Ask anyone in their right mind to throw on 35 pounds of equipment and stand in front of a net while rubber pucks are hit at them in excess of 90 miles per hour, the likely response will be an emphatic, "No!" If you get to know those people, chances are they have more good advice to give if you ever needed it down the road. Read on to understand goalies from their perspective.

Anyone who jumps at the opportunity to voluntarily step in front of those rubber discs are the ones to watch out for. It's the reason, even within the hockey realm, that goaltenders are considered a different breed. Owners, coaches and teammates will all agree that goalies are missing a couple nuts and bolts. As a former goalie myself, I can attest to that.

So what makes goalies tick? Why in the world would anyone want to subject themselves to potentially severe pain, on most nights 30 to 40 times per game? What went wrong in the kid's childhood that makes them want to stand in front of 18,000-plus fans every night with the likelihood that they will fail at least once that game? And I say fail because all goalies will agree that their sole job is to keep that three-ounce piece of vulcanized rubber from crossing the goal line, and each time it does means they haven't done their job.

The truth is, who wouldn't want to be in that position? The things that have been mentioned – pain, failure, embarrassment in front of a packed house – are what makes playing the position so much fun. Just like in football, the quarterback gets most of the credit when the team wins, and gets blamed when the loses. Except in hockey, a goalie is on the ice for the entire 60 minutes, and anything that goes wrong could eventually be traced back to a possible blunder made by them.

However, when things go right, few experiences in the world could match the emotions that rush through your system. Think of the best cup of coffee you've ever had, throw in an adrenaline rush from the most exciting moment you've witnessed or been a part of, and amplify that feeling by 18,000 of your loudest friends. For goalies, this concoction is more addicting than all the caffeine in that cup of coffee. It is more potent than the free drinks your buddy serves you at the local bar downtown. And it is worth every bit of pain, sweat and embarrassment endured along the way.

When Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary Flames, a 2006 Vezina Trophy winner (the award given to the top goaltender during the regular season) was pulled in Game 4 of the first round during this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, some thought they wouldn't see him until next October. Instead, he came back to start Game 5. The frustration of letting down himself, the team and the fans would have been enough to make anybody else pack it up for the season and hit the golf course.

Having been to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006, Kiprusoff knows how it feels to win and make it to the final stage. He would eventually be replaced in Game 7 as well, and his replacement? The well seasoned veteran, Curtis Joseph. The two-time Vezina runner-up in 1999 and 2000, knows the feeling of being on top of his game as well. It's the reason he came back for his 18th NHL season and is willing to play for whoever wants him, making stops in St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Detroit, Phoenix and Calgary.

This postseason has seen several top goaltenders humbled by the heightened competition and intensity that comes with the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, a three-time Stanley Cup Champion and three-time Vezina Award winner, was picked apart by the New York Rangers en route to a 4-1 series defeat.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, goaltender for the defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks, suffered a similar fate as Brodeur, allowing over three goals per game while being ousted by the Dallas Stars in six games.

The list of struggling goaltenders goes on: Detroit's Dominik Hasek, Colorado's Jose Theodore, and most recently, Montreal's Carey Price. All previous or eventual all-stars in their own right.

So when a camera is pointed on a dejected goaltenders face as he's pulled in favor of the backup, don't feel bad for the guy sitting on the bench with the lid of his hat resting over his eyes. First of all he's being paid enough money to comfort some of those sorrows. But, more importantly he's experienced at one point or another the feelings described above that come with winning, or else he wouldn't be playing at the NHL level.

They'll be back. Stronger, quicker, and driven with an intensity to win that can only be matched by the rays of the sun. It's the Stanley Cup, nothing more needs to be said.