Here’s a wild but true fact: the two teams who faced off in the 2019 Stanley Cup finals have both changed their starting goalies since the beginning of the 2020 playoffs. And so far, it hasn’t hurt them.

Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins unexpectedly opted out of the Toronto bubble to be with family. In April, his wife gave birth to their third daughter, Livia. The 33-year-old Finn, a 2011 Stanley Cup winner and 2006 World Junior and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, had struggled with a 2.57 GAA and 90.4 save percentage in the post-season.

Rask’s backup, Jaroslav Halak, is a two-time Olympian but also, at age 35, long removed from his legendary march to the 2010 conference finals with the Montreal Canadiens. However, the Bratislava native came in and got the job done – despite some shaky moments – with two wins (3-1 and 4-3) as the Bruins took a 3-1 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Meanwhile, after losing twice to the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis coach Craig Berube decided to replace starter Jordan Binnington with Jake Allen. Binnington, Allen’s backup for two seasons, stole the number one job last year from his fellow Canadian and outdueled Rask for the Cup in seven games. However, this year, Binnington went winless with the NHL’s worst post-season numbers (4.27 GAA, 86.2 save percentage). And Allen, similar to Halak delivered the goods with consecutive wins (3-2 in overtime and 3-1) to even the first-round series.

The million-dollar question is whether changing goalies will spark a championship run. It’s certainly happened before in Stanley Cup, Olympic, and World Championship play. Let’s take a look back at seven famous cases from the 21st century.

1) When Gerber Falters, Ward Flourishes (2006 Stanley Cup)

In 2006, Martin Gerber was riding high. Not only had the SC Langnau graduate backstopped Switzerland to an historic 2-0 Olympic win over Canada, but he’d also played a career-high 60 NHL games as the Carolina Hurricanes starter. However, a nasty stomach flu saw Gerber struggling as the Canes lost their first two playoff games to Montreal, and rookie Cam Ward got the nod from coach Peter Laviolette.

Although Gerber did appear in four more games, including a 4-0 shutout over the Buffalo Sabres in the conference final, it was Ward who carried the load. The future 2007 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship gold medalist played all seven games in the Stanley Cup final triumph over the Edmonton Oilers and earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

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2) The Dominator’s Reign Ends, But Osgood Is On (2008 Stanley Cup)

With an incredible six Vezina Trophies, Dominik Hasek’s goaltending legacy was secure at age 43. He hoped to lead the Detroit Red Wings to their second Cup during his tenure and fourth in the post-1967 expansion era (1997, 1998, 2002). Yet when Detroit faced the eighth-seeded Nashville Predators in the first round, “The Dominator” struggled. After Hasek made 11 saves on 14 shots in a 3-2 loss in Game Four, coach Mike Babcock decided to put in the woefully underrated but always battle-ready Chris Osgood instead.

Osgood held down the fort with a 2.09 GAA and 91.4 save percentage. The Nicklas Lidstrom-captained Wings swept the Colorado Avalanche, ousted the Dallas Stars in six games, and then defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games to spoil Sidney Crosby and Yevgeni Malkin’s Cup final debut. Hasek retired from the NHL afterwards.

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3) Goodbye Cujo, Hello Marty (2002 Olympics)

Heading into Salt Lake City, Canada was hungry for its first Olympic gold medal in 50 years. Head coach Pat Quinn started Curtis Joseph, his Toronto Maple Leafs mainstay, in Game One against Sweden. But Swedish coach Hardy Nilsson’s “Torpedo Hockey” system, designed to exploit the big international rink, made the Canadians look bad in a 5-2 loss.

“Cujo” never suited up again as Quinn handed the reins to Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. The Canadians looked wonky through the preliminary round, but picked up steam with playoff wins over Finland (2-1) and Belarus (7-1). Brodeur, then a two-time Cup champion, saved his best for the gold medal game, a 5-2 victory over the host Americans. After the Games, a Toronto media frenzy occurred after Joseph appeared to snub Quinn’s offer of a handshake when the two were being honoured for their Olympic success before a home game.

