This Day in Blackhawks History: Niemi Stands Tall to Open Conference Finals
There was one big question for the Blackhawks heading into the 2010 playoffs: could goaltender Antti Niemi step up? He answered his critics in a big way with a career-high 44 saves and Dustin Byfuglien scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:45 remaining in the third period to help Chicago defeat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in the 2010 Western Conference Final series opener in San Jose on this day 12 years ago.
Niemi stopped almost everything that came his way in his first career game against the Sharks, helping Chicago kill four of five power plays including a 6-on-4 advantage in the closing minute. The victory snapped a run of four straight series-opening losses for the Hawks.
Patrick Sharp also scored for the Blackhawks at the 7:44 mark of the second period. Making their second consecutive conference finals appearance, Chicago continued their dominance on the road, improving to 6-1 in the 2010 postseason.
Rookie Jason Demers recorded the lone tally for the Sharks with a first period power play goal on a shot that appeared to bounce off Duncan Keith's hip.
The two teams ranked third and fourth respectively in goals per game before the playoffs, but the story was the goaltending on both sides. Evgeni Nabokov played well in defeat, making 38 stops and Niemi stood tall with big save after big save.
The win stole home ice for the Hawks and set the tone for what turned out to be a dominating performance in the conference finals (4-0 sweep).
| POLL | ||
Which 2010 Salary Cap casualty would you have liked to see the Hawks keep? | ||
| Niemi | 49 | 20.4 % |
| Big Buff | 147 | 61.3 % |
| Versteeg | 44 | 18.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
