Last season Halak stepped in and took the reigns from Price and, practically singlehandedly took the Habs inches from the stanley cup. Not saying Nitty can or will or will not do the same, just that if it is time to make a move in the goal, then it is time. Recall this season alone, Nitty was winning the starting role until his injury problems kicked in! It might work well for Niemi to 'know' he now has to fight for his starting role back again 'if' we move on to the second round, which is still no guarantee.
As has been regurgitated before, play whoever has the better chance of getting you the win. Whether you want to say it's because Niitty has been better, our team sucks in front of Nemo, or because Niitty just stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, we allow fewer goals with Niitty in net, so go with him.
sorry about first post, i rant too much, its my first playoffs on these boards and i get carried away, but seriously now, if you guys advocate nitty in net do you also say the canucks should start schnieder and not luongo? and did you guys think bernier should have started today and not quick?
Absolutely Schneider should start the rest of the series for the Canucks. He won't, and they'll probably lose and the city of Vancouver will burn to the ground.
Quick has not allowed anywhere near the volume of softies that Niemi has in this series. We also have no prior record of Bernier performing in this series and Bernier's track record against the Sharks in regular season starts is less than stellar.
Absolutely Schneider should start the rest of the series for the Canucks. He won't, and they'll probably lose and the city of Vancouver will burn to the ground.
Quick has not allowed anywhere near the volume of softies that Niemi has in this series. We also have no prior record of Bernier performing in this series and Bernier's track record against the Sharks in regular season starts is less than stellar.
Luongo gets one more game before they turn to Schneider because of his immense contract. Anyone advocating Bernier over Quick is likely retarded. Like the guy on the first page said, Niemi correctly got started in Game 4, now he's done and it's Niitty's turn.
Seriously keep Niemi in net after laying 2 stinkers in 3 games?
At the beginning of the year Niemi was beyond terrible, and I was far from being the only one who said that his style of play was not a good match for the Sharks, and that he was not even a good goalie. During that time Nitty played some awesome games behind a team that was playing like crap, and like Logan did on the front side, he gave us life that saved the team from dropping to the bottom of the league. He then had a few bad games and went through a couple injuries and all of a sudden now he's not worthy of starting a game because Nemo played a great second half of the season and people would rather continue to play a goalie who can't make basic saves
Give me a ****ing break, maybe Nitty isn't the savior in net that we could use, but you'll never find out if he keeps getting the nod only after the team is in a giant hole only 1/3 of the way through a game......
Jesus people he gave up ONE bad goal. The deflection goal was ridiculous, and he got hung out to dry on that two on one (I'll admit the Penner goal was soft). Quick let in 12 goals in two games and there was no question who would start Game 5 for the Kings, so let's all just calm down and put the guy who got us here back in net.
Jesus people he gave up ONE bad goal. The deflection goal was ridiculous, and he got hung out to dry on that two on one (I'll admit the Penner goal was soft). Quick let in 12 goals in two games and there was no question who would start Game 5 for the Kings, so let's all just calm down and put the guy who got us here back in net.
The deflection goal doesn't happen if he doesn't make a boneheaded play with the puck. He put it right on Richardson's stick in an attempt to clear. Yeah, blame Boyle and Murray on the second goal if you want but a competent NHL goaltender really shouldn't have a rebound deflect off their glove right to an opposing player's stick.
The "going with the guy who got us here" mentality makes no sense to me on so many levels. First of all, got us where, exactly? Six games deep in a series against an AHL-caliber offense and forced to win a critical Game 6 on the road lest risk emptying the tank for any potential future round? Niemi had a terrific February and he's obviously a good goaltender. He's been ridden like a horse over the last two months for no apparent reason by the coaching staff and it has been evident in his play since early March. You don't go with the anointed "No. 1," especially when you've already given him two chances to bounce back in this series and he's gone on to fail miserably on both occasions. You go with the netminder who gives you the best chance to win the next hockey game. That has to be Nitty at this point.
