Roto goalie starts - final week

[st89jebn]

OK, I had Schneider crap the bed on Sat., and Thomas on Mon.

My GAA is up to 2.42 (now tied for 2nd place) and the next team in this category is right there at 2.44. SV% is still .918 (4th place) but the same team with the 2.44 is right there in this category as well at .917. In the SHO category, I'm tied for first with 14.

What should I do? Start or sit the following? I have 6 goalie games remaining, but I don't need W so no need to use the games unless the start will help the GAA and SV% stats. I don't particularly like Crawford's matchups after Tuesday's. He has bad numbers against StL. He has great numbers against Det, but Datsyuk is supposed to be back this week.

Tues - 4/5
Enroth vs TB
Crawford @Mon
Schneider @Edm (if he starts)

Wed - 4/6
Thomas vs NYI (if he starts)
Hedberg vs Tor
Crawford vs StL

Th - 4/7
Schneider vs Min (if he starts)

Fr - 4/8
Crawford @Det
Enroth vs Phi (if he starts)

Sa - 4/9
Thomas vs Ott (if he starts)
Schneider @Clg (if he starts)
Enroth @Cls (if he starts)

Su - 4/10
Thomas @NJ (if he starts)
Hedberg vs Bos
Crawford vs Det

[Chili con Carne]

If you are trying for 6 starts here is my opinion:

I suspect Thomas will get at least two starts and Schneider one from here on out - I would take these regardless of the team they are playing for as many games as you can.

That leaves 3 games (potentially).

After that I like:

Crawford against MON
Hedberg against TOR (may not get the start)
Enroth against COL (don't think he will get the start)

I really doubt that Enroth gets that game as they will likely want to give Miller the easiest one before the playoffs to help bring him up to speed after his injury.

I do not like either of Enroth's other starts (others may disagree) so I would go Crawford against St. Louis after that. From there, if you still want/need a start I would throw a dart.

Hope this helps.

[norrisdivision]

I don't really like any of your matchups today (Luongo has been announced as the starter in Edmonton tonight) or tomorrow for that matter. Thomas can always put a solid start together so you may want to consider NYI tomorrow.

I like either of Vancouver's matchups (Thurs/Sat) and I'm sure Schneider will get one of those starts. Not that he played poorly against EDM on Sat, but I'm sure he'll bounce back and put up some decent numbers in his next outing.

I'd avoid Friday's matchups for peripherals, but look at Thomas again on Sat. vs. OTT as a good start assuming he gets it. I doubt Enroth gets the start Sat. If Miller is healthy they'll want him to get a game in before the playoffs start.

Finally, if you need it by that point, I'd look at Thomas @ NJ on Sunday.

[andrewklassen]

I suspect Thomas will get at least two starts and Schneider one from here on out - I would take these regardless of the team they are playing for as many games as you can.

I concur with this. AV has already said Schneider will get one more game and it will be a favorable match-up regardless. Take that game. I also think you have to play Thomas every chance you get.

The problem as I see it, is that some of the more favorable match-ups occur later in the week and, if some of these teams clinch or get healthy [Miller] you may not get a game at all if you wait.

I think you have to ensure you get games in early. I would take 2 games tonight...Enroth at home to TB [BUF has been playing pretty responsible defensive hockey lately so I don't mind this match-up...they'll certainly be motivated to play their guts out in front of him] and Crawford @ MON [MON is not a goal-scoring juggernaut so again, the peripherals should be solid]. That's 2 games.

I would take 2 games Wednesday...Thomas at home to the ISLES and Hedberg at home to TOR. You may not even get a Thomas start here. Hope for 2 more games...that's 4 altogether.

I think Schneider gets Thursday's game and you have to play him. That's 5 games.

You don't want any part of Friday's games and I don't think you're going to have many options on Saturday. BOS has played Rask vs. OTT a lot this year and I think that's a safe assumption. Miller should be back taking away Enroth as an option.

You still have 1 [maybe 2 games] left to fill come Sunday...and that's after front-loading your week. Thomas is the preferred choice here I think, if you have to fill a game with Crawford against DET at least get it in with CHI as the home team. The reason I don't think you can afford to wait until Sunday with more than 1 game left to fill is that there's no guarantee teams won't rest their playoff starting G if a spot is secured. Crawford has played a ton lately and if Sunday's game isn't meaningful I could see Turco playing. I never know what's in Julien's mind so Thomas is no guarantee either. Which would only leave you Hedberg.

Get some games in early this week...2 tonight and 2 tomorrow. Then you can probably pick and choose the preferable match-ups to close the week out...you may not have that many to choose from.

[st89jebn]

Thanks for the detailed comments. They are greatly appreciated. I started Crawford and Schneider last night and sat Enroth. I've already dropped Enroth. I got 1.94 and .943 for the night - not bad. Shame that Schneider only played 30 seconds.

Now I have 4 games left. Thomas is not a lock to start @NYI tonight. (Edit: he was the first goalie off the ice this morning.)

I have Crawford vs StL tonight. I don't know about this one. StL has been a scoring machine lately and I can't afford to fall behind any more in the GAA and SV% categories. I'm now tied for 4th in SV% at .918 and tied for 3rd in GAA with 2.41.