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Coaches not afraid of going with backup plan in playoffs

SAN JOSE, CALIF. - The coaching formula for goalies used to be relatively easy, especially come playoff time.

Give your No. 1 guy the ball and let him run with it.

And if a team had to turn to the backup at some point, no matter what they were saying publicly, there always seemed to be an element of hope involved when it came to survival.

It would be a stretch to say that most teams are abandoning the traditional plan of having a bona fide starter during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, but there’s been a noticeable difference this spring.