If the Penguins proved anything during their Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and '17, it's the importance of having two -- and sometimes three -- quality goaltenders.
Without both Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury in net for extended stretches, it's hard to envision the Penguins winning either of their two most recent championships. The same could be said for the reigning champion Capitals with Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer.
In an era where there is no consensus on the "best goalie in the game," some tandems are better than others. With more and more back-to-back games, it's imperative in today's game.
Below, we rank the best goaltending duos in the NHL. Keep in mind the ranking takes into consideration both goalies and not just the starter.
1. ANAHEIM DUCKS: John Gibson, Ryan Miller
The skinny: Gibson, a Pittsburgh native, has developed into an elite goaltender, and though Miller's star is fading, he could still start for a few teams. The Ducks might have the only tandem with two potential Vezina winners.
2. BOSTON BRUINS: Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak
The skinny: When on his game, Rask remains in the upper echelon of goalies. Halak, exiled from Long Island, is in a new role as a backup but should complement Rask well.
3. NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Pekka Rinne, Juuse Saros
The skinny: Rinne is the reigning Vezina winner (because votes are cast before the playoffs) and is a free agent at season's end. Saros is the heir apparent in Nashville and could oust Rinne as the starter this season. Not a bad problem.
4. DALLAS STARS: Ben Bishop, Anton Khudobin
The skinny: Bishop went down late last season and with him went Dallas' playoff hopes. Bishop should be good-to-go for year two in Big D and the signing of Khudobin, Boston's long-time backup, should make for a good duo.
5. FLORIDA PANTHERS: Roberto Luongo, James Reimer
The skinny: Both are capable and complement each other well. Though he's 39, Luongo posted the second-best save percentage of his long career (.929), while Reimer's 22 wins were a career high.
6. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Frederik Anderson, Curtis McElhinney
The skinny: Anderson was outstanding last season, but the Leafs simply can't win if he's leading the league in shots faced and saves. McElhinney was very strong last season with a .934 save percentage.
7. MINNESOTA WILD: Devan Dubnyk, Alex Stalock
The skinny: The big-bodied Dubnyk is fairly underrated, averaging 35.6 wins the past three seasons. Stalock is a decent backup. No coincidence the Wild has the second-longest current playoff streak at six (Penguins lead with 12).
8. SAN JOSE SHARKS: Martin Jones, Aaron Dell
The skinny: Jones posted his third straight season of 30-plus wins, though his GAA climbed to 2.55. Dell is a solid backup giving San Jose a strong 1-2.
9. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Marc-Andre Fleury, Malcolm Subban
The skinny: Vegas couldn't have scripted a better start for the organization or Fleury, who posted a career-high .927/2.24. Subban has a first-round pedigree and was good in stretches, but had just a .421 Quality Start Percentage (QSP).
10. LOS ANGELES KINGS: Jonathan Quick, Peter Budaj
The skinny: The unorthodox Quick posted his best save percentage (.921) since 2011-12 and is one of the few truly elite goalies in the league. Budaj, who returns to LA., is what he is: Very average.
11. WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Braden Holtby, Pheonix Copley
The skinny: Holtby's spring began with him being benched in favor of Grubauer and ended with him lifting the Cup. Look for a confident Holtby to build off that performance. Copley is an unknown after making just two previous starts.
12. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Louis Domingue
The skinny: Emerging from Bishop's shadow, Vasilevskiy earned a co-league-best 44 wins and was a Vezina finalist. If the heavily-favored Lightning are to win the Cup, he'll need to duplicate that performance. Major drop-off to Domingue.
13. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: Matt Murray, Casey DeSmith
The skinny: When he's on his game and healthy, Murray is an elite goalie on a team that is not comfortable in its own zone. But the injuries are a little concerning and DeSmith (or Tristan Jarry) is inexperienced.
14. WINNIPEG JETS: Connor Hellebuyck, Laurent Brossoit
The skinny: Hellebuyck tied for the league lead with 44 wins -- with an outstanding .609 QSP -- and 3,966 minutes. If the Jets are to get over the hump, he'll have to carry the load. Brossoit has just 20 NHL starts to his resume.
15. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: Corey Crawford, Cam Ward
The skinny: It's pretty simple, the Blackhawks are still a playoff team when Crawford is healthy. He wasn't in 2017-18. His status is Chicago's biggest question mark. Ward is a solid pickup in a backup role.
16. NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Corey Schneider, Keith Kinkaid
The skinny: Schneider endured a brutal 2017-18 and effectively lost his starting job, but he reclaimed it in the postseason with an outstanding .950 save percentage and 1.78 GAA. Kinkaid showed he can be counted on heavily.
17. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Sergei Bobrovsky, Joonas Korpisalo
The skinny: Bobrovsky remains one of the best regular-season goalies (.920 save percentage) and an annual playoff disappointment (.891). Korpisalo is too inconsistent. But the Jackets have brought in Manny Legace as their new goalies coach.
18. MONTREAL CANADIENS: Carey Price, Antti Niemi
The skinny: Once widely-acknowledged as the best in the game, Price is still good but not the goalie he was in 2014-15. After a brutal start with the Penguins last season, Niemi bounced back with the Habs and is a solid backup.
19. COLORADO AVALANCHE: Semyon Varlamov, Philipp Grubauer
The skinny: Varalamov was good last season -- 24-16-6 -- before going down with a season-ending lower body injury. His health is a concern. Grubauer showed with the Capitals that he can be counted on ... except in the playoffs.
20. CALGARY FLAMES: Mike Smith, Jon Gillies
The skinny: Smith is solid and one of, if not the best, puck-handling goalies. He had a decent .582 quality start percentage last year, his first in Calgary. Gillies is a big body but largely unproven.
21. EDMONTON OILERS: Cam Talbot, Mikko Koskinen
The skinny: Talbot couldn't duplicate his career year from 2016-17 but has shown himself to be a fairly reliable No. 1. Koskinen returns to the NHL after last appearing in four games with the Islanders in 2010-11.
22. ST. LOUIS BLUES: Jake Allen, Chad Johnson
The skinny: On paper, the Blues are much improved but will need a bounce-back season from Allen, who lost his job to Carter Hutton for a stretch last season. Allen's shorthanded save percentage went from .901 to a sickly .834.
23. NEW YORK RANGERS: Henrik Lundqvist, Alexander Georgiev
The skinny: Lundqvist had his second straight sub-.920 save and sub-.600 quality save percentage season. At 36, he's not getting any better but has a no-movement clause. The organization is high on Georgiev, 22, as a possible successor.
24. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth
The skinny: Elliott is average at best and coming off a groin injury which sidelined him most of February and all of March. Neuvirth is a solid veteran but both are keeping the seat warm for Carter Hart, ETA: 2019-20.
25. ARIZONA COYOTES: Antti Raanta, Darcy Kuemper
The skinny: Raanta is on his third team in six years after being a backup elsewhere. Though he posted solid numbers, including a league-best .930 save percentage, Kuemper (3.22 GAA with .300 QSP in 10 starts with Coyotes) weighs this group down.
26. BUFFALO SABRES: Carter Hutton, Linus Ullmark
The skinny: The Sabres have embarked on an ambitious rebuild but it remains to be seen if Hutton, who starred as a backup in Nashville and St. Louis (.931 save percentage, 2.09 GAA last season), can be a consistent No. 1 at age 32.
27. DETROIT RED WINGS: Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Bernier
The skinny: Both are solid but unspectacular. Bernier was brought in, presumably, to compete with Howard for the starting job. Whoever is in goal, the Wings have a ways to go before returning to postseason play.
28. OTTAWA SENATORS: Craig Anderson, Mike Condon
The skinny: Anderson's play mirrored that of his team as he went from .926 and 2.28 in 2016-17 to .898 and 3.32 last season. Condon went 5-17-5. Yep, it's going to be a long winter in Ottawa.
29. NEW YORK ISLANDERS: Robin Lehner, Thomas Greiss
The skinny: Lehner is likely a stop-gap but after playing behind a poor defense in Buffalo his numbers should tick up playing in Barry Trotz's system. Greiss, as Penguins fans know, is best served in a backup role.
30. VANCOUVER CANUCKS: Jacob Markstrom, Anders Nilsson
The skinny: At age 28, Markstrom finally earned the No. 1 job and was OK on a team that is going nowhere fast and waiting on the arrival of Thatcher Demko.
31. CAROLINA HURRICANES: Scott Darling, Petr Mrazek
The skinny: Darling was an unmitigated disaster last year after signing with Carolina (13-21-7, .888 save percentage). He lost his starting job and cost Ron Francis his. And now he's a starter again. Mrazek is nothing special.