Author: George Kurtz, Staff Writer
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Nov. 2 with what was originally supposed to be a day to day injury. He now has apparently suffered a setback and will rest for the next few days. Price and the team keep saying the injury isn’t serious and not related to the lower body injuries that have plagued him over the past few seasons, but there still isn’t any solid timetable for his return to action. Price was struggling mightily this season with a 3.77 goals against average and .877 save percentage so there may not be any urgency on the part of Montreal to get him back between the pipes until they are positive he will be ready to return to his All-Star form.
Malcolm Subban should be returning to goal in the next few days. AP Photo/John Locher
As far as Fantasy is concerned, Charlie Lindgren is more than a solid replacement for Price. With AlMontoya also on the shelf due to a concussion, Lindgren will continue to get the majority of the starts. Lindgren has outperformed everyone’s expectations with a 1.48 GAA and .957 save percentage. No, he’s not going to remain with the team once Price is deemed healthy enough to return. Lindgren will return to the AHL where he can play every day, and the recently claimed Antti Niemi will be the backup to Price until Montoya has recovered from the concussion.
Goaltenders in Fantasy Hockey are like quarterbacks in Fantasy Football. In one goalie leagues there are plenty to go around but if you need to start two (and in most leagues, you do), then the well can run dry pretty quickly, which is why we spend so much time on the position. Mike Smith had to be removed from the game Monday due to an undisclosed injury. He won’t start for Calgary in Detroit on Wednesday but did make the trip, which would seem to indicate that the injury is more of the day to day variety than anything long term. The Flames could also be using this minor injury to give Smith some much needed rest as Wednesday will only be the second game all season in which Smith won’t be starting in net.
Brian Elliott owners should look at the glass as being half full. While it’s true that he only has one win in his last four starts, it’s also true that he has only allowed five goals during that span. That’s about as unlucky as you can get. He has also gone up against Devan Dubnyk of the Wild twice during this span and if you didn’t already know, Dubnyk has posted three straight shutouts. So yeah, tough luck for Elliott but the good news is that, at least for now, he has put to bed the possibility of Michal Neuvirth replacing him in goal after he got off to a slow start to the season.
Vegas has been the twilight zone in net with so many injuries. There really isn’t much of an update on Marc-Andre Fleury. He is still suffering from the concussion and isn’t traveling with the team. He will regain the starting job when healthy, but no one knows when that will be or if it will be just a matter of time until he suffers the next one. Malcolm Subban, however, does look like he is close to returning. His original timetable after injuring his knee was 3-4 weeks and he is right in that window now. Subban is accompanying the team on their current road trip and could get a start in goal at just about any time. Fantasy owners should be wary, however, as the hot start the expansion Golden Knights got off to is in the rearview mirror. Any netminder for the Knights could have a tough time stringing wins together and their ratios are also likely to suffer.
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