Antti Niemi

Antti Niemi (born August 29, 1983) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He formerly played for the Chicago Blackhawks and won the Stanley Cup with the team.

Playing career
Niemi played junior-level hockey for Kiekko-Vantaa from 2000 until 2005, when he turned pro with the Pelicans of the Finnish SM-liiga. He played three seasons with the Pelicans before signing with the Chicago Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Assigned to Chicago's minor league affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, Niemi spent the majority of the 2008–09 season in the American Hockey League (AHL). In February 2009, he was called up to the Blackhawks as an injury replacement. He made his NHL debut on February 27, playing one period in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Niemi recorded his first NHL start and win several days later on March 1, a 4–2 victory versus the Los Angeles Kings.

The following season, Niemi made the Blackhawks lineup out of training camp. Niemi started the second game of a back-to-back season opener against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki. He stopped all 23 shots he faced against the Panthers earning his first NHL shutout in his native Finland on October 3, 2009. Niemi was made the starting goaltender for the Blackhawks near the close of the 2009-2010 NHL regular season and the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, replacing Christobal Huet. During Game 2, Niemi recorded a shutout victory against the Nashville Predators at United Center, making him the first Blackhawks goaltender since Ed Belfour in 1996 to record a postseason shutout. . On April 22, 2010, Niemi stopped 33 shots to record his second shutout of the postseason, making him the first Chicago goaltender since Tony Esposito in 1974 to record two shutouts in one playoff series.