Starting Saros, Sitting Binnington, and Other Goalie Thoughts

Due to unforseen circumstances, our newest addition to the Goalie Post team Garrett Finlay was unable to post his first article for you fine folks. Seeing as we are a team here at the Goalie Post, I'm coming off the bench as a facilitator this week to offer my man Garrett an assist as we get the rookie set up for success!

Good morning, fellow fantasy enthusiasts! Hockey is back and boy, is it ever back
tonight with a fourteen game slate for our first Thursday of this young season.
Fourteen games means at least twenty-eight (!) goalies will be in action tonight, and
maybe even a couple more will enter the fray (here’s looking at you Joel Hofer) on what
will be a jam packed evening of fantasy hockey.
Thursday’s goalie tilts are extra important for weekly fantasy hockey matchups as
they can give you the leading edge heading into the weekend, which could make your
opponent scramble and dig themselves deeper, or it could tank your own categories by
the end of the night and leave you trying to salvage for spare parts from the waiver
wire, as you desperately try anything and everything to come back over the weekend
(and honestly, who here hasn’t been there - praying to the hockey gods for a Sunday
night shutout from the AHL call up making an injury spot start?). Well, to help clear
your goalie conscience, we will be combing over the matchups every Thursday and
recommending which goalies should be started and which goalies should be left sitting
on the bench.

Welcome to Goalie Start ‘em and Sit ‘em! Let’s break it down -
(Please note that the goalies listed are considered “probable” to start. Keep refreshing
your Goalie Post app to see when goalies are “confirmed” starting. Don’t have the
app? Get it for Apple or Android).

START ‘EM
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
After years of reliability between the pipes in Smashville, Juuse Saros had a down
year in 2024-2025 posting an .895 SV% and 2.98 GAA to go along with a lowly
20-31-6 record. And while that likely landed you a draft day discount, it also likely left
you with a feeling of uncertainty. Well, there is little uncertainty involved when it comes
to Thursday night’s matchup against a Columbus Blue Jackets team with a woeful
14-23-4 record on the road last year. I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid in Nashville this
season, but I will have a glass of Juuse “Juice” tonight and let the 30 year old twine
tender do his thing for Nashville in his home opener. Start ‘em up!

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
Similar to Saros above, Ilya Sorokin was once a MUST start tender for a defensive
minded Islanders team that could win tough games. After posting save percentages of
.925 and .924 in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, the last two years have seen that
percentage drop down to .908 and .907, as the landscape of Long Island has shifted
towards a “retool.” There is legitimate concern that the Islanders will remain in the
bottom tier of teams this year, as they continue to usher in a new youthful era led by
2025 first overall pick, Matthew Schaefer. The win column for the 30 year old Russia
native may look light at the seasons end, but tonight’s matchup in Pittsburgh, against a
roster that is currently going through its own youth overhaul, should give us a win and a
vintage Sorokin performance, stuffing your categories and/or piling up points similar to
Shesterkin’s Tuesday night against this same Penguins lineup (27 saves, 1 GA, .964
SV%). We don’t need Sorokin to carry the Islanders to the playoffs tonight, we just
need him to put up some solid fantasy numbers against a lottery destined Penguins
team, and for that, we say - Start ‘em!

SIT ‘EM
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Kirill Kaprizov just inked the most lucrative deal in NHL history (8 years, $136 million,
AAV of $17 million) and you can believe he intends to show hockey fans everywhere
that he deserves every penny of it. That’s why on a Thursday night with 27 other
goalies lacing their skates, Jordan Binnington is a big risk to start in your goalie spot.
Now starting a goalie at home in a season opener is usually a solid plan, but this
matchup against a Wild team that boasts one of the best offenses in the league when
healthy, screams “It’s a TRAP!” At age 32, the St. Louis netminder is coming off an up
and down year where he led Team Canada to victory at the Four Nations Face Off while
putting up 28 wins alongside a 2.69 GAA and .900 SV%, but went 0-3 against
Minnesota, letting in at least 3 goals against in each game and save percentages of
.885, .889, and .800. The Blues are a team on the up and up, but on a loaded
Thursday night with the first fantasy matchup of the season on the line - we can leave
Binnington on the bench against the Wild. Sit ‘em!

Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth
Vejmelka is the “Zero-G” poster boy this year, and rightfully so, getting drafted on
average as the 24th goalie off the board (Fantrax) while projecting to receive the
unquestioned lion’s share of starts on a new look Mammoth team that should contend
for a spot in the playoffs. But on a loaded Thursday night against a Colorado team that
was tied for third in goals scored last year, we can expect Vejmelka to hold a value
more appropriate to his draft position, at least for this game. The Czech native will be
making his season debut IN Colorado against an Avs team that is coming off a 4 goal
output against a defensively solid Kings club Tuesday night, where they were led by
their superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar (2 assists each) and last year’s
trade acquisition, Martin Necas (2 goals). The Avs top line is rolling and when the
Avalanche comes barreling down the mountain - it’s best we just get out of the way.
Let’s leave Vejmelka on the bench tonight against Colorado, ensuring our fantasy team
a healthy goals against average at the end of the week. Sit ‘em.

DESPERATION MODE START
Maybe you already started Kuemper and bombed your categories? Maybe you were
banking on Tristan Jarry to carry the starting reigns for some steady points with
Pittsburgh this week? Well if you are already in Desperation Mode, then see if you can
snag Jakob Dobes off the waiver wire for a spot start. The Czech goaltender is coming
off a respectable rookie campaign (2.74 GAA and .909 SV%) and has a decent
matchup against a middling Detroit Red Wings team that finished in the bottom five in
Even Strength scoring last year. If Montreal can stay out of the penalty box (Detroit
actually led the league in Power Play goals last year with 64) then Dobes is in a good
position to put up some solid category numbers and come away with a victory. If you
need to get back in the goalie game tonight, then Dobes is worth the pickup.

That’s all for this week, thanks for joining us! You can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284
and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social, and I will be back to breakdown the starts
and sits on a heavy Thursday night slate again next week!