Backup Goalies Excelling in Stanley Cup Playoffs
Little did backup goalie Louis Domingue realize that he would be called into duty in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With starter Casey DeSmith out for the playoffs after core muscle surgery, it's up to little used Domingue to save the day.
Domingue made 17 saves in his Penguins playoffs debut, shutting down the New York Rangers until Evgeni Malkin finally scored the winning goal at 5:58 of the third overtime stanza.
While Domingue looked golden in that game, his next game he was lit up for five goals in the Pens 5-2 loss. He only played in two games during the regular season and now must be depended upon for the remainder of the playoff series.
In Nashville, the Preds were at a loss when Juuse Saros was not able to start in the playoffs. In their first game against the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche, David Rittich was called upon to take his place.
That didn't work out too well as Rittich gave up five goals in 4:56 and was yanked. When the backup to the backup has to come in, you know things are rough.
Connor Ingram filled the net for the rest of the 7-2 romp by the Av's and he only allowed two goals. In Game 2, Ingram held off the Av's potent offence and just allowed two goals. That was enough for another Colorado victory.
Ingram's .952 save percentage and a solid 2.12 goals against is encouraging for the Preds team. Since it was announced that Saros would be out again for Game 3, Ingram will be needed to attempt to keep his team in the playoffs.
Carolina thought things were rolling well until Frederik Andersen was hurt. Backup Antti Raanta was then put between the pipes. In Rannta's first playoff games with the Hurricanes, he excelled.
He stopped 35 of 36 shots and had a 1.02 goals-against-average, and a .972 save percentage. Doesn't get much better than that. Then, in Game 2 against the Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak collided with Raanta causing the goalie's mouth to bleed. He only played 7:47 and had to be replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov, who had only appeared in three games all season.
Kochetkov made 30 saves and helped the Canes win easily, 5-2. However, in Game 2 his fortunes turned. The Bruins tallied four times against him and his save percentage dipped to .857.
All three of these backup goalies were called into service and thus far have done a fine job. Can they continue that going forward? We'll see.
