Goalie "Studs and Duds" From Week 4
Which Goalies Had Good Fantasy Weeks? And Who Didn't?
It was an interesting fantasy hockey week with the Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday. However, things calm a bit as we get a more traditional Week 5 schedule, which presents more teams with advantageous fantasy-friendly matchups, as seen below via TJ Stats.
Chicago, Toronto, and Seattle have the most advantageous schedules this week, all with ratings over four via TJ Stats. The Blackhawks have three off nights this week, making them an ideal team to target for fantasy managers looking for streaming help.
A streaming option for fantasy managers that should be available is Andre Burakovsky, a right winger for Chicago. He has five points in his last three games and has been benefiting from playing on the Chicago first line with Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Bedard.
With 17:05 TOI and 1:51 PP TOI, it’s surprising that Burakovsky is still available in 98% of Yahoo leagues. Then again, I get that some fantasy hockey managers may be dubious about his outlook, and he’s a harder pickup in shallower leagues (especially 10-team ones).
He’s only valuable in terms of scoring, as he doesn’t offer much in hits (5) or blocked shots (3). His 26.7% shooting percentage is also pretty fluky and due for regression, which could start this week with all four games on the road. However, his PDO and IPP numbers are pretty solid for a player of his rostered percentage, so I think fantasy managers should buy Burakovsky for now with the caveat that he should be an easy waiver when the shooting metrics go down (or if he loses first-line time).
That’s my streamer of the week. Now, let’s go into the goalie “studs” and “duds” from week four.
Stud: Tristan Jarry, PIT (38% Rostered)
It’s been a bit of a 180 for the Penguins this year, as they have gotten off to a great start this season (unlike a year ago). Pittsburgh’s 18 points ties them with New Jersey for the best mark in the Metropolitan division. While the team isn’t exactly young—featuring stars like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson —they are playing excellent, watchable hockey over the first four weeks of the season.
Another encouraging development has been Jarry, who has been a stud after bouncing between the AHL and NHL last season. In his previous four games, he has four wins and three quality starts, and he’s produced a 2.01 GAA and a .929 save percentage in week four. For the season, his GAA is 2.35, his save percentage is .923, and he’s also sporting a GSAA of 4.85 and a GSAE of 5.42.
The improvement for Jarry this year has been his ability to limit the brutal outings. Over the past two seasons, his RBS (Really Bad Start) percentage was 25.5% in 2023-2024 and 22.2% in 2024-2025. This year it’s only 16.7%.
Suppose Jarry continues to limit these bad outings in the future (keeping that RBS below 21%). In that case, he should be a dependable fantasy hockey goalie, even if he is splitting time in the net with fellow Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs.
Dud: Jordan Binnington, STL (79% Rostered)
Is the bottoming out finally happening for Binnington?
The Blues goalie flirted with significant regression last year, as his RBS was 25%, 11% higher than his 2023-2024 mark. He also saw his QS% drop by 4.3%, another discouraging sign regarding his fantasy outlook for this season. Still, with a 2.69 GAA, .900 save percentage, and 28 wins in 56 starts, it’s hard to ignore Binnington in fantasy drafts, especially with his name power.
Ranked No. 25 by Dobber in the preseason (Tier 3 status), Binnington has failed to live up to the preseason hype, even if it’s more measured than in previous seasons. His GAA is 3.21, his save percentage is .860, and his GSAA is -6.84.
The Canadian goalie has also been awful recently. He has zero wins and quality starts in his last four games, and he has a 3.99 GAA, 0.813 save percentage, and -5.41 GSAA over the past week (three starts). The Blues don’t have an easy slate either this week, with games against Edmonton, Washington, Buffalo, and Seattle looming (Washington and Buffalo are on the road).
The only saving grace for fantasy managers that roster Binnington is that Blues backup Joel Hofer has been pretty bad with a 5.16 GAA and 0.829 save percentage in five games. Nonetheless, a rebound from Binnington this week would be nice, or else managers who roster him may need to part with him sooner rather than later, especially since he’s only averaging 1.67 FPTS/G in KKUPFL points formats. That is the fifth-worst mark of qualified goalies, according to Dobber.
Stud: Jonas Johansson, TBL (2% Rostered)
I know it’s hard for fantasy managers to roster a Tampa Bay goalie that’s not named Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, while Johansson is a clear backup, he’s making the case as a streaming option, especially for those in deeper leagues.
The Swedish goalie has been on fire recently, with three wins and four quality starts in his last four games. Johansson also had another stellar start on Sunday against Utah as he made 27 saves on 29 shots in a winning effort (the Lightning beat the Mammoth 4-2). In Sunday’s win, he also had a GAA of 2.00, a GSAA of 0.78, and a save percentage of 0.926, all worthwhile marks.
For the season, Johansson is sporting a 2.78 GAA, a 2.49 GSAA, and a .916 save percentage in four games played. The only blemish on his profile right now is a -2.79 GSAE. That lackluster mark hints that the 30-year-old may be due for some regression in other categories soon, especially as he garners more starts in net over the course of the season.
Even though he shouldn’t be a primary option on any fantasy roster, he could be a nice third goalie option for fantasy teams, though it won’t be an easy slate this week for him and the Lightning. They travel to Colorado and Vegas this week before finishing with a home game against Washington on Saturday.
Photo Credit: Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press