The deflection goal doesn't happen if he doesn't make a boneheaded play with the puck. He put it right on Richardson's stick in an attempt to clear. Yeah, blame Boyle and Murray on the second goal if you want but a competent NHL goaltender really shouldn't have a rebound deflect off their glove right to an opposing player's stick.
The "going with the guy who got us here" mentality makes no sense to me on so many levels. First of all, got us where, exactly? Six games deep in a series against an AHL-caliber offense and forced to win a critical Game 6 on the road lest risk emptying the tank for any potential future round? Niemi had a terrific February and he's obviously a good goaltender. He's been ridden like a horse over the last two months for no apparent reason by the coaching staff and it has been evident in his play since early March. You don't go with the anointed "No. 1," especially when you've already given him two chances to bounce back in this series and he's gone on to fail miserably on both occasions. You go with the netminder who gives you the best chance to win the next hockey game. That has to be Nitty at this point.
He had a great bounce back game in Game 4, so I wouldn't say he's "failed miserably on both occasions". Bottom line is that Niemi is the better tender, so that's the guy I want in net. He was awful in Game 3 but recovered nicely in Game 4, and I'm not willing to pin Game 5 on him even though it looks bad in the box score. Call me an idiot but I think he'll come back strong again in Game 6 if given the chance.
He had a great bounce back game in Game 4, so I wouldn't say he's "failed miserably on both occasions". Bottom line is that Niemi is the better tender, so that's the guy I want in net. He was awful in Game 3 but recovered nicely in Game 4, and I'm not willing to pin Game 5 on him even though it looks bad in the box score. Call me an idiot but I think he'll come back strong again in Game 6 if given the chance.
I am willing to pin game 5 on him. It's not about the stat sheet. It's about his play. The first goal was his fault. Not the goal itself but the spot he put them in by turning the puck over like he did. That started the whole thing off and he was shaky from the get-go. He had three opportunities for saves the entire period on failed on all of them.
My thought process is that game six is the game you can test Niittymaki's play out without it being for all the marbles and he's earned the opportunity. Niemi would only benefit from sitting on the bench for it to reset himself.
He had a great bounce back game in Game 4, so I wouldn't say he's "failed miserably on both occasions". Bottom line is that Niemi is the better tender, so that's the guy I want in net. He was awful in Game 3 but recovered nicely in Game 4, and I'm not willing to pin Game 5 on him even though it looks bad in the box score. Call me an idiot but I think he'll come back strong again in Game 6 if given the chance.
Go back and re-watch game 4. There was a play at the side of the net at one point where it took Niemi almost a full 10 secs to recover and get back to position. He was struggling to get to his feet. It did not result in a goal against as the Sharks kept the play to the outside for the whole time, but it was a big telltale about issues. Niemi is definitely better than Nitty at this point over the long haul particularly with Nitty's chronic health issues, but Niemi is off . . . way off.
Based on what? Also, he's the one who had a brutal turnover on the first goal.
Nemo has been terrible and I honestly think he should sit for the rest of the playoffs. Nitty has been known to have hot streaks. Roll the dice to see if he's on one right now. Certainly can't be worse than Niemi.
This. I said Niemi first, but after last night it has to be Nitty. He had a huge save he looked very confident last night (as opposed to his last finish). I still think Nemo will be the guy we eventually rely on again.
TSNBobMcKenzie Bob McKenzie
As per TSN's Sheri Forde, aka @SheriTSN, Antti Niemi starts Monday for SJS. So give @SheriTSN some Twitter love.
I'm not sure how I feel about this if it's true. I think Nemo's great, but he hasn't been sharp outside of game 4 this series. Poor guy needs a break to settle down or something.
They are monumentally stubborn like with the 1-1-2. We'll see how it plays out and may make for a very interesting decision if there is a game 7.
It's pathetic when it comes to goaltending. They just have no balls. Just like with Nabby. The biggest ******** argument is "oh, well he got us here" - who the **** cares??? Nitty did in the first half!! We got two quality goalies for a reason this season - to get a duo, not overplay one goalie. Play Nitty if Niemi sucks. Play Niemi if Nitty sucks! Don't shuffle it like Philly but Niemi clearly showed that he is not in it !!!
