This week, the Eastern Edge will take a closer look at the goaltending in the Eastern Conference. Just looking at the numbers between East versus West and it is much more preferable to own a Western Conference goaltender if your league counts goals-against averages and save percentages.

All the statistics that follow are prior to games played on Sunday. The top 12 Eastern Conference goaltenders average 18.6 wins per goaltender, while the Western Conference averages 18.2. Not really a big difference, but let’s look at goals-against average. The top 12 in the West average 2.30, while the East lags behind with a 2.48 goals-against average. When it comes to save percentage, the West holds a 0.926 to 0.922 advantage.

Top 25 qualified Eastern Conference goaltenders sorted by Wins (Y!PRk is Yahoo Pre-season Ranking and the next column is Current Ranking):

Player	Team	Y!PRk	Y!CRk	GP	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%
Andrei Vasilevskiy	TB	16	1	39	27	9	2	2.27	0.927
Braden Holtby	WAS	2	16	34	24	9	1	2.70	0.916
Frederik Andersen	TOR	17	12	40	23	13	4	2.68	0.920
Sergei Bobrovsky	CLS	4	10	38	21	14	3	2.44	0.920
Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	15	7	40	21	12	4	2.54	0.924
Tuukka Rask	BOS	10	11	30	17	8	4	2.17	0.921
Cory Schneider	NJ	19	23	33	17	9	6	2.74	0.915
Brian Elliott	PHI	21	44	36	17	11	7	2.84	0.906
Matt Murray	PIT	3	54	31	15	12	1	2.93	0.903
Jimmy Howard	DET	29	29	37	14	15	6	2.74	0.913
Jaroslav Halak	NYI	22	63	31	14	14	2	3.24	0.906
Carey Price	MON	1	51	33	13	16	4	2.96	0.908
James Reimer	FLA	40	49	31	13	12	5	3.04	0.910
Cam Ward	CAR	41	46	20	12	5	2	2.75	0.907
Craig Anderson	OTT	20	69	34	12	15	5	3.24	0.899
Anton Khudobin	BOS	47	20	17	10	2	4	2.38	0.924
Tristan Jarry	PIT	53	26	18	9	4	2	2.44	0.919
Scott Darling	CAR	23	66	28	9	12	6	2.94	0.895
Robin Lehner	BUF	24	62	35	9	18	6	3.06	0.907
Keith Kinkaid	NJ	51	67	14	7	4	2	3.28	0.892
Roberto Luongo	FLA	27	25	15	6	6	1	2.62	0.928
Michal Neuvirth	PHI	44	22	13	5	5	1	2.23	0.928
Philipp Grubauer	WAS	50	38	16	4	6	3	2.56	0.917
Petr Mrazek	DET	30	71	13	4	5	1	3.43	0.894
Mike Condon	OTT	182	75	15	3	5	4	3.48	0.894

Top 25 qualified Eastern Conference goaltenders sorted by Goals-Against Average:

Player	Team	Y!PRk	Y!CRk	GP	W	L	OTL	GAA	SV%
Tuukka Rask	BOS	10	11	30 📢 advertisement:	17	8	4	2.17	0.921
Michal Neuvirth	PHI	44	22	13	5	5	1	2.23	0.928
Andrei Vasilevskiy	TB	16	1	39	27	9	2	2.27	0.927
Anton Khudobin	BOS	47	20	17	10	2	4	2.38	0.924
Sergei Bobrovsky	CLS	4	10	38	21	14	3	2.44	0.920
Tristan Jarry	PIT	53	26	18	9	4	2	2.44	0.919
Henrik Lundqvist	NYR	15	7	40	21	12	4	2.54	0.924
Philipp Grubauer	WAS	50	38	16	4	6	3	2.56	0.917
Roberto Luongo	FLA	27	25	15	6	6	1	2.62	0.928
Frederik Andersen	TOR	17	12	40	23	13	4	2.68	0.920
Braden Holtby	WAS	2	16	34	24	9	1	2.70	0.916
Cory Schneider	NJ	19	23	33	17	9	6	2.74	0.915
Jimmy Howard	DET	29	29	37	14	15	6	2.74	0.913
Cam Ward	CAR	41	46	20	12	5	2	2.75	0.907
Brian Elliott	PHI	21	44	36	17	11	7	2.84	0.906
Matt Murray	PIT	3	54	31	15	12	1	2.93	0.903
Scott Darling	CAR	23	66	28	9	12	6	2.94	0.895
Carey Price	MON	1	51	33	13	16	4	2.96	0.908
James Reimer	FLA	40	49	31	13	12	5	3.04	0.910
Robin Lehner	BUF	24	62	35	9	18	6	3.06	0.907
Jaroslav Halak	NYI	22	63	31	14	14	2	3.24	0.906
Craig Anderson	OTT	20	69	34	12	15	5	3.24	0.899
Keith Kinkaid	NJ	51	67	14	7	4	2	3.28	0.892
Petr Mrazek	DET	30	71	13	4	5	1	3.43	0.894
Mike Condon	OTT	182	75	15	3	5	4	3.48	0.894

Boston – Outside of Andrei Vasilevskiy, there is no other Eastern Conference goaltender that I’d rather own right now than Tuukka Rask. Rask has the third ranked goals-against average in the NHL. Anton Khudobin has been a nice play if you have been lucky enough to play him on his starts. He has the tenth best goals-against average and save percentage in the NHL amongst qualified players.

