NHL teams increasingly value reliable No. 2 goaltenders
The NHL is seeing more teams use a 1-A/1-B setup, with goalies splitting starts more evenly. Charlie Lindgren and Casey DeSmith are cited as backups who have provided quality starts for Washington and Dallas. Analysts argue that lacking a dependable No. 2 can leave a club behind.
The article describes a shift from an earlier NHL era, when starters often played 68 to 70 games and backups appeared roughly a dozen times, mostly on consecutive nights. Today, clubs increasingly divide starts more evenly in a 1-A/1-B arrangement.
Washington’s Charlie Lindgren and Dallas’s Casey DeSmith are cited as No. 2 goalies who delivered quality starts; Lindgren performed well against Montreal, and DeSmith won against Colorado. On Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed the role’s evolution. Hutton emphasized that backups must perform in difficult circumstances, because teams will find replacements if they cannot.
This shift may affect how fans and analysts judge roster depth, as dependable backup goaltending could become a more visible part of team success. Players in No. 2 roles may gain more opportunities and scrutiny, while clubs lacking such depth could face greater risk during busy schedules. The broader sports conversation may increasingly treat goaltending tandems, rather than a single starter, as a key measure of organizational preparedness.