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Welcome to the season's first edition of RotoBaller's fantasy hockey goalie start/sit advice! In this article you'll find our NHL goalie starts/sits for fantasy hockey - from Monday October 16 through through Sunday, October 22. It's going to be a pleasure providing in-depth goalie analysis throughout the campaign!
Of course, you are going to roster the star goaltenders each and every time they are between the pipes. However, this advice is tailored more to the bubble netminders who are in either an excellent or poor spot for the week.
Also, be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools, including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets. Make sure to monitor the NHL news feeds for the latest player status and injury news. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @BKemp17 as I will be here dishing out goalie start/sit advice throughout the 2023-24 NHL regular season. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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Fantasy Hockey Starts - Goalies
Devon Levi, Sabres - 39,6% ESPN rostered
Sabres rookie netminder Devon Levi is a dynasty league darling as the 21-year-old appears to have a bright future backstopping a young and upcoming Sabres hockey team. For week two of the fantasy hockey season, he is a nice starting option.
His matchup on Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning isn't the greatest but at least, for his sake, Steven Stamkos is not in the lineup for this one. However, he also has a couple of solid matchups ahead this week as the Sabres face the Flames and low-octane Islanders to round out his week.
It remains to be seen whether he gets the nod for all of these games (he is confirmed to start Tuesday) but he also doesn't have much internal competition with Eric Comrie and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen behind him. After dominating at Northeastern University before a seven-game NHL debut last season, Levi is a potential elite fantasy option between the pipes moving forward.
Karel Vejmelka, Coyotes - 6.8% ESPN rostered
Karel Vejmelka isn't getting the fantasy love he deserves as the starting goaltender for the Arizona Coyotes.
The starting goaltending gig for the Coyotes has been a death sentence in recent years but there's reason to believe in Vejmelka, especially this week. He begins by taking on the Islanders on the road on Tuesday before potential matchups with the Blues and Ducks, the latter of which comes on home ice. That's a fantastic matchup to target.
The 27-year-old has been inconsistent across his first two NHL seasons but he has also started at least 50 games in each of his first two campaigns. He began his season by stopping 33 of 36 shots (.917 save percentage) in a winning effort against a very good Devils offense and has some solid matchups on tap to round out his week.
He could be a sneaky option for the remainder of the season considering his 1A standing ahead of Connor Ingram on what should be an improved Arizona team.
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Fantasy Hockey Sits - Goalies
Philipp Grubauer, Kraken - 14.7% ESPN rostered
The Kraken have three more games this week but zero of them are favorable matchups for any NHL netminder.
Philipp Grubauer takes on the high-powered Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night before potential starts against the Hurricanes and Rangers later in the week. While all three matchups are on home ice, we are looking at three potential top-10 offenses on this week's schedule.
He has also struggled in a Kraken uniform in each of the last two seasons. Coming off a brilliant season with Colorado -- and a big-time contract with Seattle -- Grubauer posted a rough 3.16 goals-against average and .889 Sv% in the club's inaugural 2021-22 campaign. He went on to post a 2.85 GAA and .895 Sv% in 39 appearances last season while losing the starting job to Martin Jones.
He is 2-0-0 with a solid 2.55 GAA and .918 Sv% to begin his season. That said, his strong start will certainly be tested, beginning with an Avalanche offense that ranked 10th in overall offense last season.
Jonas Johansson, Lightning - 25.1% rostered
Johansson was an obviously low-cost addition for fantasy managers the second it was revealed Andrei Vasilevskiy would miss at least the first two months of the season following lower-back surgery. However, his week ahead isn't an encouraging one.
He is at Buffalo on Tuesday before taking on the Canucks and Maple Leafs at home later in the week. The Sabres' young offense can score at will at times while the Maple Leafs are averaging nearly five goals per game in their first three contests. For good measure, the Canucks have 12 goals in two games while upsetting the Oilers twice to open their season.
Additionally, Johansson has struggled to open the season. He allowed three goals to the low-octane Predators to begin his season before being shelled for five tallies his last time out against the Red Wings. All three of his matchups this week are more difficult than the two he has seen to this point.
Add in a career 3.40 GAA and .889 Sv% in 37 career appearances and it would be wise to staple Johansson to your bench this week.
NHL DFS News and Injury Alerts
