Goalie Trick or Treat (Start 'Em, Sit 'Em) ft. Knight, Gustavsson, and More

Welcome everybody and Happy Halloween! How’s your hockey hangover doing after the Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday? Suffice it say, we all watched our bench players explode for career nights, while our starters stuttered and made us question everything we ever believed in.

Speaking of belief, I heard Jacob Markstrom believes in ghosts. Looks like he must be seeing them out on the ice as he is off to a spine-chilling start, sporting a ghastly 5.13 GAA through four games. Meanwhile, the defenseman for the Blues are looking like Night of the Living Dead out there, letting in 24 goals over only their past 4 games - monstrous stuff! And clearly the Penguins got into some black magic of their own because they have been playing under a spell and now sit tied atop the league standings after their 7-2-2 start. Is it as we fear - has the supernatural taken over the NHL? Or is this all just part of October hockey?

With Halloween just a day away we are nearly ready to cross the threshold into November hockey, where the fog finally lifts and the big picture becomes clearer. Until then, we still have 11 games and 22 goalies in play tonight and we have to decide which goalies will be treats and which ones are tricks. Welcome to Goalie Trick or Treat, also known as, Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em — let’s dive in!

(Please note that the goalies listed are considered “probable” to start. Keep refreshing your Goalie Post app to see which goalies are “confirmed” starting. Don’t have the app? Get it for Apple or Android.)

TREAT

Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild - The “Gus Bus” hasn’t exactly been making all the stops on his route, recently. Actually, he’s missed a few too many stops and the Wild are looking up the standings from their 3-5-3 hole to start the year. But they won’t be buried alive down there. In fact, this game may turn frightful for the Penguins if only because they haven’t faced the Swedish net minder in a couple of years, as Gustavsson’s longtime tandem mate, Marc-Andre Fleury, regularly started any matchups against his former team during his tenure in Minnesota. With a clean slate to work from, expect Gustavsson to improve on his scary statistics (2-5-1, 3.42 GAA, .890 SV%) and deliver us a win, giving his home fans a treat tonight - Start ‘Em!

TREAT

Dan Vladar, Philadelphia Flyers - The black and orange are in action at home against a Nashville team that is still trying to force itself into a halloween costume that no longer fits. Darth Vladar enters the matchup with a sweet like candy 1.81 GAA and .932 SV% and looks poised to continue his dark reign of terror in net against the Predators, who sit 4th worst in the league in goals forced per game with 2.55. And while the Flyers’ own offense has been struggling to score (2.89 GF/game, 9th worst), we can expect the “Big Man Dan” to don his superhero costume once again for Philadelphia and save the day with some big saves. If Nashville’s offense continues to creep along (scoring 2 goals or fewer in 6 of their last 7 games), then the Czech netminder, Vladar, will be a real treat to play. Start ‘Em!

TRICK

Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins - After starting the season with back to back wins with only 1 goal allowed in each game, the former Maine Black Bear has fallen into a coffin, going 1-4 over his past 5 starts while letting in a terrifying 22 goals. The matchup looks good: at home against an uneven Buffalo club that has struggled to score at times this season, but Boston has been haunted by defensive woes recently, having let in 7 goals in 2 of their past 4 games played, and we can’t trust that it is only an apparition. Let’s steer clear of this trick tonight and leave Swayman on the bench. Sit ‘Em!

TRICK

Spencer Knight, Chicago Blackhawks - Welcome to “Helle!” Knight and the Blackhawks face off against last year’s President Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets and their Hart and Vezina winning goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, in what looks like a trick waiting to happen. Knight has gotten off to a hot start this year (4-2-1, 2.11 GAA, .930 SV%) but expect the Jets to slash those numbers, as they enter this tilt having won 7 of their last 9 games, with a +10 goal differential over that time. The raucous fans of Winnipeg will be dressed in their Halloween’s finest and they will be wailing their team towards victory, petrifying any opposing net minder that skates on their ice. In a matchup with one of the West’s best, expect Knight to quiver and under deliver. Sit ‘Em!

DESPERATION MODE PLAY

Leevi Merilainen, Ottawa Senators - Merilainen scared us with his first start, letting in 7 goals against only 26 shots, but then rebounded for a win in which he only let in 2 goals against 28 shots, while his own team put up 7 goals for the win. On Thursday, the Senators will be playing at home against the Calgary Flames, who sit dead last in the league standing, as well as, dead last in goals forced per game (2.18), making this matchup have the look of an unsupervised bowl of candy left out on the steps. At 30% rostered on Fantrax, 5% on Yahoo, and only 1% on ESPN, the Finnish twine tender could be the last minute costume you didn’t know you needed to wear. Snatch him up and start ‘em up!

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! My name is Garrett Finlay and you can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284 and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social where I am often talking goalies and fantasy hockey. I’ll be back here next Thursday to breakdown another busy night of twine tending action! Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!