Monday Ramblings

Good afternoon Goalie Post readers! Fantasy playoffs are well underway and I hope everyone is shellacking all of their opponents so far. It was kind of a crappy week for schedules since there were very minimal games on off days. I think I had at least two or three guys on my bench on the busy nights of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Today I don't have much of a theme for the column, I'll just be taking a look at how some of these guys have been playing in the last few weeks and who may be able to help you in your last few final matchups based on it.

Recent performers

Justus Annunen/Alexandar Georgiev - Colorado Avalanche

Justus Annunen has come onto the scene and snatched the backup job for the Avalanche after Ivan Prosvetov had some stumbles following a fairly good start to the season. Annunen since the start of the season leads the league in all situations save percentage at .932. Now of course he only has 10 GP to Alexandar Georgiev’s 58 on the Avalanche which is one of the largest numbers in the league. Georgiev has been ridden hard all season so it is mighty likely that Annunen will be taking the season home for the Avs before the playoffs start on April 22nd this month. Annunen is a must start right now as he has three shutouts in his last six starts. He is confirmed to start this evening of Monday the 1st, against the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets.

Frederik Andersen/Pyotr Kochetkov - Carolina Hurricanes

Frederik Andersen missed most of the 23-24 season with a blood clotting issue. Since his return he has been outstanding. Carolina is on a heater post-deadline after adding a few pieces. Andersen has won all seven of his starts since becoming healthy and has mixed in two shutouts and has only allowed eight goals total in that span giving him a .958 save percentage! This is a slight issue for the Carolina Hurricanes albeit a great one to have considering Pyotr Kochetkov has had a great run this season without Andersen in the lineup. While Kochetkov has only a 4-4 record in his last 8 he’s still managed a .910 save percentage. Kochetkov has also mixed in two shutouts in his last 11 games.

Recently underwhelming

Ilya Sorokin - New York Islanders

Ilya Sorokin is most certainly a top five goalie in the NHL. You have rarely heard his name without the likes of Igor Shesterkin since they both came into the league a few years ago. Similar to Igor, he's taken a bit of a hit on his save percentage this year at a .906. This has been compounded since the Islanders have been absolutely anemic in front of him. I always feel terrible for really good goalies on terrible offensive teams. The islanders had it going for a while this season and it seemed like Mat Barzal was clicking well on a line with Bo Horvat. This is no longer the case although Barzal has had a stellar season offensively. Sorokin has zero wins in his last six starts and is good for an .881 save percentage over that stretch. Yikes. Not ideal for your play off chances. Semyon Varlamov has been much better if you happen to have the Islanders stack, (but who would).
Varlamov has a .916 in his last 5 games to go with a 3-2 record. Varlamov continues to be a great backup option for the Isles.

Jeremy Swayman - Boston Bruins

Jeremy Swayman was one of the better goalies in the league again this year, sporting a .916 all situations save percentage on the season. The last few weeks have not been a mirror of that overall success. Even though he has a 3-2 record in his last 5 starts, his other numbers are leaving a lot to be desired for fantasy owners. His .858 in that stretch may have already sunk a team or two in the playoffs. He has allowed 17 goals in those 5 games.

Samuel Ersson - Philadelphia Flyers

After the Flyers lost their young starter that they had locked in for years to come, the opportunity was there for Ersson to take over. In the last nine games played for him he has an .854 save percentage in all situations which I don't think i need to explain, is frankly terrible for that long of a stretch. He is only 3-6, which is far from good enough to take a hold of the starters position for next year, or to help anybody win anything in fantasy.

With the season coming to a close, and a long offseason incoming, stay locked on GoaliePost for all of your research for next year and beyond. Hopefully the actual NHL playoffs give us some great action as it usually does. Hit me up with your Vezina trophy candidate predictions, and who you’ve got your eye on taking home the ultimate prize, the Lord Stanley itself. Find me on X/twitter @LOGoalz