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4) Thanks Marty, Now Over to You, Roberto (2010 Olympics)

Martin Brodeur certainly wasn’t the main culprit in Canada’s disastrous seventh-place finish at the 2006 Turin Olympics, and the all-time NHL wins leader retained his starting job to kick off the home-ice Vancouver Olympics. However, the tide turned in the last round-robin game. Canada fell 5-3 to the U.S. despite outshooting them 45-23. After much speculation, coach Mike Babcock anointed Roberto Luongo – who had been Brodeur’s backup since Turin – as his playoff starter.

It all panned out. Luongo got big wins over Norway (8-2) and Russia (7-3), and a nail-biting semi-final escape against Slovakia (3-2) set the stage for a gold-medal rematch with the Americans. Under the microscope in his Canucks’ home arena, Luongo emerged victorious. Although the two-time IIHF World Championship gold medalist surrendered Zach Parise’s tying goal with 35 seconds left, he redeemed himself in overtime, foiling Jamie Langenbrunner’s dangerous shot after a Scott Niedermayer giveaway. Less than a minute later, Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal.

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5) When Burke Gets Hurt, Luongo Fills the Void (2003 Worlds)

Roberto Luongo got his first big international crack at replacing a starting goalie at Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena. Sean Burke went down with a groin injury during Canada’s 8-4 semi-final romp over the Czech Republic, and the then-Florida Panthers star stepped in. Facing a potent Swedish roster with Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin in the gold medal game, how would the 24-year-old Luongo fare?

The answer was “very nicely.” After spotting Tre Kronor a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Mathias Tjarnqvist and P-J Axelsson, Luongo was perfect the rest of the way, registering 37 saves. Anson Carter gave Canada the comeback victory with his heavily video-reviewed 3-2 goal in overtime. Burke, previously a two-time Olympian and 1997 Worlds gold medalist, was named Best Goalie and a tournament all-star. Yet there was no downplaying Luongo’s contribution. He would win a second straight gold in 2004, this time as the designated starter in Prague.

6) After Yeryomenko’s Injury, Nabokov Steadies the Ship (2008 Worlds)

Some players might announce they were too tired to represent their country after losing a quadruple overtime game and getting eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Goalie Yevgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks could certainly have gone down that road in 2008 after posting 53 saves in a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat versus the Dallas Stars. Instead, he answered Mother Russia’s call in Quebec City.

It was a huge plus for coach Slava Bykov. Russian starter Alexander Yeryomenko had injured his right ACL during a 5-4 overtime win over the Czechs. And if the Salavat Yulayev Ufa veteran couldn’t go, Worlds rookie Mikhail Biryukov was going to be thrown into the fire. So Nabokov’s steadying presence was essential.

“Nabby” debuted in a 3-2 win over Sweden and never lost a game. He blanked Switzerland 6-0 in the quarter-finals and Finland 4-0 in the semi-finals. And he hung on as the Russians roared back to defeat host Canada 5-4 in the gold medal game on Ilya Kovalchuk’s sudden-death winner.

7) Fasth Cedes the Throne to King Henrik (2017 Worlds)

Getting a chance to win your first World Championship gold medal on a team captained by your twin brother is a rare opportunity indeed. So it’s no wonder that Sweden’s Henrik Lundqvist hopped on a plane to Paris to join Joel Lundqvist after the New York Rangers were eliminated by the Ottawa Senators in the second round of the 2017 playoffs.

Viktor Fasth, named Best Goalie at the 2011 Worlds when Sweden took the silver medal, showed the characteristic Scandinavian lack of ego as he stepped aside for “King Henrik.” Lundqvist closed out Group A play with 4-2 victories over Denmark and Slovakia. The 2006 Olympic gold medalist clamped down even harder during the medal round, allowing just one goal per game.

After beating Switzerland 3-1 in the quarter-final and Finland 4-1 in the semi-final, Lundqvist saved his best for mighty Canada. The 35-year-old superstar posted 42 saves in the 2-1 shootout victory in Cologne, and the image of tournament MVP William Nylander bowling him over with a post-game hug on top of this story has become iconic.