Hurricanes embrace two-goalie plan in Cup Qualifiers

Recent history suggests an NHL team needs two goalies to win the Stanley Cup, but the Carolina Hurricanes' decision to have already used each of theirs as part of a planned rotation is unique.

Four of the past five Cup-winning teams started two goalies during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Jordan Binnington and the St. Louis Blues being the exception last season.

In each of the previous four cases of changing goalies, injury or poor performance dictated the decision.

Neither of those factors was present when the Hurricanes switched goalies for Game 3 of their best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers series against the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

James Reimer started Game 3 in place of Petr Mrazek, who had a .940 save percentage winning Games 1 and 2. Reimer made 37 saves in a 4-1 win to complete the sweep and help Carolina advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Hurricanes, the No. 6 seed, do not yet know their opponent in the best-of-7 first round in Toronto, the hub city for the Eastern Conference. The top four seeds in each conference are playing round-robin games against each other to determine seeding for the first-round matchups.

"We came into the series knowing we were going to use both goalies," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said after Game 3. "Both guys were dialed in right from start of training camp, and you look at the schedule, with three games in four days, and we felt like we knew we were going to get both guys in."

Carolina split its goalies during the regular season as well; Mrazek (21-16-2, 2.69 goals-against average, .905 save percentage) made 38 starts and Reimer (14-6-2, 2.66, .914) made 24. Each had three shutouts.

The Hurricanes aren't the only team to use two goalies this postseason.

For Game 3, the Rangers switched from Henrik Lundqvist to rookie Igor Shesterkin, who started after being unfit to play in Games 1 and 2. The Edmonton Oilers also switched from Mike Smith to Mikko Koskinen for Game 2 of their series against the Chicago Blackhawks (a 6-3 Edmonton win), but that was more about Smith allowing five goals on 23 shots in 26:32 of a 6-4 loss in Game 1.

So far, the New York Islanders (Semyon Varlamov), Florida Panthers (Sergei Bobrovsky), Calgary Flames (Cam Talbot), Winnipeg Jets (Connor Hellebuyck), Arizona Coyotes (Darcy Kuemper) and Nashville Predators (Juuse Saros) have used the same goalie in back-to-back games of the condensed Qualifiers that could result in some teams playing five games in eight days.

What caused Carolina to move away from sticking with the goalie who was playing well, which is prevalent during the playoffs?

Being up 2-0 in the series played a part, but there was more at play. Brind'Amour spoke about the potential for "wear and tear" on Mrazek as one reason. But it is also part of a philosophy the Hurricanes have embraced about goalie usage.

Eric Tulsky, Carolina vice president of hockey management and strategy, has advocated in the past, before joining the Hurricanes six seasons ago, that back-to back-games are not ideal situations for a goalie. In 2013, Tulsky wrote a blog examining goalie trends in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons and argued the data showed it was better to play the rested goalie in the second of back-to-back games.

The philosophy could also have ties to the Calder Cup championship won by Charlotte, their American Hockey League affiliate.

Charlotte primarily played Alex Nedeljkovic but split four of seven sets of back-to-back games with veteran backup Dustin Tokarski, including twice in the Calder Cup Final.

Tokarski, acquired on loan from the Rangers on Feb. 28, 2019 for his experience, won all four of his starts and one relief appearance with a 1.74 GAA and .935 save percentage. He signed a one-year contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins' affiliate, on July 8.

"I'm very comfortable saying we don't win that championship without Dustin Tokarski," said Paul Schonfelder, the Hurricanes minor-league goalie consultant.

Schonfelder did not take part in any discussions about the recent decision to split games between Reimer and Mrazek but said the trend of needing two goalies to win the Stanley Cup was something the coaches in Charlotte considered before the Calder Cup run.

Like Reimer replacing Mrazek, the decision was not always about performance. Nedeljkovic played all four games in a 3-1 first-round series win against Providence, but Tokarski started back-to-back games to open the second round against Hershey.

"[Tokarski's] first start was not a result of [Nedeljkovic] not playing well," Schonfelder said. "It was 'OK, this is a great time to get him in.' When you start the playoffs, you might be able to sneak the back-to-backs in, but the deeper you go, it gets harder.

"Just taking everything into consideration, the intensity of the games, the pressure of the games. [Nedeljkovic] said as you go deeper, the weather gets warmer, he was losing more water, getting more tired, and he was just wearing down faster. So why would you play him back-to-back when we have a guy who has played well and is experienced?"

With back-to-back games looming for the Montreal Canadiens and Penguins; Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild; and Chicago Blackhawks and Oilers in the Qualifiers, it's a question other teams will face.

The Penguins, Wild and Oilers, like the Hurricanes, each split its goaltending duties somewhat equally this season.

Whether any team is willing to follow the Carolina lead without the benefit of being up 2-0 will be interesting to see, and perhaps worth watching the rest of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, especially as other teams with strong tandems -- the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche -- get their schedules for a best-of-7 first round, which will played across 14 days beginning Tuesday.