With the 2010 Winter Olympics fast approaching, it’s time to consider how the games will impact our fantasy rosters. While it certainly won’t have much of an impact if a forward or defenseman misses a game or two, fantasy managers who own an Olympic goaltender should consider adding their backup for the next month of play. It’s not uncommon to see NHL coaches give their Olympic tenders some time off in the weeks leading up to the games. With that being said, it may be worth adding his backup as an insurance policy in case you’re a manager in a league that requires a certain number of appearances per week to qualify the goaltending categories.

Ryan Miller – Buffalo Sabres
With Ryan Miller a strong candidate to get the majority of the workload in Canada for Team USA, we may see backup Patrick Lalime a little more over the next several weeks. He had a shaky start to the season for Buffalo but has come off an injury in stellar form. He is a comparable option that should steal some wins before we head into the break.

Miikka Kiprusoff – Calgary Flames
Kippers is notorious for being an absolute workhorse for the Flames, so perhaps we see him get a bit of a breather over the next couple weeks to try and prepare him for the Bronze medal battle. Curtis McElhinney is a so-so option. His numbers aren’t as bad as we have seen them in the past and looked good in the spot start against the Oilers.

Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
Lundy has also been a workhorse this season as his once reliable backup Stephan Valiquette has been demoted and Chad Johnson continues to ride the pine. Lundy can’t keep up this torrid pace forever, so it may not be a bad idea to add Johnson for the time being to see if they use him more over the next several weeks. And if they don’t, see if he gives Lundy a breather after the Olympic break.

Jonas Hiller – Anaheim Ducks
While it’s unclear if former NHL goaltender Martin Gerber or Jonas Hiller will help the Swiss in Vancouver, it’s certainly worth considering JS Giguere over the next month. A rock solid performance in November unfortunately led to a somewhat shaky showing throughout the month of December, so perhaps view Giggy as a bit of a low buy candidate right now.

Iyla Bryzgalov – Phoenix Coyotes
One of the biggest surprises this season has been the strong play of Ilya Bryzgalov and the Phoenix Coyotes. Bryzgalov is one of the best goalies in the league right now and will see some playing time in Vancouver. He should be playing second fiddle to Evgeny Nabokov but has shown her certainly could offer a strong platooning tandem for Russia if needed, and rumors are swirling that he may see more playing time overall. With Phoenix playing as well as they have been, it may not be a bad move to acquire Jason LaBarbera for a month or so.

Evgeny Nabokov – San Jose Sharks
Thomas Greiss, may find himself between the pipes a little more often over the next month trying to gain as much playing time as possible before he joins Team Germany at the Olympics. He’s a nice prospect on a good team, so consider him one of the better options to pickup to fortify your goaltending situation in January.

Tomas Vokoun – Florida Panthers
With Florida battling about 8 other teams for a playoff spot right now, we may see more of Vokoun over the next month than his counterpart Scott Clemmensen. Clemmy’s 11 starts this season has shown us that last season may have been a bit of a fluke. This “one hit wonder” should be left alone as we prepare for the next month of fantasy play.

Something that’s worth mentioning is that even if you’re a manager that doesn’t own these goaltenders, it’s perfectly acceptable to get in on this action, especially if you’ve suffered some serious hits to your goaltenders this season and are constantly scrambling to deal with injuries. Also, you can certainly add one of these players and peddle them as trade bait to managers in a bit of a bind. It’s all about strategy, my friends. Good luck.