Sharks Niemi Responds Well to Being Benched

          Yesterday, Sharks goalie Antti Niemi recorded a shutout against the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that had the second most goals in the NHL this season. This was, without a doubt, a bounce back game for Niemi. He had struggled a lot on the Sharks nine game road trip and had started to receive strong criticism, including from me.  There were even some rumors that he was trade bait by Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson before the trade deadline. So why did Niemi suddenly play so well against a high powered offense such as the Flyers? If yesterday is an indicator, Niemi responds well to being overlooked.

            In the game against the Flyers Niemi looked like a goalie out on a mission to prove everyone wrong especially his coach. You can tell that Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was starting to lose faith in Niemi during that nine game road trip. Following the embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay in the beginning of the trip McLellan, who usually doesn’t criticize his goalies, criticized Niemi to the press and said that he couldn’t play like he did if the team was going to win.  Then McLellan pulled Niemi from the game in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Nashville Predators after Niemi gave up three quick goals in each game. McLellan lost so much confidence in Niemi that he started backup goaltender Thomas Greiss in the last game of the road trip against Minnesota. After being benched against Minnesota, Niemi was back in the net against the Flyers and he went on to prove that he shouldn’t be on the bench. He proved that he can still be a winner for the Sharks and that he can stop every puck that goes near him.

            I was glad to see Niemi bounce back from adversity and if he can play like he did against the Flyers on a consistent basis, then the Sharks can definitely contend in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, that’s the key, consistency and that has not been Niemi’s strong point. That’s why I like the way McLellan has handled Niemi recently because it seems like when the coach is hard on Niemi, Niemi holds a chip on his shoulder and goes out and shuts out an opponent. So the next time Niemi has a bad game, McLellan should bench him the following game. By benching Niemi after bad games, Niemi responds by playing his best hockey and the Sharks will need that from him come playoff time. It may be something Niemi hates, but if that’s what makes him play his best I don’t care if Niemi gets his feelings hurt every now and then, as long as the Sharks win.  So McLellan should not treat Niemi like a starting goalie that has no competition at his position. He should treat Niemi like his job is on the line game in and game out.  If he does this, hopefully we see the angry Niemi that we saw yesterday and that’s a man on a mission to prove people wrong.