Jimmy Howard fantasy

All season long, NHL.com's David Satriano will rank the top 25 goalies for standard Yahoo leagues (wins, goals-against average, save percentage, shutouts). Players with long-term injuries have been removed from this list.
These rankings are based on expectations for the rest of the season. Value is quantified by projected starts, peripheral category coverage, time-share situations, team defenses, past performance and overall upside in standard leagues. It is important to note that our rankings reflect sheer fantasy value, not necessarily the most talented goalies in order.

There were a couple of injuries to prominent fantasy goalies Tuesday which will have major implications to their owners.
Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings were each injured in the same game. Bishop left the game in the first period and was replaced by Andrei Vasilevskiy; Howard left the game in the second period and was replaced by Petr Mrazek.
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Bishop will miss 3-4 weeks because of a lower-body injury. His numbers had been disappointing overall (2.79 GAA, .907 SV%), but he allowed two goals or fewer in three of five starts prior to his injury and was starting to play more like the goalie who was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season. With Bishop out, expect Vasilevskiy (59 percent owned) to get nearly all the starts - making him a must-add goalie in all formats. Since Vasilevskiy had two straight shutouts in November, he has allowed at least three goals in four of five starts. Still, his GAA is 2.41 and his SV% is .923. Vasilevskiy was already one of the top backups in the League prior to Bishop's injury, so now his stock rises even more.
Tampa Bay also recalled Kristers Gudlevskis (less than 1 percent owned) from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, and he stands a chance to get a few starts with the Lightning having five sets of back-to-back games in the next four weeks. Coach Jon Cooper and the staff have always been very high on the high-end Latvian prospect.
Howard, 14th among goalies in Yahoo's performance-based rankings, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Howard would be out for a while. Jared Coreau (less than 1 percent) was recalled from Grand Rapids of the AHL, but isn't worth owning unless you're in the deepest of leagues. Howard has five wins in 13 decisions, but has a sparkling 1.96 GAA and a .934 SV%, among the NHL leaders in each category. Mrazek has a high ownership (72 percent) given how poor his peripherals have been this season; he is 9-7-3 with a 3.06 GAA and .899 SV%.
If you own Bishop or Howard, the best replacement option is Vasilevskiy, if available. If respectable starters like Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (53 percent owned), Peter Budaj of the Los Angeles Kings (68 percent) or Mike Condon of the Ottawa Senators (28 percent) are already owned, it may be best to invest in a high-quality backup or propose a trade to address your goalie needs.

TRENDING UP

Antti Niemi of the Dallas Stars has made 16 starts this season, two fewer than teammate Kari Lehtonen, but he's been the better of the two goalies this season. Niemi (43 percent owned) is 7-4-4 with a 2.85 GAA and .911 SV%, and has started each of the past four games (seven goals allowed in span). He's allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of 18 outings. Lehtonen (33 percent owned) is 6-10-3 with a 2.92 GAA and .894 SV%, and has allowed three or more goals in nearly half his games (nine of 19 outings). It hasn't been a good strategy to own a Stars goalie in recent seasons, but Niemi could be worth a gamble in the hope he breaks away to win the starting job outright.

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TRENDING DOWN

Calgary Flames goalie Chad Johnson (72 percent owned) has allowed four goals in each of his past three starts, something he had only done three times prior this season. He's still 13-7-1 with a 2.30 GAA, .922 SV% and three shutouts - strong numbers across the board -- but he could be losing his hold on the No. 1 job. Brian Elliott (51 percent owned) has made one start this month and passed the test, allowing two goals on 27 shots in a 4-2 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday. Elliott, the clear preseason projected starter, could be in line for a more regular role, as opposed to just spot starts.

WORTH NOTING

-- Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers has allowed at least three goals in five of his past six starts. James Reimer (29 percent owned), a potential second-half sleeper, will start Thursday for the Panthers at home against the Boston Bruins. Luongo is listed as day to day with an undisclosed injury, but could play Friday against the Red Wings.
-- New York Rangers goalie Antti Raanta allowed seven goals on 47 shots faced in a 7-2 road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. He had allowed seven goals in his prior seven outings combined. Henrik Lundqvist, meanwhile, has won three straight with a combined three goals allowed since sitting out four straight in favor of Raanta earlier this month.
-- Nashville Predators backup Juuse Saros (3 percent owned) is available in all formats and should be added as a handcuff by fantasy owners of Pekka Rinne. Saros, 21, played twice in the past week, stopping a combined 53 of 55 shots faced in a road win against the New Jersey Devils and shootout loss to the New York Rangers.


TOP 25 FANTASY GOALIES

These rankings were last updated Dec. 22
1. Devan Dubnyk, MIN (+1)
2. Carey Price, MTL (-1)
3. Matt Murray, PIT (SAME)
4. Braden Holtby, WSH (+1)
5. Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ (+2)
6. Tuukka Rask, BOS (-2)
7. Martin Jones, SJS (-1)
8. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (+3)
9. Steve Mason, PHI (SAME)
10. Pekka Rinne, NSH (SAME)
11. Jake Allen, STL (-3)
12. Roberto Luongo, FLA (DTD)
13. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (NEW)
14. Cam Talbot, EDM (+3)
15. Peter Mrazek, DET (NEW)
16. Chad Johnson, CGY (-3)
17. Frederik Andersen, TOR (+2)
18. John Gibson, ANA (SAME)
19. Cory Schneider, NJD (-4)
20. Mike Condon, OTT (+3)
21. Scott Darling, CHI (-1)
22. Connor Hellebuyck, WPG (+2)
23. Peter Budaj, LAK (NEW)
24. Antti Raanta, NYR (-3)
25. Cam Ward, CAR (-3)
Dropped out: Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)
Just missed: Fleury, Robin Lehner (BUF), Antti Niemi (DAL), Mike Smith (ARI), Thomas Greiss (NYI)
Key injuries: Jonathan Quick (LAK), Corey Crawford (CHI), Ben Bishop (TBL), Jimmy Howard (DET), Michal Neuvirth (PHI)
READ: Last week's Top 25 goalie rankings