A number of unexpected names drew my attention for their excellent work during the past week. Most of the best efforts came from players on teams that missed the playoffs last year. Hope springs eternal.
Find out who is expected to be between the pipes with RotoWire's NHL Starting Goalies page!
Risers
Alex Lyon, Sabres
In the absence of their expected top goalie (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen), the Sabres have relied on Lyon to take the reins in goal. After a winless first week, where he recorded three losses, he's bounced back with two wins in three starts. The highlight performance was a 32-save shutout against the defending champion Panthers.
At the least, he's established himself as a viable secondary option in Buffalo, but he may also have made a case to earn many more starts this season than was originally expected.
Luukkonen is just coming back from a conditioning stint, so Lyon figures to be the primary option for at least one more week.
Jake Allen, Devils
Allen began the season locked into an expected backup role, but he has faced a heavy workload following an injury to Jacob Markstrom that will sideline him for at least two or three weeks.
Allen reeled off three wins last week, allowing a total of six goals against, while turning aside 71 of 77 shots on goal (.972 Sv%).
He is part of a very experienced tandem and when Markstrom returns, Allen will resume the shorter end of a 60/40
A number of unexpected names drew my attention for their excellent work during the past week. Most of the best efforts came from players on teams that missed the playoffs last year. Hope springs eternal.
Find out who is expected to be between the pipes with RotoWire's NHL Starting Goalies page!
Risers
Alex Lyon, Sabres
In the absence of their expected top goalie (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen), the Sabres have relied on Lyon to take the reins in goal. After a winless first week, where he recorded three losses, he's bounced back with two wins in three starts. The highlight performance was a 32-save shutout against the defending champion Panthers.
At the least, he's established himself as a viable secondary option in Buffalo, but he may also have made a case to earn many more starts this season than was originally expected.
Luukkonen is just coming back from a conditioning stint, so Lyon figures to be the primary option for at least one more week.
Jake Allen, Devils
Allen began the season locked into an expected backup role, but he has faced a heavy workload following an injury to Jacob Markstrom that will sideline him for at least two or three weeks.
Allen reeled off three wins last week, allowing a total of six goals against, while turning aside 71 of 77 shots on goal (.972 Sv%).
He is part of a very experienced tandem and when Markstrom returns, Allen will resume the shorter end of a 60/40 split.
The Devils are currently 5-1 and in first place in the Metropolitan Division. They're expected to contend for the top rung, so Allen will be in line for a high win percentage whenever he's between the pipes.
Spencer Knight, Chicago
Knight's role as the top goalie in Chicago is playing out as expected with five starts in the team's first seven games. Last week, he earned a win and a loss in games that were decided in overtime. He was exceptional in both starts, allowing a total of only three goals against while saving 68 of 71 shots on goal (.958 Sv%).
The 'Hawks are 3-2-2 so far and hope to turn the corner toward respectability this season. Knight will undoubtedly be a key factor, regardless of the outcome. So far, he looks like part of the solution.
Karel Vejmelka, Mammoth
Vejmelka has had the inside lane, in terms of game starts, in his four years with this franchise dating back to his rookie season in Arizona. This year it looks like he'll have the No. 1 assignment again, ahead of Vitek Vanecek, who split time between the Sharks and Panthers last year.
Vejmelka has charged out of the gate, with four wins in his first five starts, and those early game logs are punctuated by four appearances in which he faced fewer than 30 shots on goal. In prior years, he faced a much higher shot volume. That's a good early indication that he and his mates could be in for a better season. This is a young team in Utah with loads of young talent, and Vejmelka is in his prime. The outlook is positive right now.
Arturs Silovs, Penguins
Silovs made his first significant impact in the NHL during the 2024 playoffs, as an emergency fill-in in Vancouver. He failed to build on that, appearing in only 10 games last season.
Prior to the start of the 2025-26 campaign, the Pens acquired him to handle a depth role. A good early start in a strict rotation with returning veteran Tristan Jarry has certainly led to a surprising outcome in Pittsburgh. Silovs has won three of his four starts, including two in a pair of appearances last week. He has an impressive 2.25 GAA so far and is building a case to retain a much more significant workload than was originally anticipated. The Pens were expected to be a league doormat, so it may be premature to snap him up in your fantasy leagues just yet.
Lukas Dostal, Ducks
For the first time in his young career Dostal doesn't have the specter of a veteran incumbent ahead of him on the depth chart. While Petr Mrazek is an experienced goalie, he was brought to Anaheim to serve as Dostal's backup, not replace John Gibson in the top spot.
Dostal has earned his stripes by taking on a larger workload and improving in each of the last three seasons. Last week, he went 1-1-1 over three starts, allowing eight goals, out of 92 shots on goal (.9123 SV%).
That trend line of the last three seasons is bleeding into this season, too.
Fallers
Dustin Wolf, Flames
Wolf's very strong rookie season had Flames fans excited about the team's prospects for this year. He put up excellent numbers and was the runner up for Calder Trophy honors, which is rarified air for goalies.
The early returns for Wolf and the Flames this season have not been as good. He has a 1-5 record with a 3.91 GAA and .866 Sv% thus far. The team, as a whole, has been underwhelming, but Wolf has clearly been part of the problem to date.
The Flames are not expected to be among the top teams in the Western Conference, but if Wolf falls victim to the sophomore jinx it will be a very long season in Canada's Cowtown.
Joey Daccord/Philipp Grubauer, Kraken
Each member of the veteran tandem in Seattle takes a hit this week, which is an indictment of the Kraken, as they registered only one win over four games last week while allowing 16 goals against along the way. That has already offset a three-game win streak to open this season.
Neither goalie even saved 90 percent of the shots on goal in any of their three appearances.
The fact that a third veteran goalie, Matt Murray, supplied the best netminding effort of the week, should be a concern for the top two in the pecking order here.
Juuse Saros, Predators
Predators fans who had hoped to write off the 2024-2025 season, have to be a little concerned with the club's 2-3-2 mark, which lands the team in last place in the competitive Central Division.
This a veteran-laden club, and their MVP in goal was expected to lead a significant turnaround this season. An undefeated first week gave way to a dismal 0-2-1 mark last week, in which Saros was blitzed for 12 goals against on 87 shots (.863v%).
This Jekyll and Hyde swing leaves us all guessing what's in store for Saros and the Preds over the long haul.
Injury news
Vegas goalie Adin Hill is expected to miss several weeks due to a lower body injury. Akira Schmid, who is 4-0, with a 2.57 GAA and .899 Sv%, is expected to step in as the No. 1 option in his absence.
