Apparently San Jose Sharks' goaltender Antti Niemi missed the Chicago Blackhawks more than anyone understood.
After beating them in OT 2-1 last Saturday, his second victorious effort against his former team in as many weeks, Niemi has started each of the next two games for the Sharks—posting strong performances in all three straight outings.
This is the first time Niemi has strung back-to-back strong outings together this season, let alone three in a row. Despite looking awful in the shoot-out against Dallas and surrendering two late goals against Nashville, Niemi showed he is capable of keeping the Sharks in games.
At least for the time being, his play has propelled him ahead of fellow offseason acquisition Antero Niittymaki—after serving as a clear backup for much of the first quarter of the season.
It seems Niemi's strong play in two emotional matchups against the Blackhawks have helped buoy his confidence and the confidence of the Sharks as a team when it comes to rising up in big situations. Furthermore, if Niemi can settle down after a wildly inconsistent start to the year, perhaps the Sharks can do the same, and start to gain se ...
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Article written by Patrick Goulding II
San Jose Sharks’ Antti Niemi Getting His Season Turned Around?
December 15th, 2010 by Patrick Goulding II Leave a reply »
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