Jaroslav Havlak is one backup goalie you should consider for your bench.

Let’s make sure we’re all on board here.  Whatever any of the experts say, at the end of the day, you need solid to spectacular goaltending to win a championship.  You have to bite the bullet and draft one of the elite puck stoppers in the early rounds, or get lucky in the later rounds to even bother trying to contend.  You can pick up scoring, but its quite difficult in most leagues to simply add good goaltending.  Why does goaltending win a championship?  In most standard leagues you have two players that account for 30 – 40% of the scoring in your fantasy league.  Check your league settings out.  I bet you’re playing Wins, Goals Against Average, Saves or Save percentage and possibly shut outs.  If you include shut outs, you definitely need a top goaltender in the first few rounds.  The main problem in fantasy hockey is finding a solid or spectacular second (or 3^rd depending on the depth of your league) goaltender.  Now I know what you’re thinking: Obviously, in hindsight this is a great strategy but I have useless flakes as goalies right now. Thankfully, for those of you didn’t draft Martin Brodeur or Roberto Loungo there are always a few goaltenders who can be had early on who ‘break out’ and have nice seasons. They usually fly under the radar like Pascal Leclaire and Martin Biron did last season.

            Often you have to speculate a bit and it never hurts to throw an experienced or talented backup goalie on your bench if you have limited waiver options.  You have to remember that goalies are like pitchers in baseball in that they tend to injure quite often.  Having the back up goalies can reap fantasy gold, if 1) you have a back up goalie that has some talent 2) the team he plays for is NOT a lottery bound team.

            So far, I haven’t covered goalies in Power Play Pickups.  Now that we’re into Week 3, there are a couple of starting goalies that might prove useful, even though they may have been ignored in your draft.  Also, take a peek at the back ups I suggest, as they may end up being fantasy gold later on. 

Goalies

Mathieu Garon – G – Oilers

I’m not going to suggest this guy is a stud goaltender by any means, but he has been highly effective so far this season.  The Oilers are a much-improved team, and are currently winning a lot of games.  I would doubt Garon is available on the wire however if you can trade for him I think he’s a great under the radar target.  Garon does have talent and could make some serious noise in the wins category. 

Jason LaBarbera – G - Kings

Yeah, he’s still out there.  Yeah, you’ve been looking at him wondering whether to pick him up or not.  He’s been pretty sharp up until a game ago when he got shelled.  Right now he’s posting a 2.98 GAA and .889 SV %.  Let’s face facts; he’s a starting goalie in the NHL.  He should not be out there in any league.  The Kings are not a good team and will not win a ton of games.  However, bite the bullet and at least put him on your bench. Every win counts and LaBarbera can be an effective goalie in the category.  Just don’t expect a fantastic goals against average.

Patrick Lalime – G - Sabres

Those of you who drafted Ryan Miller in the top 75 or so are getting a bum deal here.  Miller is superbly talented but Buffalo wants to be a playoff team.  I think they will be again this year.  That’s the reason they signed Patrick Lalime.  Lalime is a solid goaltender that is going to see some time behind Miller, if only to give Miller some rest.  Buffalo has gone on record as saying Lalime would get upwards of 30 starts.  This leaves 52 for Miller. Either way, on a talented team like Buffalo, Patrick Lalime makes for a good backup goaltender to have on your bench.  He should see wins and respectable averages when he plays. If you own Miller, Lalime should be on your bench.  In most other leagues Lalime should be owned because a) he’s a good bet for 30 starts and b) he could potentially start many games more if Miller were to go down with an injury.

Jaroslav Havlak  – G – Canadiens

Again, another back up I kind of like for this season is Havlak.  As a back up to the Montreal phenom known as Carey Price, Havlak is likely forgotten about in your league.  He’s only 23 years old, and is so far sporting a .967 save percentage in the two games he’s played.  Couple that with 2 wins already and you have yourself a decent back up.  Montreal will likely be a contending team and if something were to happen to Price, Havlak will create waiver wire frenzy unlike any other in fantasy hockey.  Save yourself some stress and stash Havlak on your bench.  If nothing else he makes for a very effective spot starter capable of a win most times out.

Defenseman

Tom Preissing – D - Kings

Lost in Los Angeles is Tom Preissing who many have steered clear of in fantasy circles.  The Kings are supposed to be plus minus killers.  So far the Kings have been surprising though and Preissing has been racking up points on the power play.  LA does have a dynamic offensive attack featuring young Alexander Frolov and Anze Kopitar.  This is leading to chances for Preissing who is a first line defenseman on the Kings power play.  He currently leads the Kings in power play ice time and should be on most rosters at least as a fourth defenseman.  The warning that comes with Preissing is the same that comes with all Kings players though, he will likely hurt your plus minus rating.  If you’re struggling with that category look at my next suggestion.

Denis Grebeshkov – D – Oilers

Behind Lubomir Visnovksy and Sheldon Souray for power play time, Grebeshkov has still managed to obtain 4 points so far this season.  2 of these assists have come on the power play.  Given that the Oilers are looking more like the break out team that many experts predicted, I would gamble on Grebeshkov in deeper leagues.  He could be a nice provider of plus minus help and would stand to see his power play ice time increase of the oft-injured Souray or the older Visnovsky miss any time.

Keeper Corner

Bryan Little – F – Thrashers

Answer: A top prospect, a ton of ice time, a superb line mate and currently on a huge scoring binge. The Question:  Why pick up Bryan Little right now?  Little is currently lighting the league afire with Ilya Kovalchuk as a line mate.  He was selected 12^th overall in 2006.  He’s got 6 points in his first 5 games of the season and 4 of these points are goals.  The only concern with Little will be his plus minus contribution to your team.  Little makes for an outstanding pick up in keeper leagues and single year leagues as well.  Paired with Kovalchuk for most of the season will make Little a very hot commodity. What are you doing still reading, pick him up already!

Guilluame Latendresse – RW – Canadiens

Latendresse has 6 points on the young season, 5 of them are assists.  He’s been given more ice time per game thus far and he’s showing he can produce with it.  Latendresse is also seeing a healthy amount of power play time.  He’s a top prospect of Montreal’s and at 21 years of age in his 3^rd year in the league.  Of course playing with a gifted young team always helps, but Latendresse could be a decent scoring forward option for those in deeper and/or keeper leagues. 

Thanks for reading. I know I was a little short on forward recommendations this week.  I’ll try and look at more next week.