BTP: NO WORRIES, I’VE GOT YOUR BACK! Last Year’s New York Rangers showed how valuable a backup can be in your quest to make the playoffs as Cam Talbot stepped in for the injured Henrik Lundqvist and was nothing short of spectacular as the Rangers surged on their way to winning the President’s trophy.    MONTREAL CANADIENS:  When you are possessing one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL today you never think that your #1 net minder will go down to injury for a significant stretch of time, but it happens all the time.  The most recent case had Carey Price missing a few weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.  In comes relatively unknown rookie Mike Condon who started 9 games in a row, going 5-2-2 in those games until Price’s return on Friday, November 20th.  The Canadiens are hoping to challenge for the President’s Cup and need those kind of efforts in order to fulfill that goal. The Rangers proved how valuable having that solid backup is last year, and the Habs are proving it again this year. Teams that have excellent backup goaltending are the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues.  The Rangers signed Antti Raanta after trading away last year’s savior Cam Talbot to the Edmonton Oilers for a few draft picks.  All the ex-Chicago Blackhawk has done so far in 4 games is win all 4 with a 1.25 GAA and .955 SP.  Raanta seems to have the skills to someday take over for the King of Broadway, but that won’t be for a few years and who knows what happens in that span of time. Andrei Vasilevskiy will one day in the very near future be the undisputed #1 goaltender in Tampa Bay but as of right now, he is still considered the backup, but probably is more like a 1B compared to Ben Bishop’s #1B status.  Last year Vasilevskiy burst onto the NHL scene and went 7-5-1 in 16 appearances sporting a 2.36 GAA and a .918 SP allowing the Lightning to let go of aging Evgeni Nabokov.  Vasilevskiy was recovering from off-season surgery and has recently returned to action, appearing in 4 games and going 2-2-0 with a 2.03 GAA and a .929 SP.  It is safe to say that the surgery was a success. It’s not so much the case of Petr Mrazek being the backup, or Jimmy Howard for that matter as they both have split time somewhat equally at the beginning of the s2014-2015 season, but Mrazek has started the last 3 of 4, giving him 12 starts versus Howard’s 9.  With a back-to-back weekend, Howard should get the start on Saturday.  Mrazek showed last year (16-9-2) during Howard’s absence to injury that he is capable of carrying the load for the Red Wings but look for the rotation to continue until one gets the hot hand.  The St. Louis Blues and Head Coach Ken Hitchcock are notorious for splitting games amongst their goaltenders but they seem to be leaning away from their past tendencies as Jake Allen has started 14 games compared to 8 for Brian Elliott.  Elliott’s numbers this year are below the norm for the usually reliable goalkeeper but it seems clear to me that the blues are going to rely more heavily on Allen as the season progresses.  But isn’t it nice to have a seasoned veteran like Elliott on your bench to fill in on occasion and possibly for long stretches of time if Allen happens to go down to injury? All 5 of these teams are serious contenders for making the playoffs and also making a good run at the coveted Stanley Cup and having the superior backup goaltending that each team possesses ensures that the team will not miss a beat on their quest for the Stanley Cup.   ICE POPS:  Will be back next week.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!