Can the Dallas Stars keep up their two-goalie system?

Get past the talk about the piping hot start and about Tyler Seguin's offensive surge — the whole team's offense, really — and the next big topic coming out of Dallas Stars' camp has been about who will get the starting job between the pipes.

During the early stretch of the Stars' 2015-2016 campaign, they have alternated between longtime starter Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, whom was acquired from the San Jose Sharks over the last offseason. According to Dan Rosen of NHL.com, coach Lindy Ruff has no immediate plans to stop the tandem.

Dallas coach Lindy Ruff has no intention of putting a No. 1 goalie label on either Antti Niemi or Kari Lehtonen any time soon, if ever. 

"I told them at the start of the year if they're playing well they're both going to play," Ruff said. 

Lehtonen and Niemi have equally split the starts through 20 games this season, which wasn't intentional but is a byproduct of how they're playing, Ruff said.

So the next question is, of course: How long can they keep this tandem up?

It's true: Lehtonen and Niemi have traded off having the hot hand and have similar numbers through each of their 10 starts. Lehtonen has eight wins with a 2.38 goals against average and .921 save percentage, while Niemi has registered seven wins with a 2.63 GAA and .911 save percentage. Typically, having two goalies who give up two or three goals every night isn't necessarily a good thing. But, as Rosen points out in his article, playing behind the top offense in the league gives any starting netminder a bit of cushion. Should the offense cool off — as hard as that is to believe after the first 20 tilts — letting that third goal trickle five-hole could make or break a game for Dallas. Such a mistake by either netminder could push the coach to tap a more definite starter.

The schedule could also have an impact on how long this back-and-forth goes. Ruff mentions in Rosen's piece that the Stars' schedule through the first month-plus of the year was a bit more forgiving. With a wealth of back-to-backs and long road trips over the next couple of months, Ruff might not have as much wiggle room when it comes to simply playing the guy with the hottest mitt.

As far as legit goalie tandems go, the league has a history of duos that have worked out well and, well, not so well. It's still too early in the season to truly determine whether or not the Lehtonen-Niemi combo can keep rolling successfully. But without any set date for picking a designated starter, there's still more time to see how durable this tandem really is.