DENVER – The Wild continues to rotate goalies Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen, blurring the lines between who's the starter and who's the backup.
But that traditional hierarchy might be falling by the wayside.
"That's likely the way it's going," coach Dean Evason said.
Talbot got the start Thursday when the Wild began a two-game series at Colorado, a decision that was debated by the coaching staff and management since Kahkonen pitched a 31-save shutout Tuesday in a 3-0 victory over Arizona to win his ninth consecutive game.
While it was the first time this season the Wild didn't go back with the goaltender coming off a shutout, the switch reinforced the two-goalie system the team has been relying on — an approach that isn't unique to the Wild.
Among the teams with the best save percentage so far this season in the NHL, Boston (Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak), Los Angeles (Jonathan Quick and Calvin Petersen) and Florida (Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger) have also been splitting starts between two goaltenders.
Injury has been a factor for the Bruins, with Rask currently sidelined. But even before then, Halak was helping shoulder the workload, and that plan makes sense in a condensed season.
"Every other night we play," Kahkonen said. "We need two goalies here to play, to play well and win games. One goalie this year cannot do all the work. It just doesn't work like that."