This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
There's no goaltending situation more interesting than Tampa Bay's. Heading into the season, Ben Bishop was considered one of the best goalies in the league and he was one of the first netminders selected in fantasy drafts. It seemed likely he would pick up a bunch of wins, he's had at least 35 in his last three seasons with the Lightning, and he had a .926 save percentage in a campaign that made him a Vezina finalist.
This year has been a very different story. Bishop got off to a slow start, which we were mostly all willing to shrug off. However, here we are now at the edge of December and Bishop came into Tuesday's game against Columbus with a 3.04 GAA and a .902 save percentage. Meanwhile, his nominal backup Andrei Vasilevskiy has a .951 save percentage which leads the entire NHL. (Vasilevskiy also let in five goals on 38 shots Tuesday night, so that number is going down a bit.) One of Tampa's goalies has been great, and one has been terrible. To hand the reins to Vasilevskiy would mark a major sea change for the Lightning, though. Vasilevskiy has been a highly thought of goalie prospect for a few years. He's 22, while Bishop is 30. Vasilevskiy is the future of Tampa Bay's goaltending situation. The question is, is the future now?
Featured Matchups
Penguins (PP: 11, PK: 28) at Islanders (PP: 25, PK: 21), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Marc-Andre Fleury (6-5-3, 3.38, .901), Thomas Greiss (4-4-0, 2.41, .920)
Key Injuries:Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Dennis Seidenberg (jaw), Patric Hornqvist (concussion), Chris Kunitz (undisclosed), Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed), Daniel Sprong (shoulder)
If Fleury does start in net, as opposed to Matt Murray, the Islanders will have to be pleased. It may not help them a ton, though. In addition to their paltry power play, New York is only scoring 2.4 goals per game, which ranks 22nd in the NHL. John Tavares is going strong, with 17 points, including five on the power play. Beyond him, though you may be left wanting. Josh Bailey has the potential to turn it around, though. He only has three goals, but he's taken 42 shots on net, giving him a 7.1 shooting percentage. His career shooting percentage is 11.3, which indicates his goal scoring should improve. Aside from that, he has nine assists. Johnny Boychuk is also an improvement candidate. He only has six points, but he plays more than 20 minutes a night and he's second on the team with 53 shots on goal. With Hornqvist and Kunitz both question marks, the Penguins could find themselves without much in the way of secondary scoring. That's part of what makes Jake Guentzel interesting. He's got three goals and four points in four games. Sure, he's done that on only six shots on goal, but if you're looking for some under-the-radar players who can help you, he might be your man.
Maple Leafs (PP: 8, PK: 14) at Flames (PP: 30, PK: 29), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jhonas Enroth (0-2-1, 4.21, .866), Chad Johnson (7-4-1, 2.23, .922)
Key Injuries:Johnny Gaudreau (finger), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen)
The Leafs visited the Oilers on Tuesday, which is why Enroth is in line to start unless Toronto wants to play Frederik Andersen on back-to-back nights. Enroth isn't probably as bad as his numbers this year, but he still only has a .909 save percentage for his career, which isn't good by any stretch of the imagination. The Flames were really struggled at goal prevention to start the year, but Johnson has helped to stem the tide a bit recently. That being said, he did let in five goals on 38 shots in his last start, and the Flames have still been awful on the penalty kill. They've also been terrible at the power play, of course, which maybe offers a sliver of hope to Enroth. Dougie Hamilton seems to be sort of finding his footing this season. He's now tied for second in points on the Flames with 12. Only two of those points have come on the power play, which is unexpected. He's had 16 and 15 in his last two seasons. Rookie Matthew Tkachuk, who was taken sixth overall this year, is showing a little promise with six goals and 10 points in 21 games. His minutes have been a bit uneven, though, but that's skewed a bit by a game wherein he got 18 penalty minutes. Hard to get on the ice when that happens. James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, and Auston Matthews all scored their 10th goals of the season Tuesday against the Oilers.
Sharks (PP: 16, PK: 10) at Kings (PP: 27, PK: 17), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Aaron Dell (2-1-0, 1.93, .931), Peter Budaj (12-6-1, 2.04, .917)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Quick (groin), Tomas Hertl (knee), Tommy Wingels (undisclosed)
With the Sharks having played the Coyotes on Tuesday, Dell looks likely to tend the goal for San Jose in this one. His numbers on the season are great, but it is a small sample size. It's also the entire sample size of his NHL career. He has little to no track record, which is unusual for a 27-year-old. However, he wouldn't be the first goalie who was a late bloomer. Anze Kopitar has looked no worse for the wear since returning for an extended injury absence, notching an assist and playing at least 20 minutes a night. Dustin Brown seems a little feistier this year. He's got nine points and he's taken 52 shots on goal. That being said, don't look at his 5.8 shooting percentage and expect it to rise too much. He hasn't had a shooting percentage higher than that in his last three seasons including this one. Still, he's on pace to break the 30 point barrier for the first time in five seasons. Both the Sharks and Kings are in the top 10 in goals allowed, so expect this to be a pretty low scoring game.
Recommended Pickup
Julius Honka, D, DAL – The Stars needed a spark on defense, especially with John Klingberg's early season struggles, and Honka seems like he might be the man for the job. The 20-year-old Finnish rookie was the 14th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. He's only been up for five games now, but he's made a real impact. Honka has three points, all assists, and he's taken 16 shots on goal. His minutes haven't been super steady, but he's played at least 16:53 in every game, and he played 22:27 on Tuesday night. It seems like Honka is here to stay, and it appears he may already be ready to help your fantasy team.
