Don Heupel / AP

The Buffalo Sabres' Ryan Miller, left, and the Boston Bruins' Tim Thomas are the early favorites to be the starting goalie for Team USA in next year's Olympics.

Q: What happens to Scott Clemmensen after Martin Brodeur returns? I’d love to see him get a shot at being a No. 1 goalie somewhere.
— George Stenson from Adrian, Mich.
A: Clemmensen, 31, finally got his big break this season when St. Martin required surgery early in the season to repair a detached biceps muscle. Brodeur, the New Jersey icon, is just now taking shots again and could be game-ready later this month. The added good news for the Devils: Clemmensen's superb play takes the urgency out of Brodeur's return — and that could be an added bonus come playoff time.

It's hard to predict where Clemmensen's career path will go once Brodeur is back. It's highly unlikely another club would sign him with the intention of making him a No. 1 stopper. A more likely scenario would be what happened in Ottawa in the offseason, the Senators adding Alex Auld to partner with Martin Gerber in the wake of Ray Emery's departure. Gerber faltered, has since been shipped to the minors, and Auld has been cast much more into a No. 1 role.

Overall, my guess is that Devils GM Lou Lamoriello will keep Clemmensen and give him a decent boost in pay over the $500,000 he is making. Sure, there could be a big score out there for Clemmensen, but if the Devils offered him, say, $1 million for each of the next two seasons, his best landing spot could be back filling in for Brodeur.

Q: Can you describe the bench order for me? How do the players know where to sit? How do they know when to slide down the bench to make room for whomever is coming back to the bench?
— Jill Lund from Puyallup, Wash.
A: Pretty straightforward here, Jill, although there is no absolute. By and large, though, the defensemen occupy one end of the bench, each player sitting with his on-ice partner. You'll notice that one of the assistant coaches generally stands behind them, watching over the six players and reminding them when they're expected on the ice for their next shift.

Meanwhile, the 12 forwards sit at the opposite end of the bench, typically backed by the head coach. Like the defensemen, they also sit with their partners, in groups of three. As lines change, you'll notice that a half-dozen forwards scoot down the bench, almost in unison, allowing room at the far end of the bench to accommodate the three forwards who eventually will leave the ice for their break. The other three forwards join the play. The defensemen do the same scoot at their end of the bench, but it's not nearly as noticeable, because as two d'men are leaving the ice, two more are popping over the boards, leaving only one pairing to slide along the bench.

All in all, it's typically a fairly simple, orderly process, designed for "clean" changes that mitigate the chance of a team being charged with a minor penalty for having too many men on the ice.

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