Blackhawks vs Flames - PreviewWith Cristobal Huet's poor performance against the Ottawa Senators Tuesday and giving five goals to Columbus Saturday, Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville decided to start goaltender Antti Niemi Thursday against the Calgary Flames. Huet ranks sixth in goals against average but 29 th in save percentage. He told ESPN about Quenneville's decision, "I'd like to think I'll play my share of games but the way (Niemi) has been playing (and) after a game like I played, he deserves to play." Niemi has played in less than half the games of Huet (16, with 14 starts). During that time he had a league-best 1.90 goals-against and an 11 th-best saves percentage of .921. According to CSNChicago.com's Brett Ballantini, Niemi is the way to go if the Hawks want to make it to the playoffs. Ballantini says, "There's more than half a season of evidence now that Niemi is outplaying Huet. As the season enters the home stretch, the time will come to disregard which player is higher-salaried or an incumbent who can only lose his position via disaster."
Quenneville told the Tribune, "I love the way he's progressed and his development and how he's handled more opportunity here. He's very diligent in trying to learn the game and how he can improve his technique. It's been a nice progression from a very nice place to start at the beginning of the year and I like how he's getting better. He's big, aggressive and quick." The puck drops at 8:30 p.m. Thursday as Niemi starts between the pipes and the Hawks take on the Flames.
By: Angie Wiatrowski |
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