Tonight's starting goalies - Oct 29, 2008

With thanks to the Goalie Post.

When the talk of elite fantasy goaltenders come to mind the names Luongo, Brodeur, Kiprusoff, Lundqvist. Nabokov, Turco and Fleury roll off the tongue.

But a 30 year old Finnish goaltender may be poised to make the leap.

Niklas Backstrom seems to always be in the second tier of goaltenders. Zero elite level seasons under his belt and the anonimity of playing in Finland until he was 28 has caused the fantasy faithful to ignore his exploits.

Well with Backstrom the undisputed starter on the undefeated Minnesota Wild things could change very quickly. Backstrom exploded on the scene in 2007 and lead the league in GAA and SV%. Backstrom enjoyed another strong season in 2008, but was a notch below his debut. His lack of Wins has probably been the cause of him being overlooked, but if given 70 starts in 2008 he would have been pushing 40 wins.

Last season's franchise record 33 wins will likely be surpassed with good health and the continued faith that Jacques Lemaire has shown in him this year. Backstrom is poised and plays a strong positional game. His economy of movement when combined with his quickness make like difficult for the Wild's opposition. With Lemaire's commitment to defense and Backstrom providing a strong last line of defense, a breakout season is likely.

On to today's starters

Toronto Maple Leafs @ New Jersey Devils

Curtis Joseph against always probable Martin Brodeur. Does Kevin Weekes have the greatest job or what? Playing shinny every day then travelling with an NHL team while sitting rinkside sounds like something I could get into.

Minnesota Wild @ Dallas Stars

Looks like Backstrom will face off against Turco. No confirmations.

Backstrom is 2-3-2 against the Stars in his career with a 2.26 GAA and a .916 SV%. Turco brings an 11-4-1 record against the Wild and has not lost to them since 2005-06. So the optimist says he is due for a loss and the pessimist believes Turco owns the Wild.

So with the optimist tonight.

Detroit Red Wings @ Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Osgood to face Giguere in the duck pond tonight. Osgood is 12-3-2 in his career against the Ducks, but so is Sam St-Laurent's practice jersey. St-Laurent is famous for being the last goalie to where the ghost mask in the NHL, he had to be famous for something and a career 3.50 GAA was not going to do it.