Gibson's Finest

Anaheim goaltender can still make a difference

Jan 19, 2021

There is surely no position more confounding when it comes to forecasting hockey than goaltenders. That goes for fantasy hockey the same as it goes for the real teams trying to figure out who will and won’t be good stopping the puck from one year to the next.

Once a goaltender has been in the league for a handful of seasons they may have established a reputation for above-average performance and they are considered one of the “safe” ones.

Since 2016-2017, there have been three goaltenders (Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ben Bishop, and Robin Lehner) to play at least 150 games that have a save percentage better than the .918 save percentage posted by Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson.

That should make him one of the safe ones, shouldn’t it?

Well, he was part of the contingent until he had a career-low .904 save percentage last season and the short memory that accompanies fantasy hockey decisions suddenly left Gibson as an undesirable. Based on Yahoo ADP he was the 27th goaltender selected this season.

Maybe that’s a reflection of low expectations for the Ducks but if Gibson happens to be the goaltender that he was for virtually his entire career before last season, maybe those expectations should be a little higher.

Gibson is coming off a brilliant 34-save shutout against Minnesota Monday, a high point in his performance to be sure, and it’s too soon to assume that he must be back on track but, given the uncertainty of the position, it’s fair to at least consider that as a possibility.

MONDAY STARS

STL D Justin Faulk 2 G, 8 SOG in a 5-4 win vs. San Jose

SJ D Brent Burns 1 G, 2 A in a 5-4 loss at St. Louis

SJ C Logan Couture 2 G, 1 A in a 5-4 loss at St. Louis

ANA G John Gibson 34-save shutout in 1-0 win vs. Minnesota

Columbus 3 Detroit 2

DET RW Bobby Ryan 2 G

CBJ RW Oliver Bjorkstrand 1 G, 1 A

Boston 0 N.Y. Islanders 1

Semyon Varlamov 27-save shutout for the Islanders, his second straight shutout to start the season.

Buffalo 6 Philadelphia 1

BUF C Jack Eichel and LW Taylor Hall 3 A

BUF RW Sam Reinhart and RW Curtis Lazar 2 G

In the wake of Sean Couturier’s injury, Philadelphia centers Nolan Patrick and Morgan Frost had zero shot attempts between them.

San Jose 4 St. Louis 5

STL D Justin Faulk 2 G, 11 iCF, 8 SOG

STL RW Jordan Kyrou 1 G, 1 A

STL D Colton Parayko 2 A

SJ C Logan Couture 2 G, 1 A

SJ D Brent Burns 1 G, 2 A

SJ RW Kevin Labanc 1 G, 1 A

SJ Tomas Hertl 2 A

STL D Torey Krug was on for three goals for and none against at 5-on-5.

SJ D Erik Karlsson was on the ice for three goals against and none for at 5-on-5.

Carolina 4 Nashville 2

NSH RW Viktor Arvidsson 1 G, 1 A

CAR RW Andrei Svechnikov, C Sebastian Aho, and C Vincent Trocheck 1 G, 1 A

Winnipeg 1 Toronto 3

TOR RW Mitch Marner 2 G

Vancouver 2 Calgary 5

LW Johnny Gaudreau 1 G, 1 A

Montreal 3 Edmonton 1

MTL G Jake Allen stopped 25 of 26 shots for the win.

Arizona 2 Vegas 4

VGK RW Reilly Smith 2 G

VGK C Chandler Stephenson 1 G, 1 A

Arizona had 15 shot attempts to Vegas’ 1 when VGK LW William Carrier was on the ice at 5-on-5.

Minnesota 0 Anaheim 1

ANA G John Gibson recorded a 34-save shutout for the win.

Injuries/roster adjustments

BOS D Matt Grzelcyk injured against the Islanders. If he is out, does that open the door for Charlie McAvoy to QB PP1 for the Bruins?

ANA D Josh Manson was hurt against Minnesota, suffering an upper-body injury. If he is out, Andy Welinski is next on the Ducks depth chart to draw in to the lineup and Kodie Curran is lurking on the taxi squad. Curran is a 31-year-old that had played at the University of Calgary and a couple of years in the minors before spending the past four seasons in Europe. He had 49 points in 48 games in the SHL last season so there might be some potential there…if he can get into the lineup.

TB LW Blake Coleman is on the Covid-19 list. Don’t know yet if he is going to miss time but, if he does, Patrick Maroon or Mathieu Joseph could move up the Lightning depth chart.