Viktor Zinger shared the backup goaltending duties with Alexander Sidelnikov. Neither played as the young Vladislav Tretiak emerged as the ultimate Soviet netminder.
It is unclear as to which goalie dressed as the backup goalie for each game. Such information is very hard to uncover. One source "vaguely" remembered Zinger backing up Tretiak in all games in Canada and Sidelnikov doing the duties while in Moscow, but we can not confirm that.
Of the three netminders, Zinger was definitely the elder statesman. His career ended shortly after the 1972 Summit Series.
Unearthing information about which backup goalie dressed for which game has proven difficult. It appears that Zinger dressed as the back up strictly in the 4 games in Canada, although are unable to confirm that.
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Zinger was definitely a veteran goalie--he had been the starter on the national team before Tretiak and played for a good chunk of their dominant run in the 1960s. I don't think he was quite done yet, though, as he was still on the Soviet national team at the 1976 Canada Cup--again, he didn't appear in any games, but I remember reading he was the oldest player on the team (so probably mid to late 30s at that point).
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