I’m not sure if someone put a hit out on goalies in the NHL recently or there’s some there’s a really cranky Oilers fan sitting up in the bitter cold of Edmonton with a set of voodoo dolls he attacks routinely, but whatever the case may be, but life has been tough for starting goalies in the NHL lately. On the heels of the devastating news that the fantasy owners will be without the services of Henrik Lundqvist for at least the next three-to-four weeks due to a blood vessel injury in his neck two more starting goalies went down over the weekend when Frederik Andersen, G (L, 17 SV, 5 GA, .773%) took his neck to the back of the head and Steve Mason, G (8 SV, 0 GA, 1.000%) tried to stretch between plays only to have his knee buckle on him.
Search Results for: steve mason
Mason Jar of Flyers
November 23, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes, Streamers | 20 Commentsby: Viz
A week ago, I said this about Steve Mason: "Michal Neuvirth is out for over a month so it’s going to be Mason’s show. Perhaps the extra starts will help him get into a flow but he’s certainly in the 'desperate for starts' category for now." After Tuesday's big game, it's been three strong starts out of four. Mason made 38 saves in the 3-1 win against the Panthers and if not for a horrible Matt Read turnover with less than two minutes left, he would have been a good bet for a shutout. Since Neuvirth went down, Mason has saved 107 of 115 shots which is more than solid. I picked up Mason for this start in multiple leagues and for now, I'd definitely grab him in 12'ers. He's less than 20% owned at the time of this writing so odds are he's available in your league. It may not be all peaches and cream but the volume alone has its value and the Flyers have played much better in their last five games. Here's what else I saw on the short Tuesday slate:
About Last Night…Everyone Loves Mason Raymond
January 26, 2013 | 2012-2013 Fantasy Hockey, 2013 Fantasy Hockey, Daily Rewind |by: Andrew Nordmeier
Mason Raymond scored twice and Cory Schneider turned aside 30 shots as Vancouver blanked Anaheim 5-0 last night. The Canucks got revenge on the Ducks for a 7-3 drubbing to open the season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Hotter Than Hellebuyck
January 22, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 25 Commentsby: Viz
Am I shocked at how well the Jets are doing? No. Reid and I talked about the Jets' ceiling on the Central Division podcast and we said that second place is certainly within the realm of possibility (I guess we sold them a little short, first is in play). Long term readers know how much I love Connor Hellebuyck. The only reason I was scared off a bit for redrafts is that Kevin Cheveldayoff said that Steve Mason would be their starter to open the season. Well, Mason was lit up in his first game as a Jet and the rest is history. Hellebuyck continued his outstanding breakout season over the weekend, saving 30 of 31 shots in the 2-1 SO win over the Flames on Saturday, then a 29 save shutout in the 1-0 win against the Canucks on Sunday. Hellebuyck is currently the #2 goalie on the season, and while there's a chance he falls off a little bit (I'm certain he'll finish as a #1G), I think he's solidified himself as the #2 goalie in dynasty leagues. The Jets are going to be really good for a long time and Hellebuyck will be a big reason and also a beneficiary of the talent around him. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Podcast: “He’s Like The Grinch!”
December 6, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Podcast, Streamers | 6 Commentsby: Viz
Reid and I are back and as always, we open by starting with the newest injuries around the league. Sadly, there were a bunch of them, including to Corey Crawford and Alex Galchenyuk. Johnny Gaudreau and Taylor Hall returned over the weekend so we break down the impact for both the Flames and the Devils respectively. Next, goalies become the focal point with Steve Mason, Mike Smith and Chad Johnson all on fire. After that, we both rank a set of players who have played their way into must-own status. Things wrap up with Reid and I picking players for both No Halftime and The Three Point Challenge. Be sure to join No Halftime with our promo code and to post your Three Point Challenge pick in the Razzball comments section. All of that and more on the latest edition of the Razzball Hockey Podcast!
