Edited Nov. 30, 2023 at 1:01 p.m.
Goalie updates:
It looks like several teams are scrapping their tandems and moving towards a 1A/1B or a Starter/Backup situation:
Buffalo - with Levi now in the AHL; it is UPL time as the 1A for the Sabres; putting Comrie in the 1B role; which is the best arrangement based on all of their play this season to date. If the blueline can get settled down in front of them and the injury bug to stop hitting the Sabres could string together a good stretch here. I would expect a minimum 2/3 split for UPL/Comrie going forward with Comrie drawing Nashville 12/3, Montreal 12/9, Arizona 12/16, and 12/30 vs Columbus and UPL getting the rest.
Washington - Lindgren's start vs LA Kings seems to have shown that the Capitals prefer him in the net during the tougher matchup (they have 2nd half of B2B today against Anaheim. They have 3 games in the next 5 days then a 2 day break followed by 3 games in 4 days so you'll see both tenders get some action. The NY Rangers game on 12/9 will be the next real "tell": as it would rotate to Kuemper under an "every other game" pattern; but that is clearly a marquee matchup that is the 1st half of a B2B with Chicago being the 2nd half. If Lindgren gets that start then it is clear he has moved into the top part of the tandem.
Toronto - Woll is expected to start tonight, marking 3rd straight for him. Samsonov's last start was a B2B game against Chicago. It appears the Leafs are moving towards a 1A/1B with Woll getting 2 out of 3 games generally. This Saturday they play Boston and I would bank on Woll getting that one too because they have 4 days off after that. Samsonov can expect his next start to be 12/11 against NYIslanders; unless that 16-day break in action is deemed too much and they want him in against Ottawa on 12/7; but that would mean resting Woll for 6 days right when he seems to be settling in.
LA Kings Talbot continues to move into "workhorse" realm and I would only expect Copley to start on the "lesser" of any B2B games; 12/9 vs NYI;12/19 vs SJS; and 12/27 vs SJS thru the end of this year. That still doesn't leave a very heavy workload and plenty of multiple days of rest in there for Talbot so I wouldn't worry about burnout at this point in their season.
Anaheim - Their once highly functioning tandem with Gibson-Dostal has fallen apart. They gave the net to Gibby after Dostal hit a rough patch now both of them are struggling. This has probably more to say about the young defense and lack of scoring in front of them with the rest of the league having better scouting on the new HC's system and the players and regression setting in. Of course the trade rumors will swirl again around Gibson if the Ducks drop out of the playoff picture; but his play lately hasn't inspired demand either. Dostal looked better with more rubber and now that he is sitting for long stretches; one wonders if they should swap him and Stalock.
Tampa Bay - Vasy is back and he will be busy. With 5 games in 8 nights; Johansson will probably get the B2B matchup against Nashville on 12/7 and the New Years' Eve one against Montreal; there should be a relief day in there against Calgary on 12/16 since it is the tail end of a long road trip for the Bolts; and the rest should go to the workhorse (health allowing).
Edmonton - After tonights matchup with Winnipeg, they get a 5 day break they then have 6 games in 11 nights (at home), followed by a 2 day break then 3 games in 4 nights (including a B2B); they will need at least 2 of those starts to go to a backup (12/2 vs Chicago and 12/21-22 B2B vs NJD/NYR). The 5 day break would be a great time to work in a new tender if they are serious about a trade this early (and I think they should be). The biggest reason I can see for them needing to do this earlier than later is that the Oilers schedule post All-Star game is really intensive; so if they wait until then to acquire said goaltender they will be throwing them into the fire rather than easing them in to their systems; not to mention that they can't afford to "give away" many points in the standings either.
Montreal - continues their Trio-Tandem with Primeau going tonight; which means Allen vs Detroit on 12/2 and Montembeault on 12/4 vs Sea, wash, rinse, repeat (until a trade occurs).
Detroit - the other last remaining "trio" has been doing more of a "hot hand" at the 1B spot with Lyon sitting the first 15 games of the year and now Reimer sitting for 2 weeks straight while Lyon gets some starts. Many are seeing Lyon's success and wondering if that pushes Husso down but he took time off for his baby to be born while the team traveled to Sweden and returned with a really good game against Boston and NY Rangers so I don't think that will happen (context matters when you see the # of games over the past few weeks). Tonight vs Chicago is the second half of a B2B so it should be Lyon. Not sure when Reimer will get back in the lineup (or be traded) unless Lyon starts struggling. I would categorize the Red Wings as having a 1A-1B/2B setup.
Minnesota - new HC will probably see some changes in net deployment; he started Gus vs StL and looks to be sticking with him tonight vs Nashville. From 12/3 thru 12/10 the Wild have 5 games in 8 nights with a B2B so we'll see how many Fleury gets in and maybe paint the picture of how they might use them going forward.
Seattle - continues to not have any pattern or logic behind their goalie selections; aside from "fingers crossed maybe someone can play good". I really do wonder why they aren't bringing up Driedger to play; at least give him a shot and if he does well run with it or create a trade market for him.
Ottawa - Not much to discuss here about rotations, just that the Senators have had goaltending worse than just about everyone except Edmonton; however the 1A/1B setup of Korpisalo/Forsberg means they keep hoping ONE of them will step up. It looked like Forsberg was going to after his Sweden game but now that he has returned to North America he quickly returned to his old ways. Korpisalo didn't fare much better; but this is really about the poor defense in front of them; so it doesn't matter who starts it is just ugly right now in Ottawa. Maybe Chabot was a bigger factor than it seemed or they need a once-great franchise defensemen to take over the defense coaching duties but Wade Redden is already in the organization and Zdeno Chara is too busy running marathons.