalie, ranks 20th. Don't panic: at this point a year ago, he ranked 51st.
Early goalie standings are mostly noise. Of the top 12 fantasy goalies through the first 90 games of last season, only four finished in the top 12. Of the top 24, fewer than half finished in the top 24. Cam Talbot ranked fourth in that stretch and finished 63rd. Ilya Sorokin went the other way, from 58th to fifth, and Linus Ullmark, this season's leader so far, sat 59th a year ago.
So don't overreact to the starters you drafted, but do chase the openings that injuries and timeshares create. Shesterkin's injury is the kind that reshapes a season, and much of the value from these early shakeups is still sitting on waiver wires. Here's where to look:
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Goalie notes
New York Rangers in seven games (three last week):
Dylan Garand (crease share season/week: 35.9%/50.4%, fantasy points season/week: 15.4/4.0, 57.9% available)
Igor Shesterkin (crease share season/week: 64.1%/49.6%, fantasy points season/week: 16.2/4.0, 61.7% available) Out for season
Joonas Korpisalo (no games this season, 97.8% available) Out until mid-November
Spencer Martin (no games this season, 99.9% available) Out until mid-November
Garand ranks second among all goalies in FPP60 (fantasy points per 60 minutes), and both of his starts have been good ones. With Joonas Korpisalo also on IR until at least Nov. 9 and the Rangers playing five times in the next 10 days, nothing stands between Garand and the bulk of the work. That said, deeper leagues should be considering a stash of Korpisalo for the long game.
Carolina Hurricanes in seven games (four last week):
Brandon Bussi (crease share season/week: 57.2%/49.9%, fantasy points season/week: 1.2/4.0, 19.4% available)
Pyotr Kochetkov (crease share season/week: 42.8%/50.1%, fantasy points season/week: 12.4/9.2, 75.5% available)
Carolina has strictly alternated its goalies over the past four games, and Kochetkov has delivered a good start in all three of his, while Bussi ranks 31st of 49 in FPP60. With five games in the next 10 days, including a back-to-back, Kochetkov will see plenty of work and belongs on rosters wherever Bussi is.
Montreal Canadiens in five games (three last week):
Jacob Fowler (crease share season/week: 41.3%/68.4%, fantasy points season/week: 10.0/10.0, 86.9% available)
Jakub Dobes (crease share season/week: 58.7%/31.6%, fantasy points season/week: -5.4/-4.4, 25.6% available)
Fowler ranks fifth in FPP60 and Dobes ranks 40th, and the two have split the past four starts evenly. All the while, the Habs' offense hasn't found its footing this season. For the same reason that Dobes was a draft-day target, Fowler is a must-add. This crease will have value.
Toronto Maple Leafs in six games (three last week):
Sergei Bobrovsky (crease share season/week: 66.3%/65.9%, fantasy points season/week: 4.4/7.0, 32.2% available)
Anthony Stolarz (crease share season/week: 33.7%/34.1%, fantasy points season/week: 7.4/0.2, 86.2% available)
Stolarz ranks 12th in FPP60 to Bobrovsky's 28th, even though Bobrovsky has taken three of the past four starts. The Leafs play six times in the next 10 days, including a back-to-back, so Stolarz will get his chances, and he's still available in 86% of leagues.
Winnipeg Jets in five games (three last week):
Stuart Skinner (crease share season/week: 61.2%/34.1%, fantasy points season/week: 11.2/6.4, 56.9% available)
Clay Stevenson (crease share season/week: 38.8%/65.9%, fantasy points season/week: 0.4/0.4, 98.8% available)
Skinner ranks 10th in FPP60 and has delivered good starts in two of three, yet he's still available in 57% of leagues. He and Stevenson have strictly alternated over the past four games, and now there are rumblings about Connor Hellebuyck mulling an unceremonious return from his holdout. Skinner is still the one to roster, but you shouldn't stop looking for more help on your team.
Pittsburgh Penguins in six games (four last week):
Arturs Silovs (crease share season/week: 66.5%/49.7%, fantasy points season/week: 10.0/1.2, 75.7% available)
Sergei Murashov (crease share season/week: 33.5%/50.3%, fantasy points season/week: 6.2/6.2, 35.2% available)
The Penguins have strictly alternated Silovs and Murashov over the past four games, and the results favor the rookie more than the records suggest: Murashov has a .938 save percentage and ranks 15th in FPP60, while Silovs sits at .885 and 21st. A road trip through Colorado, Vegas and Utah, three of the league's top eight offenses, makes this a crease to watch rather than stream for now.
Seattle Kraken in six games (three last week):
Joey Daccord (crease share season/week: 61.2%/55.6%, fantasy points season/week: 13.0/-2.2, 47.1% available)
Philipp Grubauer (crease share season/week: 38.8%/44.4%, fantasy points season/week: 5.0/4.6, 95.9% available)
Daccord stumbled last week, but he still ranks ninth among goalies in fantasy points and 13th in FPP60, and he's available in 47% of leagues. Seattle's next 10 days include Philadelphia (32nd in scoring), Florida (28th) and Detroit (28th), one of the softest slates in the league.
