The Montreal Canadiens will close out 2018 playing the Dallas Stars on the road, and it’s possible Michael McNiven gets the start.
There was a lot of movement in the goaltending department for the Montreal Canadiens in the last week. Once it was announced Carey Price would miss time nursing a lower-body injury, Antti Niemi became the stop-gap starter while the Habs recalled Michael McNiven from the Laval Rocket.
In normal circumstances, the phone call would go to Charlie Lindgren given his experience with the team last year in Price’s absences. But McNiven instead was brought up to back Niemi up.
The 35-year-old got both starts in Florida taking on the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He stopped a combined 49/58 shots allowing 9 goals across the two games. The trend has continued for Niemi as he’s allowed at least 3 goals in every start this season, but he’s getting the job done. His .870 save percentage and 4.22 goals against average may be concerning though.
And now the final stop of this road trip and this year is in Dallas. The Montreal Canadiens don’t play again until January 3rd when they take on the Vancouver Canucks. Starting Niemi again makes the most sense. The veteran is proven and has the trust of the coaching staff to get the start.
The other side of the coin could fall by the fact that it would be Niemi’s third game in four nights. Claude Julien may not care about that, but the danger of fatigue is in the air. Is Monday’s game the night McNiven makes his NHL debut?
There are pros and cons to that kind of decision. McNiven has been part of the organization for some time after being signed as a free agent out of the OHL. He worked his way from the ECHL to the AHL last season and seemed to find his stride on the last-place finishing Laval Rocket despite how poor his numbers looked.
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It’s a bit different this year. McNiven left the AHL with the same Sv% as his rookie year at .884, but he’s looked a lot shakier in net. Combine that with an error-filled Laval team, and it’s the perfect recipe for a tough time.
There is the chance however he plays better with more reliable players in front of him. The two are different players, but Lindgren had poor AHL numbers as well before joining the Montreal Canadiens and being a key piece on the roster. It could be an opportunity for management to truly see what they have in McNiven.
We can assume the plan for next season is to let Niemi walk in free agency and have Lindgren as the backup. But taking care of the farm team is important to organizational experience. Once Lindgren is in the NHL full time, McNiven will be the guy down there, and the Rocket can’t try to look forward to anything unless they have a steady goaltender.
The downside of this is the opponent. Dallas has been all the talk after the comments made from the managerial staff. Whatever the purpose of the exposè was, the Stars are going to be driven to make the playoffs. They’ve won their last two games and managed to take the second wild-card spot. But with teams close behind, any and all points matter.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Montreal Canadiens choose to go with. Points are equally as important to them as well given their wild-card status. Additionally, the Habs will want to close out 2018 on a high note.
Is that done with Niemi or McNiven in net?