Unmasked: Playoffs could see teams using multiple goalies

Based on recent history, it's fair to expect several teams will need more than one goalie during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The question is if more will do so intentionally.
Last season, the Colorado Avalanche got 10 wins from Darcy Kuemper and six from Pavel Francouz en route to the Stanley Cup, proving riding a No.1 goalie the entire postseason is no longer a prerequisite for winning.
Though it's true Andrei Vasilevskiy won the previous two seasons and was back in the Cup Final last season playing every minute for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the need for goaltending depth in the playoffs has become common.
Since 2015, five of the eight Cup champions have used more than one goalie.
Philipp Grubauer started the first two games before Braden Holtby led the Washington Capitals to a title in 2018. Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray shared the net for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017, and Murray, Fleury and Jeff Zatkoff each started at some point the previous playoffs. Corey Crawford began and finished as the Chicago Blackhawks starter for their 2015 Stanley Cup run, but they may not have gotten out of the first round against the Nashville Predators without three wins from Scott Darling.
More teams are splitting starts more evenly in the regular season, but most have been reluctant to continue that practice into the postseason, at least not by design.
The Capitals turned to Holtby after Grubauer lost the first two games. The Penguins went back and forth based on injuries, Crawford struggled against Nashville, and Colorado temporarily lost Kuemper to an eye injury.
Could this season see some teams use two goalies by design?
"We think it can (work)," Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason said. "We've talked about different teams that have won the Cup. There's lots of teams that have done it. We talked the other day about Washington, and they went back and forth and won the Cup. They had both goaltenders play significant games. It's been done. We'll see what happens when we get there."
The Wild have two top goalies to choose from in Fleury and Filip Gustavsson, whose .932 save percentage this season is second in the NHL to Linus Ullmark (.937) of the Boston Bruins among goalies to play at least 35 games. Fleury, who won the Stanley Cup three times in Pittsburgh, has a .922 save percentage since March 1, creating an interesting decision for a team that faced a similar choice last season.
After arriving in Minnesota in a trade from Chicago, Fleury mostly alternated starts with Cam Talbot, and each played well. But when the playoffs started, Fleury played the first five games before the Wild went back to Talbot facing elimination against the St. Louis Blues in Game 6. They lost 5-1 with Talbot giving up four goals on 26 shots.
The idea of a tandem in the playoffs has been discussed, Evason said.
"Who's your guy? Does your guy have to play?" he said. "We've talked about those scenarios. We haven't rotated but we've had both goaltenders playing all season long. Would we feel comfortable playing both goaltenders? Absolutely. Would we feel great if one goaltender just kept playing great and we just kept going? Sure.
"That's not going to be something that we'll say we're going to do 100 percent when we get there. We're going to do exactly what we've done all season long and that's evaluate game by game and make our choice. Hopefully we make the right one."
What factors might go into choosing a starter when the goalies have similar statistics?
Results against a specific opponent could play a role, or even how a goalie has fared statistically against specific types of scoring chances typically generated by the opponent. A goalie who can handle the puck might be a better option against a team looking to create offense off the forecheck. Fatigue could become a factor, as well.
Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe talked in late March about considering his goalies' results at home versus on the road. Ilya Samsonov is 18-3-3 with a .926 save percentage in 24 games at home this season, but 7-7-2 with a .902 save percentage in 16 starts on the road despite allowing only one goal in his past two, including a 31-save shutout at the Ottawa Senators on April 1. Meanwhile, Murray, who is currently out with a head injury and may not be an option for Game 1, is 5-2-1 with an .876 save percentage at home, and 9-6-1 with a .915 save percentage on the road.
"Something that we're looking at for sure," Keefe said March 31. "I don't know how applicable it might be beyond the regular season … but it's certainly something that has my attention."
One solution that seems unlikely in the playoffs is splitting starts evenly, even though it has worked well for several teams during the past three seasons.
Fleury alternated starts with
Robin Lehner
for the final 24 games with the Vegas Golden Knights going into the 2021 playoffs. Each played extremely well, but Fleury took control of the crease with a dominant performance through the first four games in the first round, ironically against the Wild.
"You don't have to wait too long before you're in net," Fleury said late that season. "I play, get a little bit of rest, practice hard, cheer for 'Lenny' next game and then I can get back at it."
The benefit is neither goalie gets rusty compared to making a switch late in a series after one has been sitting for a week or longer. Knowing you're going back in regardless of the outcome also removes any added mental pressure that comes with a win-and-stay-in philosophy.
Los Angeles Kings goalie Joonas Korpisalo has been in a rotation with Pheonix Copley since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 1, and each has played well.
Coach Todd McLellan won't reveal how he plans to manage starts in the playoffs, or if there's any chance the rotation continues, but after winning the Cup as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, he knows the importance of having options. From 2006 to 2008, the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and Detroit each used two goalies to win a Cup.
"We started with Dominik Hasek, a pretty damn good goalie with a lot of experience and had to go to Chris Osgood and by the time we were done, they split the games in the playoffs," McLellan said. "You need them for momentum, you need them for injury, you need them for certain opponents. I don't know what we're going to do yet, but I know we have options."