Anaheim Ducks in five games (three last week):
Lukas Dostal (crease share season/week: 74.6%/56.8%, fantasy points season/week: 6.6/-2.6, 55.9% available)
Ville Husso (crease share season/week: 25.4%/43.2%, fantasy points season/week: 5.8/5.8, 99.4% available)
Dostal's .883 save percentage won't win any awards, but he has turned in good starts in three of four and has taken three of the Ducks' past four starts. With Calgary (31st in scoring) and New Jersey (26th) on the schedule over the next 10 days, he's worth a look in the 56% of leagues where he's available.
Detroit Red Wings in five games (three last week):
John Gibson (crease share season/week: 69.8%/50.8%, fantasy points season/week: -5.0/-5.6, 36.6% available)
Daniil Tarasov (crease share season/week: 30.2%/49.2%, fantasy points season/week: 9.6/9.6, 98.6% available)
Tarasov's lone start was a shutout with a .974 save percentage, while Gibson ranks 39th of 49 in FPP60 and has a good start in just one of four. Gibson still has three of the past four starts, but with Philadelphia (32nd in scoring) and San Jose (23rd) coming up, Tarasov could be a streaming option for a confirmed start.
Power-play pickups
League average for a five-man unit this season is 3.48 shot attempts per two minutes.
Viktor Arvidsson, RW, Detroit Red Wings (available in 72.0%): Arvidsson has kept his spot on a top unit with Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, playing 67% of the Red Wings' power-play time. He has two power-play points in his past three games, and his 2.40 FPPG leads this week's pickup candidates.
Brayden Schenn, C/LW, New York Islanders (available in 75.6%): The Islanders' top unit of Schenn, Bo Horvat, Kyle Palmieri, Matias Maccelli and Matthew Schaefer has scored four goals in 15:38 together while generating 4.61 shot attempts per two minutes. Schenn has two power-play points in his past three games and 2.38 FPPG, and Maccelli (available in 98.9%) has two of his own for deeper leagues.
Kasperi Kapanen, RW, Edmonton Oilers (available in 93.8%): Kapanen rides along with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on an Oilers top unit that has scored three times in 13:34 together. He's at 1.90 FPPG and still sitting on most waiver wires. This is short-term, though, as Zach Hyman or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would bump him on return.
Trevor Connelly, LW, Vegas Golden Knights (available in 93.9%): Connelly has the fifth spot on a top unit with Mark Stone, Tomas Hertl, Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner, and he's on the ice for 82 percent of the team's power-play time at 5:34 a night. Two power-play points in three games is a start, and that deployment points to more than his 1.33 FPPG so far.
Maxim Shabanov, RW, Minnesota Wild (available in 95.9%): Shabanov's spot on the top unit with Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Quinn Hughes is paying off, with two power-play points in his past three games and 1.80 FPPG. The Wild play three times this week and four times next week.
Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers (available in 54.9%): Jones quarterbacks a Panthers top unit that has scored twice in 7:14 and generated 4.98 shot attempts per two minutes since Carter Verhaeghe took over the spot Sam Bennett had filled in Aleksander Barkov's absence. He has two power-play points in his past three games and is logging 5:23 a night on the advantage.
Droppables
A word of caution first: this section flags rostered players whose production has lagged, and two weeks into a season, that net catches plenty of stars off to slow starts.
Sidney Crosby (0.9 FPPG), Mark Scheifele (0.9), Sam Reinhart (1.4), Lane Hutson (1.4), Cole Caufield (1.4), Erik Karlsson (1.4), Jason Robertson (1.6) and Wyatt Johnston (1.6) all qualify. Every one of them is still on their team's top power-play unit, and none of them should be going anywhere. Patience.
These are the ones worth a closer look:
Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning (rostered in 75.6%): Hedman is averaging 13:59 a night and hasn't been on either power-play unit over the Lightning's past three games. At 1.2 FPPG, shallow-league managers can move on, but deep-league managers can afford to wait a little longer.
Owen Tippett, RW, Philadelphia Flyers (rostered in 82.4%): Tippett is at 1.1 FPPG and was off both power-play units in the Flyers' last game, with Travis Konecny due back from IR as soon as Saturday. His hits keep him useful in leagues that count them, and not much else does right now.
Sam Bennett, C, Florida Panthers (rostered in 78.9%): Bennett is at 1.05 FPPG in six games, and Verhaeghe has taken the open spot on the top power-play unit. He's a bench candidate, not a drop, until the role comes back.
John Tavares, C, Toronto Maple Leafs (rostered in 87.0%): Gavin McKenna took Tavares' spot on the top power-play unit in Toronto's last game, and that unit scored twice. One game isn't a trend, so keep him for now, but keep an eye on it.