Neuvirth Gets Chance, Delivers
April 21, 2016 | 2015-2016 Fantasy Hockey, 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 11 Commentsby: Viz
Let's play a quick game. Goalie A, in 32 games and 29 starts, won 18 games with a 2.27 GAA and .924 save percentage. Goalie B, in 54 games and 53 starts, had 23 wins, a 2.51 GAA and .918 sv%. Looks like you'd choose A pretty easily, correct? Just 5 less wins in 24 less starts with better percentages. Goalie A is Michal Neuvirth and Goalie B is Steve Mason. I have been calling for Neuvirth to get more action all season (half of those starts were when Mason was out) and after Mason made a fool of himself in game 2 and was lit up for 6 in game 3, Neuvirth got a chance with the Flyers' season on the line. He stopped 31 of 32 shots in the 2-1 win and kept the team alive for at least a couple more days. Neuvirth played very well on a tanking Sabres team and continued his success in Philly this year. I think there's a starting goalie here so it'll be interesting to see what happens with him in the offseason. Here's what else around the league Wednesday night:
2018-19 Fantasy Hockey Top 20 Goaltenders
September 7, 2018 | 2018-19 Fantasy Hockey, 2018-19 Fantasy Hockey Rankings, Goalies | 4 Commentsby: Viz
We've reached the last position through the ranking process! I'm going to do the top 40 goalies in two separate posts before putting together a top 100 and 200 list by the end of next week. Just a quick refresher on my draft strategy with goalies: I do not take them in the first two rounds under any circumstance, and I better be getting good value in rounds 3-5 to pull the trigger. The reason is that goaltenders have much higher variance than any other position in fantasy sports (e.g. Carey Price). I will take my chances on hitting the next breakout guy(s) than paying such a premium for a proven commodity because the proven player can fall off at any time. Let's get to it!
Bjugstad The Big Stud
March 7, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 5 Commentsby: Viz
It’s at the point of the season where I start off posts with guys who aren’t trivial holds and can make a difference down the stretch run. I’ve always been enamored with Nick Bjugstad‘s potential, especially after his 24 goal season three seasons ago. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Malkin Collects More Hats
January 31, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 15 Commentsby: Viz
You don't need me to tell you how good Evgeni Malkin is at hockey. I'm still flabbergasted that he wasn't one of the players in the NHL 100 because he's clearly one of the best 100 players ever. Certainly better than Toews or Keith. I also wanted to use the word flabbergasted in a sentence. Oh, yeah, so about that Malkin fella. He scored his 12th career hat trick on Tuesday night as the Penguins kept rolling against the Sharks. Malkin is well over a point per game, gives great penalty minutes, and the shot rate remains over three points per game. As I always say about Malkin, just stay healthy! As noted here, the playoff schedule is rough for the Pens, but Malkin should definitely help you get to that point. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
First off, I hope everyone had a Happy New Year's! As much as I personally don't care for New Year's Eve, this year was different because of the Buffalo Bills making the playoffs. I wish I had video of me celebrating with my dad or an audio recording of my friend, who is in Paris, who heard us yelling on speaker phone and him celebrating in the Paris streets. Couple that with an amazing USA win in the WJC outdoor game against Canada that I was at and things in the sports world couldn't be better. Even the Sabres looked competent today despite the loss! Anyways, let's get to what you're here for...
I've talked about Josh Bailey being the waiver wire pickup of the year on multiple occasions over the last couple weeks because, well, the Isles top line is on fire. That said, William Karlsson is easily #2 in this department. Wild Bill, a Razzball favorite from the past (aka favorite of mine), scored the first hat trick in Vegas history on Sunday, scoring three goals and an assist in the 6-3 win over the Maple Leafs. That brings Karlsson's totals to 20+13 in 33 games with a +15 rating. Sure, it will regress some because he's not going to shoot 26.3% all season, but let's give Karlsson his due. In the first 183 games of his career, Karlsson scored 18 goals. He has that beat for the Golden Knights in 37 games. His emergence is a huge part of Vegas shocking the world as they sit atop the Western Conference. Karlsson will drop off some in the second half, at least in the goals department, but make no mistake about it, it's not a complete fluke. Karlsson should be a hold for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last three days of the old year:
Holtby Heating Up
November 13, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 16 Commentsby: Viz
Add another goalie to the list of guys who struggled in the opening month only to turn it around. Braden Holtby, the consensus #1 goaltender going into the season, showed us why this weekend with two big performances. Holtby saved 27 shots in Friday's 4-1 win over the Penguins and followed it up with 29 saves in the 2-1 SO win over the Oilers. Just like that, his save percentage is back to its normal level. Sure, the goals against average is still a little high, but goals are up around the league and it's not out of the realm of possibility it goes back down. With the massive win total as well, expect Holtby to get back to the #1 goalie by season's end. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Viz the Vagrant in Vegas
October 18, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 26 Commentsby: Reid
Hello Razzballers, Reid here.
While Viz is off doing things in Vegas that will inherently stay in Vegas, I'm going to bring you the daily writeup from the Monday and Tuesday games (doing a separate post for just one game on Monday makes absolutely no sense). Nikita Kucherov is against hot hot hot as he has a goal in each of the first 6 games for Tampa Bay. I'm only going to highlight the notables from these games that you should be focusing on.