"Do the Blackhawks miss Antti Niemi yet?"
That's the question Battle of California's asking ahead of tonight's San Jose Sharks visit to the Chicago Blackhawks (preview), and it's a provocative query.
Niemi won the Stanley Cup as the Chicago Blackhawks' starting goaltender last June, but then the Blackhawks walked away from an arbitration decision and Niemi was a free agent. He signed with the Sharks for one season, stopped everything in sight for about two months in 2011, and then received a 4-year contract extension.
Niemi is 26-16-5 with a 2.39 GAA and a .920 save percentage and five shutouts. Meanwhile, rookie Corey Crawford (26-13.5, 2.30, .920, 3 SO) has appeared in 26 games in 2011 for Chicago to just six for Marty Turco (11-11-3, 3.01 GAA, .900, 1 SO); taking over the starting gig much in the same way Niemi buried Cristobal Huet on the depth chart last season.
Where they differ: Niemi has a Stanley Cup ring, while Crawford will likely be a finalist for the Calder as a rookie netminder. As Niemi told Working The Corners:
Niemi said he thought the Sharks were pretty much as good talent-wise as the Chicago team that won the Stanley Cup last season, that he was a more confident and more experienced goaltender, less shaky when it came to worrying about making a bad play.
Chicago's problem hasn't been Crawford's shakiness; rather, it's been shaky defense this season, according to Fear The Fin (a Sharks blog):
Where Chicago has been hit the hardest is in the defensive end of the ice however-- the penalty kill has been godawful, they're allowing more shots on net than they did last season, as well as putting less pucks on net in the offensive zone. Players like Niklas Hjalmarsson have struggled-- even the previously infallible Duncan Keith has had his fair share of issues this season. No longer is the team able to dictate play to the phenomenal degree they did in 2010, which has led to a situation where goaltending begins to have an effect.
Although Chicago's netminders have a higher save percentage this year, the lack of insulation from the team as a whole has highlighted the inadequacies and made goaltending a point of concern for the fanbase.
We've liked what we've seen from Crawford, from the 38-save performance in an overtime loss to the Washington Capitals to his 11-4-5 record on the road (with a 2.12 GAA), which bodes well for the hostile environments of the postseason. His record against Detroit, Vancouver and San Jose this season? Crawford's 3-0-1 with only five goals against.
Of course, Niemi's 3-0-0 record with a 1.96 GAA in three starts against the Blackhawks gets all the press. Do they miss him? While the postseason is a different story, it's hard to make the case that the Blackhawks would be better with Niemi in net this season. Crawford's been a solid replacement … for now.