Kovacevic: Is Niemi Penguins' weak link? Hm ... maybe not

Sep 22, 2017 • 10:47 pm

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It was the third period of the second preseason game, and absolutely nothing that took place Friday night inside Nationwide Arena mattered to anyone other than 'LEO!' the anthem singer, the guy working the cannon and a bunch of children on both sides wearing Nos. 47 and the like.

And there was Antti Niemi, his catching glove just having been knocked off by a Columbus passerby, hiding his bare hand behind his back as action continued.

Until ...

Oh, yes, he did.

Look up there and watch it again.

Oh, yes, he did.

If a goaltender tries that in the Stanley Cup clincher, like maybe in the final couple minutes, he's got a case. Those potential broken bones, after all, will mend in plenty of time to raise the trophy all summer long.

But in a thoroughly hollow preseason game?

"I honestly didn't notice at first ... I thought maybe they would blow the whistle," Niemi would tell me after his 31 saves and Olli Maatta's late goal lifted the Penguins, 4-3, over the Blue Jackets. "I'm not really thinking out there in that situation. I'm just reacting."

OK. What did his head coach think of that?

"He competes hard," Mike Sullivan said. "He fights. He battles. And I think his compete level has really jumped out at me since he's been with our club. What I like about Antti is that he wins. He's a winner in the NHL."

Yeah, but the bare hand ...

"I wish the whistle blew. That could be dangerous. But again, I think that's just an indication of his compete level."

Turns out blowing the whistle apparently wasn't an option for the officials, at least as much as anyone can rely on anything relayed from the NHL. The referee closest to Niemi, T.J. Luxmore, told him that, beginning in the regular season, the league won't blow the whistle for a lost glove or blocker anymore, only for a dislodged helmet.

As for pain ...

"It wasn't bad. The hand was moving at the same pace," Niemi said, referring to it going backward with the shot. "It wasn't so bad."

Consider this, as Sullivan suggested, seriously instructive. Because Niemi's 34. He's coming off the worst season of his career, with an .892 save percentage for the Stars. He's seven years removed from that Cup with the Blackhawks, five years removed from his last save percentage over .920. And now he's here with the two-time defending champs, who have deftly illustrated that it takes not one, not two, but even three goaltenders to get to the end.

The burden is real. But apparently, so is the attitude.

Mike Buckley, the Penguins' new goaltending coach who earned his summer promotion from the minors in large part because Matt Murray swears by him, has invested equal energy in all his players, by all accounts. And in Niemi's case, that began with a June retreat to Buckley's home near Boston. They spent several days together, some of it revisiting video -- good and bad -- from his time in Dallas, but also on the ice.

I asked Buckley his very first impression from their first shared rink time.

"The compete level is so high."

That's it?

"That's what stands out. It really is."

Funny, but the head coach just used the same term, I told Buckley.

"We all do. That's what jumps out at you. I mean, we're out there, and I'm not thinking anything technical. I'm thinking about how much effort he's putting into every shot, every stance. He's competing."

Unsatisfied with the intangible, I tried a little harder with both the goaltender and the coach. I asked about the 11 saves in the first period, when Columbus had at least five high-grade chances within 15 feet, all thwarted by his legs going all rock-em-sock-em robot down low.

It was leg action that, at least for a night, was at a Marc-Andre Fleury level.

"I don't think it's anything I was focusing on," Niemi tried to explain. "Mike and I are talking a lot about the bigger picture, about my posture, about putting myself in the best position to make the save."

But it's been really good down low?

"Crisp," he came back with a rare smile. "I'll say crisp."

That's the same word he used after a similarly solid early showing against the Sabres earlier this week at Penn State.

Buckley cited much the same.

"It's his poise. You saw how calm he was out there. That's where it comes from. He keeps his body quiet and, then, when the save has to be made, he's ready for it. I'd say that's it more than anything."

What about compete level?

"That, too!"

This might wind up being one of the most uplifting facets of camp. No exaggeration. Roster spots are mostly etched in stone. The biggest if remains an outside acquisition. But entering the season with reliable goaltending depth, especially with a league-high 19 back-to-back sets of games, that's paramount.

As Buckley put it, "He'd better be good. We all know that. And he will."

• Zach Aston-Reese makes loud noises. And that usually involves ugly occurrences.

I think I'm starting to figure this kid out, because his assist on the Penguins' second goal -- with 1:01 left in the second period -- began with him barging down the right side, then flicking an innocent backhander that Sergei Bobrovsky should easily stop ... in September, anyway. And Aston-Reese plowed right on through to create enough of a distraction that Sprong pounced on the rebound.

Now watch the goal Aston-Reese scored in the third: