by Christopher BottaFiled under: Bruins, Penguins, Sharks
Every week two of our hockey writers will discuss one topic: it's the 2-on-1. This week, Adam Gretz and Chris Botta discuss the goaltending controversies created by the strong play of backups in October.
Chris Botta: Take a good look at the goalie stats lately, Adam? Pretty wild. Tim Thomas had an October to remember in Boston, while incumbent No. 1 Tuukka Rask is relegated -- at least for now -- to being his backup. Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury is 1-5 with a goals against average of 3.35 (35th in the league) and save percentage of .863 (40th among 41 NHL goalies). Journeyman backup Brent Johnson is 5-0 and second to Thomas in goals against average and save percentage.
The goalie with the worst numbers in the league? Antti Niemi, formerly the No. 1 goalie of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, whose 4.49 goals against average and .854 save percentage has him on the bench while Antero Niittymaki leads the Sharks with a 4-0 record. So the issue for this week, Adam, is which of these goaltending reversals are real and long-term?
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