Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour pulled Frederik Andersen in favor of Brandon Bussi during the Stanley Cup Final, a move that highlighted a broader shift in how NHL teams deploy their goaltenders. The decision came after Andersen allowed four unanswered goals in the second period against the Vegas Golden Knights and preceded a stretch in which Bussi started multiple games and delivered key saves.
Fewer clear-cut starters exist than in the past. Historically, starters logged 60 to 70 regular-season games and played nearly every minute in the playoffs while backups handled the remainder. This season, only Utah Mammoth’s Karel Vejmelka reached 60 starts, and 18 other goaltenders made 50 or more. Backups who once saw 10 to 20 appearances are now typically playing more than 30.
Carolina began the season with Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov before Kochetkov underwent lower-body surgery in December, ending his regular season and prompting the promotion of Bussi from the AHL. Bussi finished with a team-high 39 games played; Andersen had 35. Andersen did not start more than two consecutive regular-season games, then made 15 straight playoff starts before Brind’Amour gave him a night off and turned to Bussi. Bussi made 18 saves in Game 4 to even the series and 23 saves in Game 5 to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead.
Inconsistent play and injuries forced the Vegas Golden Knights to use four goaltenders in the regular season. Akira Schmid led the team with 34 starts and 16 wins but was a healthy scratch in the postseason. Adin Hill backed up Carter Hart, who began playing in December after being reinstated by the NHL; Hart started 18 regular-season games and had started 22 consecutive playoff games through Game 5.
After Bussi replaced Andersen, nine of 16 teams used multiple goalies in the postseason, and six of those teams advanced to the second round. Teams varied in their approaches: Buffalo split heavy minutes between two goalies, Colorado and Minnesota made changes seeking a spark, and Anaheim and Montreal turned to backups to allow starters a reset. “I think when you get to the playoffs and you add up the number of games that you are going to play over the course of the year, the number grows,” Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said.
Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan, speaking to ESPN in April, described the value of managing a tandem. “If you’re going through a series and you think your goalie needs a little bit of a reset, it’s a privilege to have another goalie that can win you a hockey game,” he said, noting lessons learned while working with Mike Smith and during Stanley Cup Final runs, according to ESPN.
