Fantasy hockey goalie guide – Top picks, sleepers, strategy

Victoria Matiash, Fantasy HockeySep 16, 2024, 02:00 PM ET

CloseESPN.com Fantasy Contributor since 2010Part-time anchor at NEWSTALK1010

There’s no way around it: Rostering a strong goaltending corps is paramount to enjoying fantasy success. Having played this game for over 29 years, I’ve never witnessed a manager finish top of the table with a ho-hum collection of netminders. Never. Too many categories carry too much weight. ESPN Fantasy’s standard game rewards wins, saves, shutouts, and – this is vital – penalizes goals-allowed. In a nod to the fantasy abacus, a goalie who stops 28 of 30 shots in a 4-2 win hauls in a sparkling 5.6 points. Conversely, surrendering five goals on 31 shots in a 5-4 loss nets a loss of -4.8 points. That’s a huge, and potential very painful, swing.

The formula is simple enough. In ESPN Fantasy’s standard game, your idyllic netminder plays a ton, wins much more often than not, while stopping the overwhelming majority of a good number of shots. In checking each and every box with aplomb, plus earning five shutouts along the way, Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck finished with almost 30 more points than the games’ second-best netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky. There’s no mystery to this math.

Strategy

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You want to select your No. 1 fantasy netminder early in standard ESPN Fantasy leagues. Not before a forward like Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon, but not long afterward. The gap between the great and just good is considerable, as illustrated by No. 1 Hellebuyck’s 214.2 fantasy points in 2023-24 in contrast with No. 15 Ilya Sorokin’s 115.0. You want to grab an elite figure, if at all possible. To follow, zone in on your No. 2 goalie – hopefully another near-gem – two or three rounds later, depending on how the draft unravels.

Once your one-two goaltending punch is in place, feel free to gamble on a high-ceilinged sleeper or…

Source link : https://www.espn.com/fantasy/hockey/story/_/id/41287806/espn-nhl-fantasy-hockey-goalie-guide-best-picks-sleepers-strategy-2024-25

Author : Victoria Matiash

Publish date : 2024-09-16 19:31:30

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