Reply With QuoteI hope you're right about Mr. Anderson because I just scooped him up in one of my pools...
"Late Season Run" Candidates
Steve Johnson (Notch4077 on Twitter) asked me to project who might have real strong finishes to the season, but to come up with guys that are beyond the obvious guys like Roberto Luongo, Jon Quick, Mike Smith, Miikka Kiprusoff, Ryan Miller, etc. All of those guys are playing great right now, so they're not included below.
So here are my thoughts on that! These goalies are in no particular order. This obviously does not include what could potentially happen with trades at the deadline.
Tuukka Rask - Have to put him in this conversation. He has not played well in the past two weeks, but Tim Thomas hasn't been the same, either. Rask is going to get his shots, and the Bruins will not shy away from resting Thomas if he continues to post save percentages below what we're used to seeing from him over the past few seasons. I wouldn't say the odds are GREAT for Rask compared to the others on this list, but he's certainly worthy of being on this list. He falls outside the norm.
Dwayne Roloson - I know, this sounds crazy. But he always plays a more focused brand of goaltending late in the season. It's late in the season. He has been practicing hard, waiting for the right time to turn on the switch. TONIGHT IS THAT NIGHT. If he has himself a game, you better believe he has the potential to post one final surge before his career comes to a close. Don't EXPECT it, but understand that it is possible! He has a lot to prove to himself, to the fans, to his team. I am pulling for him.
Corey Crawford - He is a candidate, but I would say his odds are extremely low to actually put together the type of late-season run he had last season. It's much more difficult to accomplish as a sophomore ... I think I've explained enough times why this is so. But again, every game presents new challenges, new opportunities, a new path to travel down. That's what makes confidence such an amazing element ... you could be missing it for months, but like a snap of my fingers, one big game and it can all come roaring back. Put him on your "Late Season Run" radar, but drop him low on the Totem Pole.
Semyon Varlamov - This one has a lot of potential, and that's due to his performance over the last two games. He SHOULD have started against Vancouver last night ... he earned it due to his strong performance against the Blues back on Saturday. Giguere is out with a groin injury, and there's no indication of how serious it might be. Varlamov is likely to start tomorrow. If he puts together three strong performances, you better believe the Avs are going to look to validate their crazy trade by hoping he catches fire. Everything in terms of his game is there EXCEPT rebound control, and that's the most important technical element to have on THIS YEAR'S Avalanche team. So be careful, he's quite streaky and volatile, just like Craig Anderson. Speaking of which...
Craig Anderson - When he starts to heat up, he can go on ravenous rampage-like tears for 7-8 games straight. Once you hit a certain level of play, you often extend that talent threshold, that talent ceiling, and find ways to play better than you ever have before. I feel like Anderson is on the cusp of that. Remember, it's only his third season being a true starter in this league, and last year was kind of like his "injury-riddled" sophomore season. It's not always just the sophomore in terms of total years, but their second year with a specific ROLE that sees a goalie struggle. So if last year was considered as Andy's "sophomore" slump as a starter, maybe you feel the odds are a little higher that this is point of the season where he becomes more consistent than ever before. If so, he's got to go on this list due to his play in the past two games.
Devan Dubnyk - I haven't given up on him yet. If the Oilers trade Khabibulin, the crease belongs to Dubnyk. When the eyes are off him in terms of fighting for a playoff spot, or it terms of being "the future" he will play more focused and at a higher level. He had a good run last month, just one bad game ended it. He played extremely well in the later stages last season, so there's no reason why he can't do it again. All the potential in the world, just needs more time to work on his overall consistency. Only way Oilers are going to truly hone him for the starting job next year is if they give him more NHL games that matter right now!! Just working over the summer and having a strong camp is not gonna cut it.
A few others:
Niklas Backstrom
Jose Theodore
Ondrej Pavelec
I hope you're right about Mr. Anderson because I just scooped him up in one of my pools...
So I asked a simple question on Twitter and sort of expected the typical 141 character response.
Instead, I get this. Unreal.
Thanks again for the educated response. I miss this site - the best of the best.
Congratulations to Dobber, Angus, Goldman and the rest of the contributors for making such a valuable website for fanstasy hockey poolies.
