At the quarter-way mark of the 2008-09 NHL season there appears to be something strange in the Gatorade. Goalies are dropping at an alarming rate this year. I will recap the starting goaltenders who have suffered an injury over the first 20 games: Martin Brodeur, Evgeni Nabokov, Marc-Andre Fleury, Rick DiPietro, Kari Lehtonen, Pascal Leclaire, and Manny Legace. Now, Roberto Luongo can be added to the list.

Almost a third of starting goaltenders have been hurt during the first quarter of the season! It is always wise to keep an eye on emerging back-up goaltenders, but this year it’s become even more important because of the unusually high number of injuries.

I begin this week’s installment of the NHL Fantasy Files by recommending yet another back-up goaltender:

Curtis Sanford (VAN—G)

During last night’s tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins Roberto Luongo injured his groin making his first save of the game. While being helped off the ice by teammates he put no weight on his leg. Luongo is scheduled for an MRI to determine the extent of the injury but early estimations out of Vancouver are to prepare for the worst.

A cold Curtis Sanford came off the bench to replace Luongo to earn his second victory of the season. Sanford has posted respectable numbers so far this year but he has never shown he can excel at the professional level. Because Sanford was never drafted he took the long road to the NHL. He bounced around the semi-professional league before finally getting legitimate shot at the big leagues in 2005 thanks to the poor play of St. Louis goalie Patrick Lalime.

Sanford has never started for a full season since his days in the Ontario Hockey League so there’s no reason to think that the Canucks will rely on him for the remainder of this season.

So why am I recommending him? If Luongo is out for an extender period of time the Canucks will HAVE to rely on him until they can negotiate a trade with another team. The Blue Jackets, Blackhawks and Oilers are all shopping goalies so it shouldn’t take long for the Canucks to replace Sanford.

Sanford will shoulder the load for Vancouver until a trade can be made and should be active in all fantasy formats.

Jiri Hudler (DET—RW)

The young winger is only owned in 29% of leagues, yet he has 18 points through 19 games, including six points over the last three games. He’s fourth on the star-studded Red Wings in scoring and shouldn’t be a free agent for long.

His ice time is nothing to brag about, but he is making the most of his opportunities. Coach Mike Babcock should give Jiri a shot for top-line ice-time now that he’s producing like a top-line player.

Last night against the Calgary Flames he played under 12 minutes but the six shots he put on net led the team. Currently he is on a three-game goal-scoring streak; as long as he keeps putting the rubber at the net he’ll keep scoring goals.

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