Last week we discussed the goaltending situation in the Eastern Conference which leaves the Western Conference for this week. 

Chicago Blackhawks:  The Hawks may have the strongest goaltending tandem in the NHL.  Cristobal Huet is 20-8-2 with a 2.08 GAA and 91.2 SV % while rookie Antti Niemi is 10-2-1 with a 1.81 GAA and 92.6 SV %.  Both goalies are capable of leading the Hawks to their ultimate goal, and that is a Stanley Cup championship.  The problem for fantasy owners is that although Huet is the starter, Niemi has been eating into his playing time more and more.  With the NHL schedule being condensed because of the Olympics Huet may not play as often as fantasy owners would like, especially when it seems like Niemi always has a shutout going late into the third period.

Nashville Predators:  The Predators goaltending situation is in a state of flux.  Both Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis have been give there chance to grab the job by the throat but neither has done so.  It’s gotten to the point now where the Preds just alternate goalies each game.  The Predators are one of those teams in the NHL that could really use a strong goalie game in and game out.  They don’t have the offensive firepower to make up for easy goals against.  They need to play from the goalie on out.  Strong netminder, strong defense, and a couple of goal scorers.  For now however they will continue to rotate Rinne and Ellis until one steps up.  It would seem that Rinne would have the best chance of doing so as he is viewed as more of a starter then Ellis but it’s starting to look more and more like the Predators may have to look outside of the organization to find their goalie of the future.

Detroit Red Wings:  Coming into the season Chris Osgood figured to start about 50-55 games.  Osgood may not have been a brick wall in net but was always good enough to get the job done.  This season however the Wings have suffered injury after injury and Osgood’s play suffered as a result.  Whether Osgood was putting extra pressure on himself to have a great game to make up for the lack of goal scoring or if Osgood’s talent has deteriorated he has clearly lost the starting job to Jimmy Howard.  Howard has been waiting for his crack at the starting job in Detroit for what seems like years.  He has always been thought of as the eventual successor for Detroit in net and this season it looks like he has finally grabbed it.  He has started seven straight games for the Wings and although he will certainly need a rest from time to time, it’s his job to lose.

Columbus Blue Jackets:  Does anyone even remember that Steve Mason won the Calder Trophy last season?  What has happened to him?  3.31 GAA and an 89 SV % are not going to get the job done, matter of fact they may get you a ticket to the AHL.  Although his backup, Mathieu Garon, has better numbers, they are far from acceptable for a starting NHL goaltender.  The Blue Jackets have to be thinking to themselves, was last year just a fluke and Mason really is an average goaltender at best, or is this year the fluke and we’ll have to ride out the storm?  The answer to this question could determine the fate of the organization for the immediate future.

St. Louis Blues:  The Blues as a team have disappointed this season and although both goaltenders, Chris Mason and Ty Conklin, have had average seasons, you can’t really blame them as neither one is a franchise goalie and not much more could be expected of them.  The Blues are still a team in rebuilding mode although making the playoffs last season may have let them think they are further along than they actually are.  Whether at the trading deadline, free agency, or through the draft, the first priority for the Blues should be finding that rock in net that they don’t have to worry about year in and year out.

Calgary Flames:  Mikka Kiprusoff is the man in Calgary.  Not much more I can say than that.  He starts a vast majority of the games and there is no reason to believe that won’t continue.  If you have him on your team, enjoy.

Colorado Avalanche:  Craig Anderson has been a great find for the Avs.  His GAA leaves a bit to be desired, but he keeps the Avalanche in games and wins twice as much as he loses.  When he signed with Colorado in the off-season, they weren’t quite sure how he would handle the starting role, but he has been everything they could have asked for and more.  He has stabilized the crease and once again has Colorado thinking playoffs.  When Anderson hasn’t played, Peter Budaj has proved to be a capable backup and the Avalanche don’t lose all that much.  This goaltending duo may be the major reason why Colorado is in second place in the Northwest division.

Vancouver Canucks:  When you talk about the best goaltenders in the NHL, Luongo’s name has to be mentioned as possibly being the best.  The man is about as close to a brick wall in net as you are going to see.  He was at the top of most fantasy drafts and if he is on your team, then you are once again reaping the benefits.

Edmonton Oilers:  The Oilers thought they had solved their goaltending issues in the off-season when they signed Nikolai Khabibulin to a four-year contract.  Well those plans crashed and burned when Khabibulin hurt his back almost two months ago.  He has yet to begin skating again and rumors are starting to get stronger and louder in Edmonton that he will have to undergo season ending surgery.  Jeff Deslauriers has taken on the starting load in Khabibulin’s absence.  He’s been up and down, some good games, some bad.  This should not come as a surprise as no one expected that he would have to start this many games.  It also doesn’t help any that Edmonton has suffered injury after injury and this just doesn’t seem to be their year.

Minnesota Wild:  Niklas Backstrom is the goalie you want here although Josh Harding is a capable backup.  The problem for either goalie is that the team itself has never been one to score an abundance of goals, thus there is much pressure on the goalies to keep the team in each and every game.  Can’t let in a soft goal or two, the game might then be out of reach.  This has not been one of Backstrom’s better seasons, but he is still in the top half of NHL goalies as you could certainly do worse on your fantasy team.

San Jose Sharks:  Another team that has no worries in net as Evegeni Nabokov is the man.  There may be questions about Nabokov come playoff time, but during the regular season he has been nothing short of superman in net.

Los Angeles Kings:  Jonathan Quick came into the number one season but there was never any guarantee that he would end the season as such.  Well that has changed as Quick has had a tremendous season in leading the Kings back to respectability.  Quick is part of young talent that the Kings possess.  The Kings were thought to be a season away from challenging for a playoff spot but Quick seems to have sped that process up as the big thing LA was missing was a solid presence in net.  Quick has had such a good season that he was selected to play for Team USA in the Olympics.  All of the being said, the Kings still have young prospect Jonathan Bernier in the minors who might challenge Quick for the starting job come next season.

Phoenix Coyotes:  Ilya Bryzgalov has played incredible for the Coyotes so far this season.  The Coyotes made headlines for all the wrong reason in the offseason.  They were in bankruptcy.  They were in the process of being sold.  They might move.  Wayne Gretsky stepped down as coach because his salary was more than the team could afford.  Most figured the Coyotes would languish at the bottom of the Western Conference standings this season, but Bryzgalov’s strong play has them in the fight for a playoff spot.

Dallas Stars:  Marty Turco is still the starter for Dallas, but he is not the player he once was.  His numbers are not terrible, but they aren’t what you would expect from Turco.  As far as goalies go, he is in that 12-15 range, but would seem to be trending down, not up.  He is still going to be the starter for Dallas as backup Alex Auld is no threat to take his job, but he is just not someone you can really rely on for your fantasy team.

Anaheim Ducks:  With all the talent the Ducks have, it’s amazing that they are in last place in the Pacific division.  Is it because they can’t get solid goaltending game in and game out?  The Ducks have been waiting for either Jonas Hiller or Jean-Sebastien Giguere to grab the job since training camp.  When neither one did, the Ducks went with a system where whoever won would play.  When that didn’t seem to solve the problem the Ducks decided to just trust their gut and start the goalie they think could help them the most.  That goalie is Jonas Hiller as he has started nine of the past 12 games, but if he were to go into a slump, Giguere could easily be given another chance.