Coffee in the Crease: Start 'em Sit 'em Round 2

Welcome back everyone! Lost in round one, huh? Well, me too. I’d like to think this is a safe place where we can air grievances. However, there’s one thing I can say it’s that even if you took a loss because, oh let’s just say you had nobody playing Monday or Wednesday last week, there’s still fantasy hockey to be played. Come June while we’re watching the Cup Finals, we’ll all be checking our teams out of habit for the third time in a week. For those who won last week it must be nice…

Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks (Rostered in 47% of ESPN leagues, 82% Fantrax, 77% Yahoo) 23 starts, 9 wins, 2 OTL, 3.32 GA/G, .898 Sv%, 2 SO

I wrote up Demko in my Friday morning article over at DobberHockey.com and by the time everything was all set to run, he had got beaten by Arizona. Sometimes you just run into elite offenses like the Coyotes. Demko did bounce back on Saturday night against the Kings allowing two goals on 40 shots and does provide a decent lower rostered option for this week.

Demko has won five of his last six outings and in the past week has sported a .926 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average. This is big step in a positive direction for just how the season started for Demko, and since returning from injury in late February. Demko lost his first six games of the season and was soon sidelined with a groin injury in late Novemeber and while I don’t like to speculate injury and performance, I do think there’s a real good possibility here that Demko was playing hurt to start the season. This was one of the top seven or so goaltenders last season in fantasy that was not much help to start the season but could be to finish it.

The one issue here for this week isn’t so much Demko, but the Canucks as it relates to the schedule. Vancouver will play Tuesday, Thursday, and then will wrap up the week with games on Saturday and Sunday. That’s not particularly helpful for us as those days have primarily larger slates, but if you are in the market for a lower rostered goaltender Demko could provide that. I wouldn’t go out of my way to roster him in DFS, it would be more of a salary play than anything right now if I needed to make a lineup with a certain stack work.

Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers (Rostered in 28% of ESPN leagues, 82% Fantrax, 89% Yahoo) 45 starts, 23 wins, 3 OTL, 3.00 GA/G, .904 Sv%, 1 SO

I think this past weekend all but sealed the deal in the Western Conference playoff picture, but there’s still some time here for the Eastern Conference landscape to change. Sergei Bobrovsky and the Panthers are right now the one outside looking in club, and I think if you’re rostering him that he is a must start for the week.

I think it might go without saying, but those with Bobrovsky on their roster have enjoyed consistent starts in net with him starting in Florida’s last 12 games. In that stretch Bobrovsky has a 8-3-1 record and in the past six games alone that record stands at a very solid 5-0-1. A big advantage here this week is that Florida is on the slate tonight giving anyone rostering Bobrovsky the added bonus of being able to play a goaltender on one of the lighter nights of the week.

I was much higher on this Florida club coming into the season but still genuinely think that there’s a real roadmap for them to get into the playoffs. I worried about their health which was a concern last season, and I don’t think it was talked about enough moving on from a Jack Adams finalist in Andrew Brunette as head coach to Paul Maurice, who this time last season wasn’t coaching anywhere. If you’re rostering Bobrovsky I think he’s worth the play moving forward but if you’re between two I would be taking a look at his opponent’s power play. The Panthers lead the league in times shorthanded and it has started to show, as Bobrovsky has allowed the most goals on the penalty kill since February 1st, with 85 minutes shorthanded.

Joel Hofer, St. Louis Blues (Rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues, 21% Fantrax, 17% Yahoo) 2 starts, 2 wins, 0 OTL, 1.02 GA/G, .970 Sv%, 0 SO

Adding Joel Hofer is an upside play here more than anything else and one that I wouldn’t rush to make right now, but could be a wait and see move for tomorrow when the Blues faceoff against the Detroit Red Wings.

Hofer was brought into St. Louis for their last two games while Jordan Binnington sat out due to a suspension and as much as I’d like to take a moment to laugh about that here, we’ll save it for next time. This being a goaltending focused site, I really like to dive in from time-to-time and check in on different goaltending prospects and to be honest, I didn’t particularly have Hofer on my radar. He turned away 32 shots against the Washington Capitals in his debut last Saturday but had plenty of support with the Blues offense putting up five goals. Sunday though caught my attention, as the 22-year-old shutout the Winnipeg Jets, making 33 saves. Well, sort of a shutout. Thomas Griess came into the game briefly in the second period while Hofer had to make an equipment adjustment, but we see you Joel Hofer. Spirit shutout earned in our eyes.

I considered Hofer to be a goaltender that may get a start here or there but was unsure about his NHL certainty. He’s got a large frame at 6’4 and I really thought that he moved well in the crease this weekend and was quick to react to rushes coming his way. Binnington is set to return to the lineup following his suspension tomorrow when St. Louis takes on the Red Wings but I would be curious if they give give Hofer one more start before season’s end. If we come to learn that he’s been sent down, hey it was to be expected. If not, I think he makes a good very low rostered option in fantasy and DFS.

Ivan Prosvetov, Arizona Coyotes (Rostered in 9% of ESPN leagues, 13% Fantrax, 4% Yahoo) 3 starts, 3 wins, 0 OTL, 1.67 GA/G, .952 Sv%, 0 SO

You want lower rostered options this week? This one might take the cake, but that’s not to say that Ivan Prosvetov isn’t a terrible choice if you need someone in net. Prosvetov has won his last two starts, the most recent coming in the Bedard Bowl 2.0 against the Chicago Blackhawks. I do think the Coyotes have put him in favorable matchups to start, but Arizona could provide schedule help this week.

Arizona will play tomorrow on the road in Winnipeg, Wednesday in Edmonton, then two games against Colorado on the road Friday, home Sunday. Tomorrow’s matchup isn’t necessarily the focus here, it’s the Wednesday/Friday/Sunday that’s intriguing. Because the NHL schedule being what it is, there are only two games on Wednesday, three Friday, and five Sunday, so being able to roster a goaltender on any of those days could give you a big boost up in your matchup.

Unlike Hofer above, I think there’s a roadmap where Prosvetov stays with the NHL club as the Arizona AHL affiliate is all but out of the playoff picture. Arizona has also been resting Karel Vejmelka, giving more starts to Connor Ingram, who honestly given the body of work this season has been better than Vejmelka. Regardless, if Prosvetov is to see time in the starter’s net I think he makes for a great lower rostered netminder this week. For DFS my guess is he’ll be at or around min-priced, probably lineup dependent at that point but for those that play more than three lineups I think he makes sense.

For continued fantasy news and notes throughout the season, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz