Although Stars goaltender Antti Niemi struggled considerably in his last three outings (allowing 11 goals in 71 minutes in that span), head coach Lindy Ruff isn’t afraid to use him again in the near future, he told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
Dallas has been juggling between Niemi and Kari Lehtonen on a regular basis as they look for at least one of them to get on a run but that has yet to happen as both have been well below average this season, hardly what the Stars were expecting when they made them the highest paid goaltending duo in the NHL.
Lehtonen has received the last three starts but he too has allowed 11 goals in that span (though to be fair, he played 177 minutes in those games). Accordingly, Niemi may not have to wait that much longer before he gets another look.
More from Dallas:
- Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak is expected to miss another 7-10 days as a result of his hand injuries, notes Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge (Twitter link). Oleksiak has been out of the lineup since January 11th. After spending most of the season as a healthy scratch early on, the 24 year old had been starting to play more before getting sidelined. On the season, the 2011 first round pick has played in 20 games this season, scoring five goals while adding an assist. If the Stars opt to sell at the trade deadline, Oleksiak would be in a prime position to take on a bigger role down the stretch.
- Right winger Patrick Sharp dealt with a lot of motion sickness issues while dealing with two separate instances of post-concussion symptoms, writes Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. He noted that he has been much more comfortable since returning back in late December and put up a productive month in January with five goals and five assists in 13 games. If Dallas falls out of the playoff hunt, Sharp becomes a potential trade candidate but he will likely call the shots on a move as he can be dealt to just ten teams (while also carrying a pricey $5.9MM cap hit).