Everyone loves Jonathan Toews, and with good reason.
Toews is dominating the playoff rankings in points scored, and he and his line are directly responsible for the sweep of the San Jose Sharks. His role in the Blackhawks' drive to the Stanley Cup Finals has been undeniably important, both on and off the ice.
Toews hasn't been the most integral part of the Blackhawks Stanley Cup performance, though. Taking some other stats into consideration, another player rises to the top.
Antti Niemi, the "Finnish Fortress", is playing out-of-his-mind hockey right now. He has faced 532 shots so far this postseason and allowed 43 goals, coming out to a .919 save percentage.
Not bad for a goalie who was playing for the Rockford Ice Hogs last year.
While .919 might not seem incredible, that number hardly tells Niemi's whole story. Consider first the fact that he averaged .912 in the regular season. While the percentage increase is small, the fact that he is playing better in the postseason than he was in the regular season is impressive.
The .919 also doesn't tell the story of Niemi's ability to bounce back from hard games.
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Chris Eggemeyer
Antti Niemi Making a Case For the Conn Smythe Trophy
June 2nd, 2010 by Chris Eggemeyer Leave a reply »
Advertisement