Week 17: Fantasy top 25 goalie rankings for 2016-17

All season long, NHL.com 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 are three clear Vezina Trophy candidates in the NHL this season: Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild, Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals and Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets. But one goalie who could enter the conversation in the coming months is Pekka Rinne, who's quietly having a strong season for the Nashville Predators.
MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
TOP 100 'F'
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TOP 50 'D'
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PROJ. GOALIES
Rinne, 70th overall in Yahoo's performance-based rankings, is a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist (2011, 2012, 2015) and has been superb for fantasy owners this season with a 2.30 GAA, .923 SV% and two shutouts. Even with so many injuries around him in Nashville, Rinne is 21-14-6 and has kept the Predators in almost every game he's played this season. He has stopped 80 of 83 shots faced in his past three games (2-1-0), with the lone defeat being a 1-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
The 34-year-old has allowed two or fewer goals in 23 of 41 games this season. With the Predators in a tight battle for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the Western Conference, they can lean on Rinne, who's started at least 64 games in each of the past two seasons. The Predators offense, one of the League's best on paper entering the season, is in the middle of the pack with 2.72 goals per game (14th).

Rinne has also done an outstanding job mentoring fellow Finland native and Predators backup Juuse Saros (7 percent owned; 87th in Yahoo). Saros will start at the New York Rangers on Thursday, his first since allowing five goals on 37 shots faced in an overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 24. Prior to that game, Saros had allowed three goals or fewer in each of his first nine games, including one goal or fewer six times. Saros has a .941 SV% on the season and looks to be Nashville's goalie of the future.
That said, Rinne has re-established himself as the clear starter for the Predators in the present. If you need goalie help via trade and can't swing a deal for an elite goalie option like Holtby, Dubnyk, Bobrovsky or Carey Price, Rinne just might be your next best option.
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TRENDING UP

After a rough stretch in January, Jake Allen seems to have found his game again. The St. Louis Blues goalie made 30 saves in a 6-0 shutout against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. That came one day after backup Carter Hutton (13 percent owned) made 26 saves in a 2-0 shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers. Allen likely knew he had to respond with a similar effort, and did so. Since the Blues replaced coach Ken Hitchcock with Mike Yeo on Feb. 1, Allen is 2-1-0 with a .954 SV%. Considering Allen was drafted high on average (42.9 in Yahoo), fantasy owners now owe it to themselves to stick with him the rest of the way in case he goes on a second-half run to push the Blues into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

TRENDING DOWN

The Senators have lost five of their past seven games and haven't looked good defensively in the process. Mike Condon (55 percent owned), who has started nearly every game in the absence of Craig Anderson, has allowed at least three goals in four of his past six starts. The Senators lost 7-6 and 6-5 games with Condon in net during that stretch, but now can't seem to score; Ottawa has been shut out in its past two games. Condon was given a rare night off Tuesday in favor of Andrew Hammond, who allowed six goals on 30 shots against the Blues. Anderson could return as early as Saturday against the New York Islanders, so he's worth adding if available in a shallow league. But there's a chance Anderson could be rusty, and, with Condon struggling of late, you may want to steer clear of this tandem for now.

WORTH NOTING

• Peter Budaj has been a workhorse for the Los Angeles Kings, starting 45 games (third-most in NHL). But after consecutive shutouts Feb. 1 and Feb. 4 (tied for NHL lead with seven), Budaj has allowed nine goals in his next two games - a sign the heavy workload could be catching up to him. Fantasy owners should monitor Jonathan Quick (89 percent owned), who hasn't played since sustaining a groin injury in the season opener. He's practicing with the Kings
  on their current road trip
  , but likely won't be back until later this month. The Kings have their five-day break Feb. 10-14.
  - The Colorado Avalanche, last in the NHL standings, have won two straight thanks largely to the play of Calvin Pickard (12 percent owned). He had 23 saves in a 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday and a 27-save shutout in a 4-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. With Semyon Varlamov (groin) out for the season, fantasy owners can bank on Pickard getting the vast majority of the starts the rest of the way.

• James Reimer (29 percent owned) has started two of the past three games for the Florida Panthers and has been very effective. He's stopped a combined 53 of 55 shots faced in 2-1 wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 26 and the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Reimer, who will get another start against the Kings on Thursday, has a 2.50 GAA and a .918 SV% and has filled in nicely as the backup for starter Roberto Luongo.
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TOP 25 FANTASY GOALIES

These rankings were last updated Feb. 9
1. Braden Holtby, WSH (+1)
2. Devan Dubnyk, MIN (-1)
3. Carey Price, MTL, (SAME)
4. Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ (SAME)
5. Matt Murray, PIT (+1)
6. Martin Jones, SJS (-1)
7. Pekka Rinne, NSH (+1)
8. Cam Talbot, EDM (+2)
9. Tuukka Rask, BOS (-2)
10. Corey Crawford, CHI (-1)
11. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (+1)
12. John Gibson, ANA (-1)
13. Ben Bishop, TBL (+5)
14. Frederik Andersen, TOR (-1)
15. Thomas Greiss, NYI (-1)
16. Roberto Luongo, FLA (SAME)
17. Peter Budaj, LAK (-2)
18. Cory Schneider, NJD (+1)
19. Jake Allen, STL (+4)
20. Craig Anderson, OTT (-3)
21. Cam Ward, CAR (+3)
22. Robin Lehner, BUF (+3)
23. Mike Condon, OTT (-2)
24. James Reimer, FLA (NEW)
25. Petr Mrazek, DET (NEW)
Dropped out: Steve Mason (PHI), Ryan Miller (VAN)
Key injuries: Jonathan Quick (LAK), Jimmy Howard (DET), Ondrej Pavelec (WPG), Semyon Varlamov (COL)
READ: Last week's Top 25 goalie rankings