The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

Less than a month into the season and we're seeing plenty of changes in net already. With Ilya Samsonov struggling, the Leafs have now turned to Joseph Woll. The Kraken have elected to bench Philipp Grubauer for the second straight season, this time for Joey Daccord, who led their AHL team to the Calder Cup final last season.

Meanwhile, career journeyman backup Jonas Johansson is thriving with the Lightning, and both Connor Hellebuyck and Igor Shesterkin have save percentages hovering at around .900 which, depending on which study you read, is either close to or below replacement level.

It's been a topsy-turvy season so far, and hockey reminds even the most well-read fantasy managers that it's enormously difficult to predict, especially for goalies.

Here's the latest on the Goalie Report:

Trending Up

Joey Daccord, Kraken (1-2-1, .912 Sv%, 2.88 GAA)

With three straight starts, Daccord now has started more games than Philipp Grubauer and bested the veteran starter in basically every single statistical category. Daccord was a highly-touted goalie at the time of the expansion draft and led AHL Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup final last season, so we know the talent is there. With Grubauer struggling for the second straight season, Daccord is in a very good position to become the 1A option, or perhaps even the outright starter. Pick him up if you need goalie help.

The only problem right now is the Kraken are getting heavily outshot and do not have the offense to provide Daccord with much goal support. The wins will be difficult to come by if this keeps up, but the upside is plenty of saves and a solid save percentage.

Joonas Korpisalo, Senators (Last week: 1-1-0, .941 Sv%, 2.16 GAA)

Korpisalo stopped all five shots he faced in a relief appearance against the Sabres and proceeded to allow just five goals on 80 shots (.938 Sv%) in his two subsequent appearances. The game against the Sabres was odd; Anton Forsberg had returned to the net to start the third period, only to be called to the bench just prior to puck drop by Travis Hamonic. Usually the switch is made during the intermission with the backup taking the ice right away, but whether it was a miscommunication or not, it's thrown a bit of controversy in the Sens' net.

What had been a 50-50 split to start the season now tilts in Korpisalo's favor with Forsberg struggling, which leads to a bigger share of the workload that will certainly boost Korpisalo's fantasy value. For now, Korpisalo is the 1A with his strong performances while Forsberg sits in D.J. Smith's doghouse.

Darcy Kuemper, Capitals (Last week: 2-1-0, .921 Sv%, 2.28 GAA)

It looked like the Caps were in for a disastrous season but they've rattled off three straight wins since starting 1-4-0. Kuemper has allowed only two goals on 72 shots (.972 Sv%) in his past two starts, and for this coming week has three straight games at home. With the Caps scoring again, it'll provide some goal support insurance for Kuemper. He's going to have a big workload this season; his fantasy value is derived mostly from quantity, and the recent quality starts are a nice bonus. He remains a mid-tier fantasy goalie over the long term.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres (2-1-0, .915 Sv%, 2.84 GAA)

With both Eric Comrie and Devon Levi both nursing lower-body injuries, Luukkonen has talen over the starter's net and won two of his three starts, including a shutout win against the Avalanche. It was a relatively easy shutout with 23 saves against a very tough opponent, but the key takeaway is Luukkonen's potential playing time.

He started as the No. 3 option early in the season and now has a chance to establish himself as the No. 1. It's a situation to monitor going forward, and he might be worth streaming with two games against the Flyers coming up.

Anthony Stolarz, Panthers (Season debut: 27 of 28 saves, 1 goal allowed)

Granted, it was an easy assignment against the Sharks, but a good start is a good start. Stolarz was a very good backup for the Ducks and their porous defense, but so far the Panthers have been reluctant to play him. Should Sergei Bobrovsky falter – and he will, considering his lack of consistency – Stolarz should be a good streaming option depending on the matchup. If Stolarz has another strong start, he might demand a bigger piece of the timeshare.

Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs (3-1-0, .961 Sv%, 1.33 GAA)

Woll looks way more composed and focused in net than Samsonov, who's had a nightmarish start to the season. With so much pressure on the Leafs this season, they can't afford to wait around for Samsonov to work out the kinks. Woll is now rostered in the vast majority of fantasy leagues with three straight wins, allowing just two goals against two very tough opponents – the Lightning and Stars – on the road. He's likely to get at least two of the three starts this coming week and is poised to take over the starting job.

Trending Down

Jordan Binnington, Blues (Last week: 0-2-0, .875 Sv%, 4.03 GAA)

Well, look who's back. Binnington's hot start has now cooled considerably, and Joel Hofer's shutout win last week definitely makes you wonder if this timeshare is about to become more equal. The Blues are suffering a bit of an identity crisis and Binnington's inconsistency has come back to haunt him, allowing eight goals on 64 shots (.875 Sv%). It's inadvisable to start Binnington until he picks it up, and he faces two of the best offensive teams in the league this week in the Avs and Devils. In the short term, things don't look very good.

Pheonix Copley, Kings (1-0-1, .788 Sv%, 4.98 GAA)

What was supposed to be a 1A-1B situation has now turned Cam Talbot into the undisputed starter. Copley's season so far has been disastrous, allowing five goals on 19 shots in his season debut, earning a win against the Coyotes but pulled the following night (also against the Coyotes) after allowing three goals on six shots. We knew last season's run was a flash in the pan for the journeyman veteran, and he's come crashing down to earth. Among 69 goalies who have made an appearance this season, Copley has allowed 3.22 goals above the league average at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes, according to naturalstattrick.com.

Jacob Markstrom, Flames (Last week: 0-3-0, .897 Sv%, 3.06 GAA)

Markstrom is much better than that save percentage and goals-against average would indicate, and his 0-3-0 record is more an indictment of the team in front of him. The Flames are inconsistent at both ends of the ice and can't seem to put together a 60-minute effort. It's a shame because Markstrom is playing well but, in fantasy, it's not good enough to be playing well; you need to be put up good stats.