
SAN JOSE – The potential exists for an intriguing goalie matchup on Saturday afternoon in Dallas when the Sharks visit the Stars.
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer wasn’t saying who would start for San Jose, though, while Dallas coach Lindy Ruff doesn’t like divulging his starter in advance. We’re just going to have to wait and see if Antti Niemi gets the call against his former team, and whether his good buddy Alex Stalock starts on the other end of the rink.
“It would be fun, obviously,” Stalock said of the possibility.
Niemi spent the previous five seasons in San Jose, making the playoffs for the first four of those before the Sharks flamed out last April. It was inevitable that there would be a change in net in the offseason, as Niemi was a pending unrestricted free agent as well as part of a core group that was never able to get over that proverbial hump.
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The Sharks traded his rights to Dallas on June 27, and the Stars promptly inked him to a three-year, $13.5 million contract. Kari Lehtonen remains on the Dallas roster, but Niemi has played 400 of the team’s 600 minutes, posting a 5-1-0 mark with a 2.55 goals-against average and .917 save percentage for the top team so far in the Western Conference.
Stalock has been paying attention to the Stars, both in net and otherwise.
“They’ve got a really good team, and a team that can put runs on the board,” he said. "The way their goalie has been playing gives them a chance. It’s not surprising at all how [Niemi] is playing.”
Joe Thornton figures that Niemi would love to play against the Sharks, just like he’d love to see his former teammate between the pipes.
“I’m sure he’s excited for it,” Thornton said. "He was here for a long time, and facing a former team it’s going to be a little nerve-wracking for himself. As far as the shooters, we’re excited to shoot on him and hopefully we learned over all those years where to put pucks past him.”
Joe Pavelski said: “He played a big part in this organization for the last [five] years. We enjoyed being his teammate. … But he’s a goalie, right? You try to put the puck by him and you hope at the end of the night you score on him.”
If it’s Stalock in net for the Sharks, it would be just his second start of the year. He allowed five goals on 33 shots in a 6-3 loss to the Islanders on Oct. 17.
The circumstances weren’t ideal for his season debut, as the Sharks were playing the second of a back-to-back and had just lost some key players to injury. Still, that’s the life of a backup, according to DeBoer, who has said that Stalock will play either in Dallas or Colorado on Sunday.
“As soon as I start feeling a little bit badly about the position you’re putting these guys in – [Sharks assistant coach] Johan Hedberg reminds me that he did it for 15 years in that spot,” DeBoer said. “That’s part of the job, to go in there and give us some energy. I thought he did that. … We all have confidence in his ability to come in and play.”
No matter who is in net for either team, Stalock expects to see Niemi at some point on the Sharks’ quick trip to Texas.
Along with their friendship from being teammates for two seasons, Stalock praised Niemi for helping him along the way.
What did he learn?
‘”I think the biggest thing is work ethic,” Stalock said. “From where maybe he came from when he was 15-16 [years old], he wasn’t touted as the next big Finnish goalie. Maybe there are other guys in the league now that were touted to be in that spot. … I think if you asked him the number one reason why he’s made it is his work ethic.”
Pavelski agreed.
“He worked as hard an anybody in this organization when he was here. He worked to make himself better.”
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