San Jose goalie Antti Niemi has been sensational with a 1.85 GAA and .932 save percentage, but it's hard to go against the defending Conn Smythe Trophy winner, who is having another magical postseason. Niemi will need to be at his very best tonight.
Niemi allowed two goals on 28 shots in Game 5's 3-0 loss to give the Kings a 3-2 lead. He has the fifth best GAA (1.95) and SV% (.929) in the Playoffs. The Sharks will need him to turn in a great performance tonight to stay alive in the NHL Playoffs.
Niemi stopped 26 of 27 shots in the Sharks Game 3 win. He has the fifth best GAA (2.06) and seventh best SV% (.926).
The Sharks were all over the Kings in Game 1 but still lost. Niemi allowed two goals on 20 shots in the 2-0 loss. They will need Niemi to steal a few games in this series because Jonathan Quick already stole one for the Kings.
Niemi carried his strong regular season (24-12-6 / 2.16 GAA / .924 SV%) into the first round of the playoffs. He was excellent in the four games it took the Sharks to send the Canucks packing. He posted the playoffs sixth best GAA (1.86) and SV% (.937). He will go head-to-head with last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Quick in what should be a thrilling goaltending duel.
Niemi is 2-0 with a 1.44 GAA and .951 SV% in the first two games of this first round series. The Sharks have played well so far and could take a stranglehold on the series with a win tonight in San Jose.
Niemi played great in Game 1, allowing just one goal on 30 shots. The Sharks will obviously turn to him again in Game 2 as they look to take a 2-0 lead back home.
Niemi had a great season and was easily the Sharks best player this season. He was a workhorse this season starting 43 of the 48 games. He posted a 24-12-6 record with a 2.16 GAA and .924 SV%. He was a perfect 3-0-0 with a 1.63 GAA and .943 SV% against the Canucks this season.
Niemi has won three out of his last four starts. He has a tough matchup vs. the Kings.
Niemi gave up four goals on 22 shots in a loss to the Blue Jackets on Sunday. He will be back in goal tonight when the Sharks take on the desperate Stars. San Jose can clinch a spot in the playoffs with a win so Niemi should make for a good start.
Niemi is hot, winning his last 3 starts and giving up only 3 goals in that span.
Vezina candidate Niemi is 10-2-1 in his last 13 starts.
Niemi is coming off a shutout last night.
With the Sharks in a back-to-back situation against division rivals, expect the workhorse Niemi to start both. However, McLellan has been known to mix it up so stay tuned for any late changes.
With all remaining games being important for the Sharks, they look at Niemi to build off of his April 11 victory over the Red Wings.
Niemi allowed four goals in each of his last two starts, both resulting in losses. He will face a hungry Red Wings team who sit eighth in the Western Conference and are looking to extend their streak to 22 straight seasons with a playoff appearance. Niemi has been great vs. Detroit this season (1-0-1, 0.48 GAA and .984 SV%)
As expected, Niemi to help push the Sharks' lead over the Wild in the playoff race.
Before dropping Sunday's game to Dallas, Niemi was riding a 7 game win streak. Look for Sunday's game to be more of an aberration as the Blue Jackets do not feature a lot of scoring pop.
Niemi has won seven consecutive starts and hasn't allowed more than two goals in six starts (March 25th - 3 goals vs. ANA). He has a solid matchup vs. a weak Stars lineup.
Niemi has been as steady as they come as of late. He stopped 31 of 33 shots that he faced in a 4-2 win over the WIld last night. The win pushed his winning streak to six games. He has a fantastic matchup tonight against a weak Flames team.