Antero Niittymaki gets a second chance this season to play against one of his former teams. The strategy worked against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Todd McLellan is counting on it to work tonight against the Flyers.
Starting Niittymaki was part of ?the plan? and McLellan decided to stick with it.
?Some would say, ?Hey, you know what? You?ve got the hot goalie who just won in Detroit.? But so far this year we?ve had a good response from our team and our goaltender when they?ve played against their former teammates,? McLellan said. ?I think he?s been looking forward to this and we?ve been a team that?s bene externally motivated and maybe this will get them going.?
So do the Sharks go with seven defensemen again tonight after it worked against Detroit?
Maybe ? and mostly it?ll depend on the ?bumps and bruises? report that McLellan gets from the training staff before the game.
?I don?t want to leave us short either on the back end or up front, especially playing back to backs and three in four,? McLellan said. ?If we have a couple forwards who are a little sore, I don?t want it to get to a situation where they can?t finish the night and then you?re down to 10.?
If line rushes at the morning skate hold true, look for the same combinations on the top three lines that were on the ice in Detroit:
Heatley-Thornton-Mitchell
Clowe-Couture-Ferriero
McGinn-Pavelski-Marleau
Starting Niittymaki was part of ?the plan? and McLellan decided to stick with it.
?Some would say, ?Hey, you know what? You?ve got the hot goalie who just won in Detroit.? But so far this year we?ve had a good response from our team and our goaltender when they?ve played against their former teammates,? McLellan said. ?I think he?s been looking forward to this and we?ve been a team that?s bene externally motivated and maybe this will get them going.?
So do the Sharks go with seven defensemen again tonight after it worked against Detroit?
Maybe ? and mostly it?ll depend on the ?bumps and bruises? report that McLellan gets from the training staff before the game.
?I don?t want to leave us short either on the back end or up front, especially playing back to backs and three in four,? McLellan said. ?If we have a couple forwards who are a little sore, I don?t want it to get to a situation where they can?t finish the night and then you?re down to 10.?
If line rushes at the morning skate hold true, look for the same combinations on the top three lines that were on the ice in Detroit:
Heatley-Thornton-Mitchell
Clowe-Couture-Ferriero
McGinn-Pavelski-Marleau
