There used to be a time when each NHL club would have their #1 goalie and that was that. However, the NHL has seen a wind of change in the past of couple of years, where goaltending duos is becoming more and more of a familiar site.
While having two capable goalies can be seen as an advantage, as an ex-hockey player I can tell you that most hockey players play differently depending on who is in nets. This is due to the fact that different goalies have different strengths and weaknesses. If a goalie is well known for letting in fluke goals from beyond the blue line, defenseman will have a tendency to try and block these shots, even if it takes them out of position. Or if a goalie is week on 3 on 2s then some forwards will backcheck more than they would of with another goalie in nets.
All this to say that: having rotating goalies is not just about who is in nets. It affects the team's psyche and its overall play.
The situation in Pittsburgh is an interesting one right now as Marc-André Fleury is struggling out of the gate. His team is definitely playing better in front of Brent Johnson and one could argue that it is because the players know what they are getting with Johnson, while Fleury will often disappoint with a weak goal, deflating the whole team's attitude.
The Philadelphia Flyers have also had to deal with a lot of goaltenders over the past couple of years. I suspect that that team's philosophy is now "offense must win the game, because you can't count on the back-end".
The Ottawa Senators are now going through a similar situation where they just have no stable goaltending and it's affecting the team's play. Inevitably, confidence goes down. The team gets nervous when they are up a goal or two and players stop playing naturally, which is what makes then superstars.
On the flip side, there are teams that have "star quality" first rate goaltenders such as New Jersey with Brodeur and Vancouver with Luongo, however both these teams have not had much playoff success in the past couple of years.
It must be tough the be a coach in the NHL, when one year a goalie like Niemi wins you the cup and the next he has a 3.71 GAA average and a save percentage of .879
Goalies are a weird bunch when you think about it. When a kid chooses to play hockey, he can either try and put the puck in the net or try and stop it. Usually, there are 20 plus kids that feel they want to put the puck in the net, while a few oddballs choose to try and stop it. They are just different.
This difference continues into their NHL careers. In this writer's opinion, having one star goalie is still your best option. It brings stability to the team throughout a long 82 game season. As well, no NHL team ever seems to continue rotating goalies in the playoffs anyways, so why create the confusion in the first place.
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