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Here are the fantasy repercussions following the news that Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith has been placed on IR with a lower-body injury, retroactive to Oct.18:
Mike Smith has been moved to injured reserve. That opens up roster spot for Stone.
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) October 21, 2016
If you were relying on Smith as one of your fantasy goaltenders, he should be stashed on IR. There are essentially three ways to replace him:
Add Louis Domingue
Louis Domingue, Arizona's backup, will be in the crease for Sunday's game against the Rangers, probably Tuesday's game against the Devils, and potentially many more, depending on Smith's timeline.
Domingue has struggled to begin the season, posting a 11.21 GAA and a .767 SV% in three games.
Last year was a tale of two seasons for Domingue: He was lights out through 16 games, going 9-4-3 with a .931 SV%. In his remaining 23 games he went 6-14-2 with an .899 SV%.
Domingue, 24, isn't helped by the youthful lottery team in front him, and is only worth adding if you're extremely desperate.
Add a speculative starter
Smith wasn't the best fantasy goalie in the first place, so owners should be looking to replace him long-term, regardless of how much time he misses.
Chad Johnson of the Flames is available in most leagues and has been lights out through two games, while fellow goaltender Brian Elliott has struggled in three starts. Elliott has yet to prove he can succeed outside of Ken Hitchcock's defensive system, and never started more than 45 games with the Blues. Given that both goalies are on one-year deals, this could turn into a 50-50 split.
Jacob Markstrom may have already been scooped up in your league, but he has a 1.65 GAA and a .932 SV% through three games for the Canucks, with Ryan Miller banged up. Markstrom is only a short-term fix, but could become a long-term solution should Miller - who's in the final year of his contract - be traded to a contender, such as L.A.
Stream backups
If Johnson and Markstrom are unavailable in your league, streaming backups is definitely a better option than rolling with Domingue.
Target backup goalies on strong teams, playing on back-to-back nights. Here's a list of viable backup goaltenders who may get a start within the next week:
- Scott Darling, Blackhawks (Oct. 22 vs. Toronto)
- Darcy Kuemper, Wild (Oct. 22 at New Jersey or Oct. 23 at NY Islanders)
- Antti Raanta, Rangers (Oct. 23 vs. Arizona)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning (Oct. 29 at New Jersey)
- Philip Grubauer, Capitals (Oct. 29 at Vancouver or Oct. 30 at Calgary)
