New Jersey's head coach shares some factors that go into deciding which goaltenders play when on a back-to-back.
This season, the New Jersey Devils are scheduled for 16 back-to-back games, which are the most in the NHL for 2023-24. The club completed their first set when they opened the season versus the Detroit Red Wings and played the Arizona Coyotes the following night.
Head coach Lindy Ruff and his staff decided to utilize goaltender Vitek Vanecek against Detroit in the season opener and Akira Schmid versus Arizona.
Since then, the Devils have rotated their netminders. After the team's Oct. 23 practice, Ruff was asked if he would like to see one of his goaltenders take over for a few games.
"No, I think (back to) what we said earlier that we really want to use both guys," Ruff said. "There may be times that one guy will take over. I think if you look at the schedule, we have a back-to-back and (games) three (nights) out of four. It's another situation where we're going to need both goaltenders to play."
The Devils are scheduled to play the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night and host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
While Ruff never divulges his starting goaltenders, last season, Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News asked the head coach what factors go into deciding which netminders start when on a back-to-back.
"Well, there are times that we'll look into a goalie's record against certain teams, and sometimes that will play a factor," he said. "Some of it is based on where we feel our goalies are at physically. You could say that he still seems fresh; he just played the previous, or you can flip-flop. It's a conversation we have as a group. It's not a one-man decision. We kind of put a plan together. Sometimes, the plan will change, to be honest."
Let's look at Vanecek and Schmid's respective records versus the Canadiens and Capitals.
Schmid: A record of 1-0-0 versus Montreal in his career and a record of 2-0-0 versus Washington in his career.
Vanecek: A record of 2-1-0 versus Montreal in his career and a record of 1-0-0 versus Washington in his career.
Vanecek was drafted by the Capitals 39th overall during the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in 79 games for Washington and finished his tenure with a save percentage of .908 and goals against average of 2.68. New Jersey acquired the 27-year-old on July 8, 2022, in exchange for two draft picks.
If the rotation continues, Vanecek will get the nod in net versus Montreal, but fans will have to wait to see who is in the starter's net during the team's Tuesday morning skate at 11:30 a.m. Stay with The Hockey News for updates, including the Devils projected lineup versus the Canadiens.