12 Team H2H Keeper
4C~4LW~4RW~6D~2G~4 Reserves
3 FA adds per week
8 Keepers~10 minors
IR
10 Minors = Skaters <83 GP & Goalies <51 GP
Categories: G~A~P~PPP~SOG~FOW~+/-~Hits~Blk~W~Svs~S%~GAA
C-Barkov~Zibanejad
C/RW- Reinhart
LW-B.Tkachuk~Kaprizov~E.Kane~Pacioretty
RW-P. Kane
LW/RW-Svechnikov~Fiala
D-Makar~Fox~Dahlin~Bouchard-Hamilton
G-Hellebuyck~Shesterkin~Ingram
MINORS:
Forwards-Rossi~Pelletier~Holloway~Marchenko
DMen-B.Clarke~Nemec~Nikishin
Goalies-Wallstedt~Wolf~Dostal
Too weird, Notch - just thinking about you the other day - wondering what the heck happened to you.Originally Posted by notch4077
Long stories buddy. Heart issues, baby issues, wedding, captain's exams, started a business, hockey pools folding and the last thing I can think of is a bit of a gambling problem.
I really did miss this site. I'm thinking I'm back now.
Glad to read that Cambodia is going well for you and your adventures there.
Yup, I'm back...if you will have me?
12 Team H2H Keeper
4C~4LW~4RW~6D~2G~4 Reserves
3 FA adds per week
8 Keepers~10 minors
IR
10 Minors = Skaters <83 GP & Goalies <51 GP
Categories: G~A~P~PPP~SOG~FOW~+/-~Hits~Blk~W~Svs~S%~GAA
C-Barkov~Zibanejad
C/RW- Reinhart
LW-B.Tkachuk~Kaprizov~E.Kane~Pacioretty
RW-P. Kane
LW/RW-Svechnikov~Fiala
D-Makar~Fox~Dahlin~Bouchard-Hamilton
G-Hellebuyck~Shesterkin~Ingram
MINORS:
Forwards-Rossi~Pelletier~Holloway~Marchenko
DMen-B.Clarke~Nemec~Nikishin
Goalies-Wallstedt~Wolf~Dostal
Hey Notch! Nice to see you around again.
It sure is. I was just talking to Shoeless in the private area and I really missed this place. I'm back, but I don't even know where to start. This site is huge know - I'm afraid I'm not good enough. Haha.
12 Team H2H Keeper
4C~4LW~4RW~6D~2G~4 Reserves
3 FA adds per week
8 Keepers~10 minors
IR
10 Minors = Skaters <83 GP & Goalies <51 GP
Categories: G~A~P~PPP~SOG~FOW~+/-~Hits~Blk~W~Svs~S%~GAA
C-Barkov~Zibanejad
C/RW- Reinhart
LW-B.Tkachuk~Kaprizov~E.Kane~Pacioretty
RW-P. Kane
LW/RW-Svechnikov~Fiala
D-Makar~Fox~Dahlin~Bouchard-Hamilton
G-Hellebuyck~Shesterkin~Ingram
MINORS:
Forwards-Rossi~Pelletier~Holloway~Marchenko
DMen-B.Clarke~Nemec~Nikishin
Goalies-Wallstedt~Wolf~Dostal
No Reimer??? Two straight shutouts after coming back from injury.
Nope, no Reimer. You can rest assured that Goldie didn't make a mistake in leaving the Leaf tender off the list...but I am as biased as they come when it comes to that team.
Last edited by notch4077; February 17, 2012 at 9:43 PM.
12 Team H2H Keeper
4C~4LW~4RW~6D~2G~4 Reserves
3 FA adds per week
8 Keepers~10 minors
IR
10 Minors = Skaters <83 GP & Goalies <51 GP
Categories: G~A~P~PPP~SOG~FOW~+/-~Hits~Blk~W~Svs~S%~GAA
C-Barkov~Zibanejad
C/RW- Reinhart
LW-B.Tkachuk~Kaprizov~E.Kane~Pacioretty
RW-P. Kane
LW/RW-Svechnikov~Fiala
D-Makar~Fox~Dahlin~Bouchard-Hamilton
G-Hellebuyck~Shesterkin~Ingram
MINORS:
Forwards-Rossi~Pelletier~Holloway~Marchenko
DMen-B.Clarke~Nemec~Nikishin
Goalies-Wallstedt~Wolf~Dostal
You are a DobberHockey OG - respect has been earned!
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