Dallas Stars Seeing Shift In "Number One" Goaltender

The Dallas Stars have been on quite a tear lately. This is largely due in part to the play of their goaltender, Antti Niemi. Is Niemi the Stars new “number one” goaltender?

Saturday night was one of those nights where the Dallas Stars did not look like themselves, yet still almost won. It took nine shootout rounds to prove it, but the St. Louis Blues prevailed and snagged the second point, leaving the Stars with just one.

But surprisingly enough, the only way they got their one point was from the heroics of goaltender Antti Niemi. The Blues took a total of 37 shots on net in the 65 minutes that were played, while the Stars only took 24. Niemi made some prime saves, but could not make the extra save necessary in the shootout.

Niemi finished the night 35 of 37 with a .946 save percentage. This was Niemi’s fourth straight game to take part in, and was only his first loss. After snagging an impressive win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, Niemi was thrown back into the crease Monday after an early lead was given up by fellow goaltender Kari Lehtonen. Niemi helped complete the comeback and grabbed another win.

Just 24 hours later, head coach Lindy Ruff decided that Niemi would play one more time before the break. It would be the second leg of the Dallas Stars back-to-back against the Chicago Blackhawks. Niemi played nothing short of stellar in net, shutting out the Blackhawks with 20 total saves.

Even though his most recent outing was a shootout loss, he is 4-0-1 in his last five appearances in the crease. This is much better than Kari Lehtonen, who is 4-1-0.

But why is this “much” better? It’s much clearer when you look at the statistics.

Antti Niemi currently owns a .915 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average on the season. His record is 15-5-2 on the season. Meanwhile, Lehtonen is 11-2-0 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.66 goals against average. He has been pulled from competition twice this season in favor of Niemi after poor starts, while Niemi has only been taken out once.

In the past five games, Niemi has an average save percentage of .942, while Lehtonen boasts a .847 over his last five games (not including the Minnesota game where he only played eight minutes).

So with all of this evidence collected, is there a shift happening in the crease? Are the Dallas Stars getting a new “number one” goaltender?

While the two-goalie tandem was their plan at the beginning of the season, they are still sticking to the plan for the most part. Both goaltenders are still getting ample playing time, but Niemi has been seen more recently over the past few games.

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Which is funny, considering it has not always been this way. Just a mere five weeks ago, Lehtonen was 8-1-0 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average. Niemi was 6-3-0 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.90 GAA.

We ran a poll at this point and questioned which goaltender you thought had performed better. Out of all the votes, 87 percent sided with Lehtonen, while only 13 percent argued for Niemi. If we were to run a similar poll, the results would more than likely be different.

It all ends up just showing GM Jim Nill’s brilliant motives. He understood that each goaltender alone would not be able to hold the load for the entire year. But together, they would be able to fend off the opposition and put together an entertaining tandem in the crease. That’s exactly what they are doing. Picking each other up when one or the other falls down.

Next: Stars Sing The Blues In St. Louis, Fall 3-2 In Shootout

The Dallas Stars are currently tied for first place in the NHL, and their goalies are playing a large role in their success. Barring any meltdowns, the Stars could go on to have the best goalie situation throughout the NHL. They have Jim Nill to thank for that.

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