Goaltending can be a tricky thing as the season winds down. In head-to-head leagues especially, make sure you are playing strategically with your starts. Kari Lehtonen has been a stud of late, but hopefully you held him back against Detroit on Friday, when the Thrashers lost to Chris Osgood and the Red Wings 6-3. By that same logic, it was a no-brainer to start him Saturday night against Tampa Bay, and you would have benefited from the 4-3 shootout win. Starting your goalies at the right time is key to victory in these final weeks. Tristan Cockcroft's Fantasy Forecaster should be referenced anytime you need to check your matchups for the week.
Speaking of Osgood, as Tim Kavanagh mentioned in Thursday's blog entry, it's time to get him off your bench. Osgood is definitely having the worst season of his storied career, but he has won four straight and been a stud of late. He'll get seven (maybe eight) of the remaining 10 games for the Red Wings as coach Mike Babcock gears up his veteran for the grueling postseason.
It is apparent that Nikolai Khabibulin is the No. 1 for the Blackhawks at the moment, but neither he nor Cristobal Huet is inspiring much confidence in fantasy owners. Coach Joel Quenneville has anointed the 'Bulin Wall as his de facto No. 1 for now. He told the Chicago Tribune: "We want to get [Khabby] some games. We're giving him the net to get on a roll. He's positioned himself to get this opportunity. We're going to rely on him." Still, Khabibulin has allowed 11 goals in three starts with no wins since he returned from a groin injury. Huet has been about as bad, though, with 16 goals allowed in five starts this month. Back away from the situation for now, and look for help from another team. Over the next week, Chicago has matchups with Martin Brodeur and the Devils, Evgeni Nabokov and the Sharks, and Roberto Luongo and the Canucks.
Luongo was pulled Saturday night against Phoenix after the Coyotes had built a 4-0 lead. Thankfully, it's not a terribly damaging stat line, as one of the goals was an empty-netter on a delayed power play (!). Luongo gave you a shutout this week already and is likely still helping head-to-head owners to a victory.
Senators rookie goaltender Brian Elliott has now won eight games in a row and remains one of the hot starts in fantasy. He has a 2.34 goals-against average during the streak and allowed more than three goals only once. He can be had in 85 percent of ESPN leagues and would make a good substitution for those who have been rotating the Blackhawks' netminders thus far.
Chris Mason is still not getting the respect he deserves in fantasy. He made his 28th straight start for the Blues on Friday and won 3-2 over Calgary. He is 16-7-5 during this streak of consecutive outings and has a 2.08 goals-against average since he took over the full-time gig.
Whatever your goaltender situation, be vigilant with your starts. Don't blow a head-to-head playoff match or a slim lead in your rotisserie standings by marching out a netminder in a poor matchup.
Several Atlanta Thrashers remain blazing hot. Slava Kozlov had a goal and an assist in Saturday's win over Tampa Bay (and scored the shootout winner). He has 12 points in eight straight games and remains available in almost 30 percent of ESPN leagues. Meantime, Todd White has 10 points in nine straight games. The nine-game streak follows a seven-game streak, giving White a point in 15 of 16 games with a total of 21 points in that span. … Matt Hunwick remains useful no matter where he is playing. After getting some time at forward over the past month, he dressed as a defenseman Saturday and scored a goal while finishing with a plus-2. He has often been a healthy scratch for the Bruins in February and March but has five points in the six games he has played. … Defensemen for the Hurricanes have been turning up their jets lately: Anton Babchuk scored Saturday, giving him three goals in three games; Joe Corvo scored Saturday, giving him four points in two games; and Joni Pitkanen scored Saturday, giving him two points in three games. … Antoine Vermette continues to be fantasy-worthy as a Blue Jacket. Vermette potted an empty-netter to give him five goals and eight points in seven games with Columbus. … We noted last week that several peripheral Senators are worth a look in deep leagues, with Nick Foligno, Brendan Bell and Ryan Shannon leading the charge. Note that Bell has strung together three two-point games as a leading member of a recharged Ottawa power play. … It's about time Sam Gagner started playing some hockey. The sophomore has a point in eight of nine games this month and a total of 14 points in that span. Even though Ales Kotalik isn't getting the stats, he appears to be a good complement to Gagner's play. … Daniel Briere scored two goals Friday, his first goals since Nov. 11 this season. He has played eight games this month since returning from an abdominal strain. Briere spent time with different linemates, including Scott Hartnell, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Joffrey Lupul. He was also heavily involved in the Flyers' power plays. Fantasy owners can be forgiven for hesitating with Briere, but now is the time to reinvest, as he has looked like he has his legs back under him lately. He can be picked up in 38 percent of ESPN leagues. … Mikhail Grabovski continues to benefit from being the Leafs' top centerman since the trade deadline. He had four points in Saturday's win over Montreal by riding the coattails of Alexei Ponikarovsky. Grabovski has eight points in his past four games.
