Look for a BETWEEN THE PIPES article every week on PrimePucks™! BTP: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN Last week we looked at a few teams that needed to have a plan in place because of their different goaltending situations.  This week we will take a look at what young, talented goaltenders are already getting their foot in the door a little deeper with each solid performance by them and a few poor starts from the incumbents.  If you look at the past 6 Stanley Cup winners, 5 of which have been shared by the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings and the other by the Boston Bruins, the one thing that you will notice that they have in common is that the repeat winners have the same goaltender throughout their championship runs. A few teams need to make a decision in regards to their future and the future is approaching quickly. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:  This team surprised a few teams in the Eastern Conference last season with a few upsets in getting to the Stanley Cup finals only to fall to the Chicago Blackhawks.  The Bolts are set in net for the time being with Ben Bishop being their #1 but with his short history of injuries and a uber-talented young net minder breathing down his neck in Andrei Vasilevskiy, Bishop’s time may have come and gone, especially if Vasilevskiy can lock down the #1 job with a few more solid starts.  Now the regular season is a totally different animal than the post-season but what could work for the Lightning to get back to the dance in June is perhaps have Vasilevskiy play somewhere between 50-75% of the remaining games and let Bishop rest-up and heal and get himself prepared for the rigors of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  It seemed to work wonders for the New York Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist last season when the King missed a few months of the regular season.  There is no doubt that Vasilevskiy has what it takes to be a #1 NHL goaltender, but he is still young and will someday soon be the undisputed #1 in Tampa, but having a big, hulking net minder in Bishop who got you to the Finals last year only provides you with a good formula for success if used the right way.  Get Vasilevskiy the experience and have a healthy Bishop for the playoffs.  DETROIT RED WINGS: The Detroit Red Wings are a perennial threat to make the playoffs given their history but the team is a transition period now not only with a new head coach in Jeff Blashill but possibly the unseating of goaltender Jimmy Howard by Petr Mrazek.  Howard’s numbers have suffered a bit over the past few years as he has been hit with a few nagging injuries during that time so perhaps this little competition with the up-and-coming Mrazek will do wonders for his game.  So far in 6 games this season, Howard has gone 3-2-1 with a .934 SP and a 2.01 GAA which are far better than what he has posted in recent years. Mrazek hasn’t been as sharp this season but still has a winning record at 4-3-0 with a .928 SP and a 2.42 GAA.  Last year in playing 29 games in place of the injured Howard, he was 16-9-2 with pretty similar metrics (.918 SP & 2.38 GAA).  So what should the Red Wing faithful expect from this young net minder? In his stint in the AHL with the Grand Rapid griffins where Blashill was his coach, he sports a GAA at or around 2.00 with a solid SP around .925.  The Red Wings are a team with solid veterans in Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg who are in the process of being replaced by young stars Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist but they have a boatload of really young talent just making their way to the NHL in the likes of Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and Teemu Pulkkinen.  So the time is right to give Mrazek the reigns and let the team develop just like the previous Stanley Cup Champions have down with their goaltenders. ST. LOUIS BLUES:: For a team and a head coach that has lived with the two-goalie starting goalie tandem the past few years and not getting the desired playoff results, perhaps it is time to switch out of that system and give the #1 job to Jake Allen who has been getting groomed for this particular role over the past two seasons.  Having Brian Elliott to fall back on while Allen goes through some growing pains is a blessing but the time is now for Allen to assume the role of the Blues starting goalie.  When Ken Hitchcock took over the Blues coaching job, the expectation of the Blues being competitive and now having a legitimate chance of winning the Stanley Cup was higher than ever.  The one thing I see missing from the Blues is that playoff experienced veteran or two who know what it takes to get to the Stanley Cup Finals and that is still the case.  Once they correct that missing ingredient, and only then, will they have as good a chance as other teams in hoisting the coveted chalice.  If the Blues want to be considered serious threats year-in and year-out, they need to switch out of this alternating goalie system and let Allen fly.  As I mentioned earlier, the trend is that teams who have that constant presence in the crease over the years have a better chance to get to the Stanley Cup Finals than those who don’t.  ICE POPS:  BIG D IS TOPS IN WEST—There was expectations that the Dallas Stars would be battling for a playoff spot this season but no one thought they would be sitting atop the Western Conference with a record of 11-3-0 and 22 points.  Kudos to a good start by the Stars.…BETTER DUCK—They dug themselves quite a hole to start the season but the Anaheim Ducks are starting to right the ship and are paddling hard as they have 3 in a row to get themselves out of the basement.  Now is a good time to bag a Duck or two for your fantasy team before it is too late…. BIG MAC ATTACK IN DENVER—Those who listened to our PrimePucks™ Draft Guide knew how high we were on Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and he has paid dividends right from the start.  Big Mac now has 6 goals and 9 assists in 14 games.  Having MacKinnon on your team is like having a McDonald’s breakfast available all day long.  Simply delicious…OSCAR NO WIENER—Did you know that New York Ranger rookie Oscar Lindberg has 7 even-strength goals so far this season?  The same number that both Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Steen have.  Now that’s good company ….McDAVID DOWN ---You never want to see any player go down to injury but it especially hurts when your top player goes down to a serious injury as Edmonton Oiler Connor McDavid did when fracturing his clavicle.  He will miss a few months but the Oilers have to be extremely happy with the way he was playing in his first 13 games gathering 5 goals and 7 assists.  The future is bright in Edmonton….DEVILS BIG SURPRISE SO FAR---The New jersey Devils are playing much better than I was expecting and with a solid goaltender in Cory Schneider in net, if they can stay healthy and competitive night-in and night-out, they will be a tough opponent to play against…BUY LOW CANDIDATES—Any Columbus Blue Jacket and Anaheim Duck as both teams were thought to be very competitive this season and if they don’t panic, because it’s still a long season, they have the players to get back in the thick of things rather quickly.