Great moments in surprise starters: Darcy Wakaluk

It’s playoff time, thus it’s time to wipe the spreadsheets clean along with the notebooks. There will be new sets of data and numerous game stories to peruse over the course of the next two months. As we enter the first evening of game action, it’s goaltenders who are front and center of the news cycle.

While it’s injuries that have forced teams like the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning to lean on their backup goalies to open the first round, the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks are keeping ‘em guessing due to a glut of options in advance of game one. Jonas Hiller and his 1,245 mintues of playoff experience may seem like the obvious choice to lead the Ducks onto the ice tonight versus Dallas, but it’s rookie Frederik Andersen and his 1,569 total minutes of NHL action who appears to be the favorite to start.

Elsewhere, in San Jose, head coach Todd McLellan is unwilling to reveal whether it will be Antti Niemi (likely) or Alex Stalock (not likely) who will be tending the goal when the Sharks host the L.A. Kings on Thursday night.

Ah, the old surprise starter trick. A hockey coach’s equivalent of gambling.

In the 1994 playoffs, Dallas Stars head coach Bob Gainey took such a gamble, and it paid off. The Stars missed the playoffs in their final season in Minnesota after having qualified in the four previous seasons. Andy Moog was thought to be the Stars starting goalie heading into a first round series with the St. Louis Blues in the spring of ‘94, but Gainey opted for Darcy Wakaluk, a career backup with a little over 30 minutes of postseason experience.

Wakaluk had outplayed Moog during the regular season, but it was the latter who was relied upon most nights, having appeared in 55 games to Wakaluk’s 36. Moog had been a part of three Stanley Cup winning teams in Edmonton and played another 70 postseason games with the Boston Bruins, but he struggled to the tune of an .894 save percentage and a 3.27 goals against average in the ‘93-94 campaign. By comparison, Wakaluk posted a .910 save percentage and a 2.64 goals against average.

Although Wakaluk enjoyed a good season behind Moog, it was a surprise to most observers when he got the call.

It was a surprise to Wakaluk, too. “Being teammates with Andy Moog, who obviously had a lot of playoff success, so when I was named [the starter] I was somewhat surprised, but very excited,” Wakaluk said via phone interview.

Although Gainey didn’t inform Wakaluk that he would be starting until the night before game one, it was business as usual for the then 27-year old. “I never prepared any differently. With goaltending there’s always pressure, but it’s something you put on yourself. I didn’t throw that pressure on myself when I was named the starter,” said Wakaluk.

Dallas went on to sweep the Blues, with Wakaluk starting all four games and stopping 126 of 136 shots against. Moog’s playoff experience was not something that was lost on Wakaluk, though.

Moog understood Gainey’s thought process. "He was the only choice Bob could have made. He's made the big saves, and I have not,” Moog told Sports Illustrated in 1994.

Moog played the veteran role to a tee, offering nothing but support Wakaluk.

“Me and Andy had a very good working relationship and he was very supportive and encouraging and Andy was probably one of the guys who had a real calming influence on me back then. I always played with a lot of fire and emotion, and when I watched Andy play I was always thinking ‘how does he play like that?’, as he was calm and relaxed and things just rolled off his shoulders. When we both found out that I was starting he just told me to go have fun and enjoy the experience and play in the moment.”

The Stars ran into the Vancouver Canucks in the conference semi-final. Wakaluk got the nod once again in game one, and it would be his final appearance in the playoffs that year. The Stars dropped a 6-4 decision to the Canucks, who would go on to take the series in five games and eventually land in the Stanley Cup Final with the New York Rangers. Gainey turned to Moog for game two and continued to run the veteran out for remainder of the series.

“I don’t think there was any one moment where Gainey was looking to make a switch. He was very much a go with his gut type of coach. We kept winning. In the playoffs, to make a switch when someone’s winning or playing well has an effect on the team too. Coming up against Vancouver, I guess in the back of my head I knew that if I had one bad game I knew Andy was there waiting and there would probably be a switch. That one bad game gave him [Gainey] the opportunity to make a switch. I was ready to go back in without a question if Gainey had made the switch back. At the time I wasn’t mad about it, but looking back now I wish I would have had another opportunity.”

If Wakaluk has any advice for a guy like Alex Stalock or John Gibson in the event that either gets the call in their respective game ones, it echoes the words of Moog 20 years ago.

“If these guys this year are surprise starters you can’t dwell on little things. You just have to trust your instincts and trust your preparation because it could be over in a heartbeat.”

The thrill and challenge of earning the chance to lead his team into the postseason remains one of Wakaluk’s greatest memories from his playing days.

“It was certainly a fun time and it’s something I look back on every year come playoff time. Believe it or not I look back on that and reflect all the time. Certain thoughts never leave your head.“