Goalie Start 'Em, Sit 'Em ft. Saros, Vejmelka, Jarry and More

Hello fine folks of fantasy hockey and welcome to Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em, where we try to make sense out of the most senseless position in all of fantasy sports. This Thursday features 11 electrifying matchups, which means 22 (or more) twine tenders in action, so let’s crunch the numbers, ride the streaks, check our guts, and let’s dive right into Goalie Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em!

(Please note that at the time of writing this article, most of 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. Stats from FrozenTools.)

Start ‘Em

Connor Hellebuyck, New Jersey Devils - Three time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck is rocking his new whiteout Devils mask and has been looking quite happy and at home in his new digs. The American Olympian has a squeaky clean 3-0 record on the season and has rewarded his faithful fantasy followers with a 1.95 GAA and .900 SV% through three starts. Perhaps the best thing going for him entering Thursday’s battle with the Blues, though, is how inspired the Devils have looked in front of him. The Devils have won eight of their last ten contests and have out-scored their opponents 41-25 during that span. New Jersey, also, boasts one of the finer home records in the league at 7-2, while the St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, are a shaky 3-5 on the road this year. There was some doubt about how long Hellebuyck could take to get back into mid-season form after starting the season on holdout, but at this point, just get him into your lineup and Start ‘Em!

Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators - This has as much to do with the Colorado Avalanche looking human as it does Juuse Saros looking super. The Avs enter this match following a 7-2 thumping by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night and have been starting to look a little more like a wild card team than a record breaking Presidents’ Trophy winning club. Their special teams play has looked uninspired and they have been torched for five or more goals just as often as they have scored five or more themselves. Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators have a power play that is humming along at an unprecedented 30.6% and they recently scored four PP goals in last Monday’s meeting with the Avalanche, a 6-2 victory for Nashville. The Finnish netminder, Saros, has looked a little more like the “Juice” of yesteryear, as well, as he is off to a 4-3-4 start through 11 games played and his metrics of 2.77 GAA and .908 SV% are perhaps his finest in the past five years. So while this isn’t exactly the hottest goalie matchup of the night, Colorado may no longer be must-sit territory either. If you’ve got Saros then go ahead and Start ‘Em!

Sit ‘Em

Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth - One of the remaining NHL workhorse goalies has seen his share of starts take a dive recently, as Vejmelka has only started two of the Mammoth’s last four games. The 30-year-old netminder hasn’t done himself any favors during that stretch either, losing both starts while allowing 8 goals against on 51 shots (.843 SV%), all while his counter part, 23-year-old Sebastian Cossa, won both of his starts by allowing only 5 goals on 57 shots faced (.912 SV%). Thursday night’s date with the red-hot bleu, blanc et rouge may not be the game Vejmelka turns it all around in either. The Canadiens are riding a six game point streak (5-0-1) and have scored at least four goals in each of their last three games. They are, also, coming off an embarrassing home loss to the Winnipeg Jets in which they were leading 4-0 with under three minutes remaining, so you can bet that they will want to make their home fans forget about that collapse by putting on a show Thursday night. The Mammoth are a team on the rise and the wins will come for Vejmelka, just maybe not in this one. Sit ‘Em!

Tristan Jarry, Edmonton Oilers - The Oilers are 11-2-3 to start the year and, contrary to all historical precedent, goaltender Tristan Jarry has actually contributed to their early season successes. His goaltending prowess was on full display last week when the 31-year-old went 2-0-1 with two shutouts in three starts. Thursday night, however, pits the hot handed Jarry against the soaring scoring Ducks of Anaheim, who have recently erupted for 27 goals across their last five games! The Oilers are no slouches in the scoring department either, so if this game turns into an old Western shootout, then Jarry may very well be the beneficiary of a 6-5 victory. If you just need a win, give Jarry a go, but in most fantasy formats that kind of goalie performance is worthy of a Sit ‘Em!

Desperation Mode Play

Daniil Tarasov, Detroit Red Wings - The Red Wings may sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but their 17 team points are enough for third place in either the Pacific or Metropolitan, so they are not the laughing stock that many fantasy GM’s (and Dylan Larkin) think they are. For his part, Daniil Tarasov has thrived in a Detroit uniform, going 2-1-2 alongside a 1.74 GAA and .927 SV% in six appearances. And after incumbent starter John Gibson left Tuesday’s tilt with Tampa Bay with a lower-body injury, Tarasov will look to build off of his stellar start in the Motor City when the Red Wings play host to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday evening. The Golden Knights are currently 14th in the NHL in Goals Forced per Game (3.41), but they have been held to two goals or fewer in five of their last seven games overall and three of their last four road games. At only 25% rostered on Fantrax and 10% on Yahoo, Tarasov should be ripe for the plucking on your league’s waiver wire, should you find yourself in need of help from the crease. Tarasov is your Desperation Mode Start ‘Em!

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. You can also find me providing injury news and updates every Wednesday on Dobber Hockey. I’ll be back here next Thursday to try to breakdown the night’s goaltending slate, so until then - Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!