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Stars Need to Stick With Niemi |
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Game 2 of the Dallas-St. Louis series just ended with the Blues winning in OT to tie the series at 1-1. Even so, I think it has become very clear that to have the best possible chance to win the series and the Cup, Lindy Ruff needs to decide on one goalie.
I also think it is also clear that the goalie should be Antti Niemi. With all due respect to Kari Lehtonen, who has been a very underrated goalie for most of the Dallas portion of his career, there's a reason why Niemi has a Cup ring and why he's also been a Vezina finalist in his career.
Without Niemi, no way the Stars come back today to force OT. Something else to keep in mind. If you go back to 2010, for all the criticism Niemi took (although not as much as Michael Leighton), when he had to make big saves to keep Chicago ahead -- think Game 2 and third period of Game 1 -- he found ways to do it.
Niemi isn't a goalie who is about the numbers. He is just a winner.