Dallas Stars: Antti Niemi Is The Go-To Goalie

As the Dallas Stars play deeper into their season, Antti Niemi is looking more and more like the No. 1 option.

Kari Lehtonen had been the Dallas Stars’ leader in between the pipes for the last few seasons. It seemed, unless a surprise candidate or a great opportunity came along, he wouldn’t be facing competition anytime soon.

However, that “great opportunity” mentioned above eventually did come along during the 2015 NHL Draft and it was just another one of the amazing deals of the Jim Nill era in Dallas. The Stars acquired the rights to Antti Niemi, the top goalie on the market, for the No. 193 pick in the draft.

Trading a pick for a No. 1 goalie when your team already has one, isn’t a very common move. Some thought it was a great idea because the team would not have a defined starter or backup. Some thought it was a bad idea because of that exact same reason.

The Stars began the 2015-16 season using an interesting system. Each goalie would alternate playing a few games, with the only exceptions being back-to-backs or if one had a particularly bad night. The system worked as the Stars jumped out ahead of the league and topped the overall standings for the months of October and November.

Then December hit and things began to change. Despite only one loss, Lehtonen began to get less time on the ice. He only started 4 of 15 games throughout the month. January brought a whole new set of challenges. The Stars went 1-7 to open the month with each goalie alternating games. After a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 19, the team had reached a breaking point and needed to pick one solid option to lead.

They went with Antti Niemi, the Stanley Cup winner and crafty veteran known for his grittiness in the net. Since then, he’s played four games and led the Stars to three wins. The most important thing to take out of this is that, even though it wasn’t the plan at first, the Stars look to finally have an established one-two punch. Since December, Niemi has played a total of 19 games compared to Lehtonen’s eight.

Niemi has had a better GAA (2.44) and save percentage (.911) than Lehtonen. That’s not the only way he’s been better though. Niemi has three shutouts and he’s looked like the goalie that the Stars have been searching for to lead a championship-caliber team and he has backed that up by making big-time saves during important times in games.

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There’s been numerous wins throughout the season that would not have happened without Niemi’s ability to make “that save” at a certain point in the action. Having Niemi in the net is going to be an obvious advantage for the Stars once the Playoffs roll around. Though Lehtonen is capable of picking up a key win, he has never led a team to the Stanley Cup Final.

Niemi was able to do that in 2009-10 while helping the Chicago Blackhawks start their current dynasty.

There’s only a handful of goalies in the NHL right now that have done that and are capable of still doing it. Niemi is one while a few others are Jonathan Quick, Corey Crawford and Marc-André Fleury. That’s some pretty elite company and it’s a testament to Niemi’s game.

Next: Divisional Games Dominate Stars' Remaining Schedule

Though both goalies are capable of starting and leading the team at any given time, it has become obvious that Antti Niemi is the Stars’ No. 1 option, and his experience will help them finish off a great season.