Is changing goalies mid-series a good thing?

[TheBeard]

The talk always used to be about how if you’re changing a goaltender in the middle of a series it’s usually the beginning of the end, but it certainly seems like it’s been more positive than negative in the last decade or so, from Murray replacing Fleury in the conference finals, to Bob taking over from Lyon against Boston and going on a miracle run to now Bussi. Of course the rebuttal is, well, Edmonton and their crap roulette of netminders.

Are there more good examples than bad examples of this?

 

[superstars]

doesn't really matter, kind of like coaching, end of the day 99% of hockey is just luck + some weighting of the roster's irl EA sports rating and chemistry

 

[Shark Finn]

It's a thing. Could go well, could go bad.

 

[Bozo Nicholson]

It's a thing. Could go well, could go bad.

But here on HF Boards we need definitive black and white answers. And we need them quick!

 

[alko]

Its working with Hurricanes.

 

[torniojaws]

Goalie is a mental position as well. If one goalie is "losing" the mental aspect, switching to a fresh goalie is the right call.

 

[Hinterland]

It usually isn't.

However, if you give up 4+ goals in five game straight you probably waited too long to make adjustments. You can't win a cup bleeding four goals every game. Don't get me wrong, Carter Hart is only one part of the problem. Torts' system and the skaters not backchecking and boxing out properly also contributed to the situation.

I think the Canes are most certainly gonna win the cup because Brind'Amour was willing to make adjustments based on the problems in front of him while Torts was too stubborn about it.

At this point it's probably too late. What is he supposed to do? Start a new goaltender in an elimination game when Carter Hart played every minute of the playoff run? Even if he does consider changing goalies it would have been stupid to reveal it now...so I wasn't surprised to see Torts double down.

 

[pelderhostiga]

2021 finals was the only time in the 2020s that there were no teams in the final with a rotating goalie... so it's something.

 

[Sanderson]

The talk always used to be about how if you’re changing a goaltender in the middle of a series it’s usually the beginning of the end, but it certainly seems like it’s been more positive than negative in the last decade or so, from Murray replacing Fleury in the conference finals, to Bob taking over from Lyon against Boston and going on a miracle run to now Bussi. Of course the rebuttal is, well, Edmonton and their crap roulette of netminders.

Are there more good examples than bad examples of this?

Not sure how Edmonton could be seen as a rebuttal.
In 2023/24 Pickard came in against Vancouver after Skinner looked bad for three games. He won them one game, lost another, Skinner returned and played a whole lot better than before. They won the series and Skinner outdueled Oettinger in the next round. Definately a change for the positive.

In 2024/25, Skinner looked horrendous against LA, Pickard came in and helped them turn the series around, He won two games agaisnt Vegas though he didn't look all that hot, then he got injured. Skinner returned and largely played great for the rest of round 2 and round 3. Another case of change helping the team.
Pickard also came in during game 4 and helped them tie the series. It may not have worked out afterwards, but it was worth a shot. The whole team simply ran out of steam at that point.


There is nothing wrong with changing the goalie if things look bad. It's hardly a recent thing either. Teams had success with that approach prior to that as well. Of course it can't cure all problems, but if you want to snap the team out of a funk, it can work.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

don't know if you don't try.

Still wish Montgomery would have used his tandem in 2022-2023 playoffs. Instead he rode an injured? emotionally unstable? goalie in Ullmark until it was wayyyyyyyyy too late.

 

[FiveTacos]

Depends on the gap in quality between your goalies.

 

[nogatco rd]

Ovi is still Cupless if Trotz doesn’t pull the plug on Grubauer vs CBJ in 2018

 

[tarheelhockey]

This is such a micro-level thing that it’s like asking whether it’s a good thing to double down in blackjack. It depends entirely on what’s happening at the time.

 

[JianYang]

The talk always used to be about how if you’re changing a goaltender in the middle of a series it’s usually the beginning of the end, but it certainly seems like it’s been more positive than negative in the last decade or so, from Murray replacing Fleury in the conference finals, to Bob taking over from Lyon against Boston and going on a miracle run to now Bussi. Of course the rebuttal is, well, Edmonton and their crap roulette of netminders.

Are there more good examples than bad examples of this?

"Backup" goalies are increasingly being relied upon in the regular season so I think teams have more of an established trust in their alternate goalie than before.

As I think back, the bad examples are most evident when a goalie takes over due to a mis series injury.

 

[Chan790]

In Vegas' case, there may just be nowhere else to go.

Hart has been bad, but the other two goalies in the organization are:

Adin Hill, who has 1 career win in 7 games against the Canes and whose career numbers are nearly identical to Hart's in this series.

Akira Schmidt, who has good career regular season numbers against the Canes, but was 0-3 in the playoffs with NJ against the Canes who scored on him basically at-will.

Pull Hart for either of them and it doesn't work out, you probably face more second-guessing than you do just staying with Hart.

 

[RobHood]

If you mean switching out your starter is the road to success and should be done as a matter of course, than the answer is no. If a player irrespective of position isn't performing up to snuff and there's an option on the bench, you switch them out. I think the reason why it's happening with goaltenders more recently is because goaltending overall has been so poor recently.

 

[sxvnert]

Yes if you have a tandem (like the Canes). No if you have a legit starter and some barely NHLer.

 

[HockeyVirus]

It depends.

A goalie playing really well who gets injured and the backup comes in? Likely bad.

A goalie playing poorly the coach makes a change and the new goalie plays really well at least for a few games? Good usually turns a series.

 

[PistolPete]

Ask Bob Murdoch what his opinion on the matter is

 

[bossram]

I mean, if your goalie is sh**ing the bed, it's probably not gonna help the team to leave him in.

 

[Iggys Dome]

Didn't the 16/17 Pens do this multiple times?

Switching goalies is a good thing to shake things up if you're getting rolled. I wish the Flames did it in 2022 against Edmonton, throwing in Vladar in game 4 or 5.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Depends on the gap in quality between your goalies.

Feels like more and more teams are going towards tandems.

 

[FiveTacos]

Feels like more and more teams are going towards tandems.

Probably because there really aren't that many elite #1s.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

It really depends on the case. Some mentioned above are a case of a team going from their backup TO their starter, which doesn't really count. Lyon was never actually Florida's starter, he began the playoffs in net because Bob and Knight were both out, and he was incredible in their stead, and even though Bob had healed up, it was wise to wait until Lyon inevitably cooled off, which they did. Grubauer was not Washington's starter, he was just more in form at the end of the regular season, and similar deal, he cooled off, Holtby got in. Pittsburgh tried to switch back to Fleury in 2016, but he was just too rusty, so they put Murray back in.

I truly believe Carolina either pulled Andersen because there's something going on mentally over Claude Lemieux or he was concussed in Game 3 on the GI disallowed goal. Evidence? He's not even been on the bench, he's not practicing with the team and they even called up another goalie. The truth will come out after this final ends one way or the other. Bussi has done fine since going in, and if he gets the last 3 wins, he'll have made a meaningful contribution in his starter's stead, and Brind'Amour will have been proven correct that both would be needed.

 

[centipede2233]

If your starting goalie was good up until the finals but had a history of not exactly being reliable, then he proceeds to get a -5.4 GSAE in the first 3 games of the final and you have a backup that was red hot in the first half of the season and is well rested, a change in net is paramount!