Week 4: Fantasy top 25 goalie rankings for 2016-17

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.

Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins played his first game of the season Nov. 2 after missing the first month because of a broken hand. He's won all three games he's played and has a 1.33 goals-against average and .957 SV%. He made 32 saves in a 5-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks in his first game, then had a 32-save shutout in a 5-0 defeat of the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 5. He made 25 saves in a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Murray, 22, was a huge reason the Penguins won the Stanley Cup last season and was thought by many to be the starter when healthy.
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He has started three of four games since returning, with veteran Marc-Andre Fleury starting the other. Fleury allowed three goals on 27 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 3 and has allowed at least three goals in three of his past five starts and in five of his 10 this season. Fleury is 6-2-2 with a 3.07 GAA and .908 SV% and has helped the Penguins enter play Thursday atop the Metropolitan Division.

Fleury is owned in 89 percent of Yahoo leagues and Murray is owned in 83 percent. The Penguins have 13 sets of back-to-back games remaining, and if each remains healthy it could end up being a 50/50 time-share. But the more likely scenario is that Murray will start more games. It's clear he's being groomed to be the starter of the team going forward. Fleury, 31, has two years remaining on his contract after this season, but Murray is the clear keeper-league prize right now in fantasy.

TRENDING UP

When Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings sustained a groin injury in the first game of the season, there were concerns about how the Kings would replace him. They opted to use backup Jeff Zatkoff, who did not perform well before getting injured. Zatkoff now is healthy but hasn't played since Oct. 18. Peter Budaj, 34, was recalled from Ontario of the American Hockey League and has started 10 straight games. He has two straight shutouts, stopping 43 shots in wins against the Calgary Flames on Saturday and Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday. He's 7-3-0 with a 1.86 GAA and a .919 SV% and has been better than the Kings could have ever hoped for in Quick's absence. He's still available in almost half of Yahoo leagues (49 percent).

TRENDING DOWN

Connor Hellebuyck went 13-11-1 with a 2.34 GAA, .918 SV% and two shutouts in 26 games with the Winnipeg Jets last season. He's had a more difficult time this season; he's 4-4-0 with a 2.91 GAA and .905 SV% in nine games, and has allowed at least three goals in six of his eight starts.

His Jets teammate Michael Hutchinson, who has started six games, is 2-3-1 with a 3.19 GAA and .896 SV%, so despite the lack of success, Hellebuyck (33 percent owned) still has a chance to lock down the No. 1 job. Having rookie sensation Patrik Laine (11 goals) on his team certainly helps. The Jets are averaging 3.00 goals per game this season.

WORTH NOTING

• Calvin Pickard (19 percent owned) has started four games for the Colorado Avalanche, four fewer than Semyon Varlamov, but that could change soon. Before allowing four goals on 25 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, Pickard was 3-0-0 and had allowed five goals in his prior four outings. Even after the rough game, he has a 2.08 GAA and .923 SV%, and is playing much better than Varlamov (66 percent owned), who is 2-6-0 with a 3.67 GAA and .881 SV%. Varlamov has allowed at least five goals in four of eight starts.
  - Neither of the Dallas Stars' goalies has played well this season behind their suspect defense. Antti Niemi (50 percent owned) is 3-2-1 with a 3.65 GAA and .892 SV% in eight games, and Kari Lehtonen (42 percent owned) is 1-4-0 with a 3.28 GAA and .878 SV% in six games, and has allowed four goals in three straight starts. Neither is worth owning since the only category they may help in is wins, and their performance in that category has taken a huge step back from last season.

• In two games with the Ottawa Senators, Mike Condon is 2-0-0 and has allowed one goal on 59 shots. With Andrew Hammond injured and Craig Anderson perhaps needing to take another leave of absence, Condon (19 percent owned) could be a sneaky fantasy pickup for a Senators offense that has yet to peak.

TOP 25 FANTASY GOALIES

These rankings were last updated Nov. 10.
1. Carey Price, MTL, (SAME)
2. Devan Dubnyk, MIN (+1)
3. Braden Holtby, WSH (-1)
4. Tuukka Rask, BOS, (+2)
5. Corey Crawford, CHI (+5)
6. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (+3)
7. Cory Schneider, NJD (-3)
8. Martin Jones, SJS (-3)
9. Matt Murray, PIT (+3)
10. Jake Allen, STL (-2)
11. Roberto Luongo, FLA (-4)
12. John Gibson, ANA, (-1)
13. Ben Bishop, TBL (SAME)
14. Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ (+8)
15. Pekka Rinne, NSH (-1)
16. Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT (SAME)
17. Craig Anderson, OTT (+1)
18. Jimmy Howard, DET (+1)
19. Cam Talbot, EDM (-4)
20. Petr Mrazek, DET (-3)
21. Peter Budaj, LAK (+4)
22. Jaroslav Halak, NYI (-2)
23. Frederik Andersen, TOR (+1)
24. Brian Elliott, CGY (-3)
25. Robin Lehner, BUF (-2)
Just missed: Connor Hellebuyck (WPG), Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL), Semyon Varlamov (COL), Calvin Pickard (COL), Mike Condon (OTT)
Key injuries:Jonathan Quick (LAK), Mike Smith (ARI), Andrew Hammond (OTT)
READ: Last week's Top 25 goalie rankings