Roster Notes: Niemi In, Barker Questionable For Trip to Boston

According to coach Joel Quenneville after practice on Wednesday, Antti Niemi will start in goal in Boston on Thursday night. He also indicated that Cam Barker is still a day-to-day situation with his “upper body injury.”

In his first NHL season, Niemi has been exceptional in 13 games. He’s allowing only 1.81 goals per game with a stellar .926 save percentage. Niemi was in goal when Boston visited the United Center on Dec. 18 and it was far from his best performance, though. He allowed four goals on 29 shots that night as the Hawks needed a shoot out to beat the Bruins 5-4. On the other side of the ice that night, US Olympian Tim Thomas was incredible, stopping 40 of 44 shots before losing in the shootout.