Buffalo – Much more was expected from Robin Lehner and the Sabres. Lehner’s poor numbers are more a reflection of the team, but a 0.907 save percentage isn’t going to help win many games.

Carolina – I was not as high on Scott Darling as some were heading into the season. Cam Ward has put up better numbers in eight less games, but it’s all relative when we’re talking about a 2.75 goals-against average and 0.907 save percentage being the better of the two. It will be interesting to see if the Hurricanes attempt to re-sign the pending unrestricted free agent Ward in the off-season.

Columbus –I had high hopes for Sergei Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets. They have both delivered decent results, but there is still room to improve for the number 10 Yahoo ranked goaltender.

Detroit – Many thought Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek would evenly split the starts this season. That all went out the window with the way Howard started the season. His record in October was only 5-4-0 with a goals-against average of 2.57, but his save percentage was a sweet 0.927. Howard faltered a little in November and December, but Mrazek was unable to wrest the starting job completely away from Howard.

Florida – I think most of us thought that James Reimer would take over the number one role from the 63-year-old Roberto Luongo this season. For the most part that has happened, but may not have happened by now if the Panthers resident senior citizen hadn’t found his way onto the injured reserve list. Luongo had a very hot run starting from November 7^th going 5-3-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and 0.943 save percentage until suffering a groin injury on December 4^th.

Reimer had a brutal start to his season, sporting a 4-6-1 record with a 3.73 goals-against average and 0.889 save percentage. In December, he was much better, going 7-3-3 with a 2.35 goals-against average and 0.932 save percentage. His January has not been very good, a 2-3-1 record with a 3.37 goals-against average and 0.898 save percentage. It will be interesting to see if Bobby Lou can return to form and take back the number one job.

Montreal – Obviously for Carey Price owners (this guy included), it’s been a disappointing season to say the least. We expected at least a top-five goaltender, but he’s now the 51^st ranked goaltender. That hurts, but fantasy owners and Habs fans can hope that over the final 35 games, Price can deliver a top-10 performance.

New Jersey – Expectations were low for both the Devils and Cory Schneider at the start of the season. While New Jersey has exceeded expectations, Schneider has a not so great goals-against average of 2.74 and a pedestrian save percentage of 0.915.

New York Islanders – Heading into the season, the Isles goaltending looked to be their biggest question mark. That has proven to be true. Jaroslav Halak has underperformed all season with a 3.24 goals-against average and 0.906 save percentage. The team is one point out of a wild card spot. Imagine where they would be with average goaltending.

New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist has been better than expected. His goals-against average is a mediocre 2.54, but his 0.924 save percentage is tied for fourth best in the East. Long live the King.

Ottawa – Many thought that this team would be in the mix for a playoff spot, but they haven’t played very well. It’s not all on Craig Anderson, but in the games I’ve watched, he hasn’t looked very good. The Sens are 24^th in goals scored per game and third last in goals against. That’s not nearly good enough to challenge for a playoff position.

Philadelphia – Not many people thought very highly of the Flyers goaltending tandem heading into the season. The team has scored 2.91goals per game (14^th in the NHL) while allowing 2.79 goals against (13^th best) per contest. Backup Michal Neuvirth leads the Eastern Conference in save percentage with a sweet 0.928, although he’s only played in 13 games. Starter Brian Elliott has less than stellar numbers, a 2.84 goals-against average and a 0.906 save percentage, but sports a 17-11-7 record.

Pittsburgh – Such high hopes for Matt Murray, so many disappointed fantasy owners. A 15-12-1 record isn’t so bad, but his 2.93 goals-against average and 0.903 save percentage is abysmal. Murray was the number three ranked goaltender in Yahoo heading into the season. He currently sits at number 54 in the rankings. Tristan Jarry has been better in the games he has played with a 2.44 goals-against average and 0.919 save percentage. I still expect Murray to have a very good second half when he returns to action.

Tampa Bay – I had Andrei Vasilevskiy ranked higher than Yahoo’s 16^th best. Currently, the top fantasy goaltender in the NHL with a 27-9-2 record, a 2.27 goals-against average and 0.927 save percentage. It doesn’t hurt that the Lightning have been the top team in their Conference this year. The injury to Victor Hedman might have contributed to the numbers Vasilevskiy has recorded in January; a 2-4-1 record, 3.41 goals-against average and sub-par 0.891 save percentage. This stretch should be just a short-term blip on what is a breakout campaign for the 23-year-old Russian.

Toronto – After a poor opening month (6-5-0, 3.46, 0.896), Frederik Andersen logged an excellent November (9-2-1, 2.14, 0.938). December and January have been very average with a combined 8-6-3 record, 2.57 goals-against average and nice 0.923 save percentage. The Maple Leafs playoff hopes will hinge on how well this team can defend in its own end.

Washington – Owners of Brayden Holtby have to be mildly disappointed. Sure, he owns a 24-9-1 record, but that 2.70 goals-against average and 0.916 save percentage are far off last season’s 2.07 and 0.925. Look for a nice second half from the Caps and Holtby.

Thanks for reading.

UPCOMING GAMES

Dec 27 - 19:12	DET	vs	TOR
Dec 27 - 19:12	BUF	vs	CHI
Dec 27 - 19:12	CBJ	vs	BOS
Dec 27 - 19:12	N.J	vs	CAR
Dec 27 - 20:12	DAL	vs	MIN
Dec 27 - 20:12	STL	vs	NSH
Dec 27 - 21:12	UTA	vs	COL
Dec 27 - 22:12	S.J	vs	VGK