Dallas Stars Need Antti Niemi To Fight Through Slump Quick
By Josh Clark
The Dallas Stars have a tough month ahead of them. If they want to achieve ultimate success, they will need Antti Niemi to break out of his current slump.
The goaltending crease in hockey is one of the most strenuous and high-intensity areas in all of sports. The Dallas Stars have learned this difficult lesson over the past few seasons, and seem to still be coming to terms with its challenges.
The fact that is sadly true is that the Stars have not had a reliable two-goalie system since the 2009-2010 season when 26-year-old Kari Lehtonen backed up veteran Marty Turco. Since then, names like Andrew Raycroft, Richard Bachman, Dan Ellis, Tim Thomas, Anders Lindback and Jhonas Enroth have filtered through the system and sent out on different paths.
While the Dallas Stars’ offense is quite possibly in its greatest state since the team moved to Dallas and the defense has been on and off, successful goaltending continues to evade their clutches. GM Jim Nill decided this past offseason that putting his faith in roaming FA backup goaltenders was not working out, so he came up with a new idea.
Nill traded the Stars’ 2015 seventh-round pick during the draft to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for pending UFA goaltender Antti Niemi.
Niemi had just finished his fifth season with the Sharks, and it was the first time he and the club had not qualified for the postseason in his tenure there. Through seven seasons in the NHL, Niemi had posted a decent average save percentage of .914. He was a reliable goaltender with one Stanley Cup under his belt, and Nill believed that trading off between two starting-caliber goalies would be a beneficial idea.
As the 2015-2016 season began, it seemed as though Nill hit the nail on the head. Niemi opened the season with a 37-save shutout against the Penguins and started the season at 6-1-0. Lehtonen, on the other hand, was 9-1-0 in his first ten appearances and posted an average save percentage of .912. The Stars were glowing bright in the early goings, and the goaltending problem had finally been solved.
Fast forward to now and it’s clear that the Stars crease is close to the danger zone. Throughout the season, Lehtonen and Niemi have traded responsibilities, so to speak. While one goaltender rides a hot streak, the other sort of stumbles along. Then, after a couple of weeks, the two switch roles. It’s been a continuous process, but they will need it to stop immediately. That all starts with Niemi right now.
Niemi has endured an awful stretch over the past few weeks between the pipes. Considering Lehtonen is on a hot streak, it seems like it would be okay to rest on him while Niemi finds his footing.
But with playoffs right around the corner, the Stars cannot afford to have either goalie down. Things are too tight in the standings and Dallas needs every win they can get. If Lehtonen’s hot streak has a limit in games (which it probably does), then Niemi will need to be ready to share the load. That’s why Nill sank $10.4 million into the goalie tandem (in other words, about 15% on just two players).
Over the past five games he has played in, the 32-year-old Finn has a record of 1-1-2, considering he did not finish the game in Nashville due to being subbed out for Lehtonen after allowing four goals midway through the game. He has a weak .811 save percentage in this span.
Last game was no walk in the park, either. Niemi played his first game in over a week after being pulled on March 1st against the Preds. Facing off with the Blues, Niemi coughed up four goals in regulation and the game winner in overtime on just 36 shots.
It’s an ugly dry spell, and head coach Lindy Ruff addressed it in the Stars post game conference after Saturday’s game. He talked about how Niemi made a couple good saves, but there were some that he should have made. This dry spell is discouraging, but Niemi will have to fight through it.
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That’s basically what has to happen. Niemi has to fight through it and reach his former potential. With a difficult run coming up to finish off the homestand, Niemi may not get another start before the Stars hit the road again. But we’ll see. Either way, he’s in a funk that he needs to get out of as soon as possible.