The Dallas Stars are a team with a decision to make when it comes to who starts in goal against the St. Louis Blues in the second round. After deploying both Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi throughout the 2015-16 regular season, the team has given Lehtonen the majority of the work in the playoffs (four out of six starts) with positive results (3-1 record). Still, Niemi has remained in the discussion though the Stars will opt for Lehtonen to start Game 1.
What does Alexander Steen think of both of Dallas’ netminders? His deep analysis will leave you thinking.
Blues forward Alexander Steen breaks down the Stars goaltenders: pic.twitter.com/RTkjqqDusw
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) April 29, 2016
That’s actually pretty funny.
Statistically, Lehtonen does have the edge over Niemi when examining how the duo stacked up against the Blues this season.
Lehtonen vs. Blues this year:
1-0-1, 0.99 GAA, .955 save percentage
Niemi vs. Blues this year:
0-1-2, 3.22 GAA, .899 save percentage
However, the eyeball test indicated that Niemi played a bit better than his number’s indicate while Lehtonen may have played a bit worse than his numbers indicate.
Given Lehtonen’s strong play against the Minnesota Wild and his strong play against the Blues this season, it’s not surprising he’ll start Game 1. Still, he’s Finnish…which apparently is a factor according to Steen.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
