The top two reasons coming out of coaches are making the playoffs and playoff seeding. A secondary reason is for the starter to maintain rhythm. I balance that versus winning the cup. The guys who do it are pretty limited. Lundqvist leads the list. Rinne, Ward, Kiprusoff (formerly), Luongo, Brodeur, and Miller are way up there although Miller is falling off. Kipper, Lundqvist and Luongo have all failed when it appeared that fatigue was a factor. I think fatigue was a factor later in Brodeur's career (see series loss versus Carolina). I would not put playoff seeding ahead of resting the goalie. I might put making the playoffs ahead although I am not absolutely sure I would even do that.
What I am saying is that there have been enough appearances by quality teams with quality goalies over time failing to opine that overplaying the goalie is a grave mistake in terms of pursuing the cup.
A recent example of what I think to be a coach's mistake is the naming of Halak as a number one. He has a huge track record of needing rest. If rested well, he is almost Vezina caliber. After about a month of overplay, his numbers fall off significantly.
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