NHL starting goalies tonight: Projected starters for your fantasy hockey team | December 16

By Ryan Gagne

Modified Dec 16, 2023 13:15 GMT

Tonight's NHL schedule features 13 games, including marquee matchups like the Boston Bruins taking on the New York Rangers and the Colorado Avalanche facing off against the Winnipeg Jets. Considering the first puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST, NHL hockey will be on TV for at least 10 hours.

Outside of critical divisional battles, the Bruins, Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators skate on the second night of a back-to-back.

Meanwhile, here are today's projected NHL starters, although not all these players are confirmed at publication. Be aware that this could change before the puck drops.

Whether you want to catch an edge in your NHL fantasy matchup today or try to boast your weekly goaltender statistics, this in-depth analysis will assist you. From this, you can make an educated guess to get the most possible points during tonight's NHL games.

(*indicates that this player is confirmed to be the starter for today's NHL game.)

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Vancouver Canucks at Minnesota Wild

Thatcher Demko (Vancouver)

Last five games: 4-1-0 / 2.60 GAA / .910 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 0-3-2 / 3.40 GAA / .900 SV%

Filip Gustavsson* (Minnesota)

Last five games: 4-1-0 / 1.40 GAA / .948 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 2-2-1 / 2.52 GAA / .917 SV%

New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets

Vitek Vanecek of the NHL's New Jersey Devils

Vitek Vanecek (New Jersey)

Last five games: 4-0-0 / 2.80 GAA / .875 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 4-0-0 / 1.50 GAA / .946 SV%

Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus)

Last five games: 2-2-1 / 3.40 GAA / .916 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 3-2-0 / 2.79 GAA / .924 SV%

Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets

Alexandar Georgiev (Colorado)

Last five games: 1-2-1 / 3.40 GAA / .887 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 2-2-1 / 3.01 GAA / .880 SV%

Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg)

Last five games: 4-1-0 / 1.80 GAA / .941 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 11-7-4 / 3.13 GAA / .908 SV%

Pittsburgh Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs

Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh)

Last five games: 2-2-1 / 2.40 GAA / .922 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 5-2-0 / 2.44 GAA / .922 SV%

Ilya Samsonov (Toronto)

Last five games: 2-0-3 / 3.20 GAA / .890 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 2-3-1 / 3.01 GAA / .908 SV%

Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers

Alex Lyon* (Detroit)

Last five games: 4-1-0 / 1.80 GAA / .938 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 0-1-0 / 5.29 GAA / .783 SV%

Samuel Ersson* (Philadelphia)

Last five games: 4-0-1 / 2.20 GAA / .916 SV%

Career vs. opponent: First meeting

New York Islanders at Montreal Canadiens

Semyon Varlamov (New York)

Last five games: 4-0-1 / 3.20 GAA / .903 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 6-1-2 / 2.58 GAA / .919 SV%

Samuel Montembeault* (Montreal)

Samuel Montembeault of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens

Last five games: 3-1-1 / 2.80 GAA / .916 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 1-2-2 / 2.18 GAA / .932 SV%

New York Rangers at Boston Bruins

Igor Shesterkin (New York)

Last five games: 2-3-0 / 4.00 GAA / .875 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 3-7-0 / 3.00 GAA / .906 SV%

Jeremy Swayman (Boston)

Last five games: 2-1-1 / 1.80 GAA / .932 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 2-1-1 / 1.48 GAA / .946 SV%

Washington Capitals at Nashville Predators

Charlie Lindgren (Washington)

Last five games: 2-0-2 / 2.20 GAA / .932 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 0-1-0 / 3.08 GAA / .857 SV%

Juuse Saros (Nashville)

Last five games: 5-0-0 / 1.60 GAA / .953 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 4-3-0 / 2.89 GAA / .907 SV%

Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues

Jake Oettinger (Dallas)

Last five games: 1-3-0 / 4.00 GAA / .823 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 3-1-0 / 1.48 GAA / .947 SV%

Jordan Binnington (St. Louis)

Last five games: 2-3-0 / 3.20 GAA / .906 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 3-5-2 / 2.22 GAA / .921 SV%

Buffalo Sabres at Arizona Coyotes

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo)

Last five games: 2-3-0 / 3.20 GAA / .883 SV%

Career vs. opponent: First meeting

Karel Vejmelka* (Arizona)

Last five games: 0-3-1 / 3.60 GAA / .873 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 1-2-1 / 2.24 GAA / .935 SV%

Los Angeles Kings at Seattle Kraken

Cam Talbot of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings

Cam Talbot (Los Angeles)

Last five games: 2-2-1 / 2.00 GAA / .915 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 1-2-0 / 3.32 GAA / .894 SV%

Joey Daccord (Seattle)

Last five games: 2-2-1 / 1.40 GAA / .934 SV%

Career vs. opponent: First meeting

Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers

Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida)

Last five games: 3-2-0 / 2.60 GAA / .892 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 10-6-0 / 2.82 GAA / .899 SV%

Stuart Skinner (Edmonton)

Last five games: 4-1-0 / 2.20 GAA / .915 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 2-0-0 / 2.53 GAA / .929 SV%

Tampa Bay Lightning at Calgary Flames

Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay)

Last five games: 4-1-0 / 2.20 GAA / .930 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 5-4-0 / 3.13 GAA / .899 SV%

Dan Vladar (Calgary)

Last five games: 1-3-1 / 3.00 GAA / .891 SV%

Career vs. opponent: 1-1-0 / 3.50 GAA / .877 SV%