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Antero Niittymäki

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Antero Niittymäki
Antero Niittymäki @ Flyers
Born June 18, 1980(1980-06-18),
Turku, FIN
Height
Weight 		6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
F. teams 		San Jose Sharks
Philadelphia Flyers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ntl. team Flag of Finland Finland
NHL Draft 168th overall, 1998
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1999–present

Antero Pertti Elias[1] Niittymäki (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈantero ˈniːtːymæki]; born June 18, 1980[2]) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently a member of the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. He has previously played for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning, as well as in the SM-liiga and the American Hockey League. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, while playing for Team Finland, he was voted the MVP of the entire tournament.

Playing career[]

Early career[]

From 1995 to 2002, Niittymäki played for TPS in the SM-liiga (Finnish elite league), playing in the junior SM-liiga prior to 1999.[3] In 2000 he won the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy for Rookie of the Year,[4] and led TPS to their second straight SM-liiga championship.[5] [6]

Niittymäki was the Philadelphia Flyers' 6th round pick (168th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.[7] "I didn't even know I got drafted. I found out the next morning. I was really surprised," he said in an interview in November 2003.[8] Even if he had opted to go immediately to the United States to play hockey, compulsory military service kept Niittymäki in Finland until January 2001.[6]

From 2002 to 2005, Niittymäki played for the Flyers in the NHL and the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate. While in the AHL, Niittymäki made his name known. He was named the Sher-Wood AHL Player of the Week for the week ending on November 23, 2003 after posting a 0.41 GAA and .984 SP.[9] He played for PlanetUSA in the 2005 AHL All-Star Game.[10] The Phantoms organization gave out Antero Niittymäki bobbleheads on February 27, 2005[11] and Niittymäki figurines on March 3, 2006.[12]

Niittymäki scored a game-winning, empty net, overtime, shorthanded, unassisted goal on April 11, 2004 versus the Hershey Bears. The game ended 3–2, with Niittymäki recording 32 saves as well, which finished the 12–0 Philadelphia season sweep of the Bears.[13][14]

The Phantoms won the Calder Cup in 2005 after sweeping the Chicago Wolves. Niittymäki received the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy for being the MVP in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He had a 1.75 GAA and 15 wins, three of which were shutouts.[15]

NHL[]

Niittymäki played 3 games for the Flyers in February 2004. He was allowed to play after Robert Esche was injured and Jeff Hackett was forced to retire because of vertigo. He won all three games, posting a 1.00 GAA, against the Washington Capitals, Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils. His starting stint ended after the Flyers acquired Sean Burke from the Phoenix Coyotes. Upon Esche's recovery, Burke took over the backup job and Niittymäki was sent back down to the Phantoms.[16][17][18][19]

Niittymäki started the 2005–06 season as the Flyers' backup goalie for Esche.[14] On October 14, 2005, Niittymäki let in a questionable goal immediately after a faceoff on the Pittsburgh Penguins' side of center ice. He was watching a JumboTron replay when Maxime Talbot softly shot at him and scored.[20]

While Esche was on the injury list, Niittymäki got the opportunity to start with Jamie Storr being his backup goalie. Niittymäki started seventeen consecutive games while Esche was unable to play. He recorded his first NHL shutout and assist/point during this time.[21][22][23] He was named the NHL Defensive Player of the week for the week ending on January 8, 2006.[24]

The 2006–07 NHL season revolved around injuries for Niittymäki. He suffered a torn labrum injury to his left hip during training camp. Doctors decided to try giving him cortisone shots to postpone surgery, which would have sidelined him for 6–8 weeks. The first shot allowed him to get back on the ice for the start of the season, but by late December he needed another shot. Despite this, he managed to take over the starting goaltender position from Esche. However, Philadelphia acquired Martin Biron and he was given the starting position for the rest of the year. Niittymäki finally had hip surgery in summer 2008.[25][26][27][28] He continued play backup goaltender for the Flyers for the next two seasons (07–08 and 08–09), setting a franchise record for most saves in a game in January 2008.[29][30]

The 2009 NHL offseason marked the first time in Niittymäki's NHL playing career that he was an unrestricted free agent.[31] After the Philadelphia Flyers acquired goaltenders Ray Emery and Brian Boucher,[32][33] Niittymäki signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a back-up goalie for Mike Smith,[24] however, he became the starting goaltender due to his performance on top of fellow goalie Mike Smith's injuries.

Antero Niittymäki

Niittymäki with the Lightning

Niittymäki started his 2009–2010 season with great success; after his first ten games, he led the league in both save percentage (.939) and goals against average (1.93).[34] Niittymäki won four straight games in February 2010,[14] something that had not occurred for Tampa Bay since two and a half years prior, when the team won five straight in the 2007–08 season (November).[35] On March 25, 2010 Niittymäki won his 20th game in the season[14] and the Tampa Bay Lightning's 500th franchise victory, while setting his second NHL franchise record for most saves in a game.[36]

Niittymäki extended his lifetime winning streak against the Atlanta Thrashers on March 6, 2010 to an impressive 17-0-0.[14][37] He has the longest streak of such amongst active goalies, alongside Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood, who is 17-0-0 lifetime against Tampa Bay.[38][39][40][41]

On the first day of free agency in summer 2010, Niittymäki replaced long time San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov because of salary cap considerations.[42][43][44] Niittymäki played strongly at the beginning of the season, earning the Sharks Player of the Month award in October.[45] However, he sustained another lower body injury, resulting in him missing 17 games, during which Antti Niemi solidified his standing as the starting goaltender.[46][47] In his second year in San Jose, an injury forced him to mis the first months. Upon his return, Thomas Greiss, who had been backing Niemi retained his role as the Sharks backup goaltender, and Niittymaki was waived. After clearing waivers, he was sent down to the team's AHL affiliate, in Worcester.

On February 6, 2012, the San Jose Sharks placed Niittymaki on waivers, and he was loaned to the Syracuse Crunch after he cleared waivers on February 7, 2012.

International play[]

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Competitor for Flag of Finland Finland
Olympic Games
Silver 2006 Turin Ice hockey
Bronze 2010 Vancouver Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze 2006 Latvia Ice hockey

Niittymäki was named to the Team Finland for the 2006 Winter Olympics after Kari Lehtonen and Miikka Kiprusoff had to pull out due to injuries.[23] Despite being a relative unknown with little top-level experience, he put in a stellar performance and was named the MVP of the tournament after posting 3 shutouts in 6 games, leading Finland to the silver medal.[24]

Niittymäki played for Finland in the 2006 IIHF World Championships until the last game of the qualifying round against Canada, in which he got injured and was replaced by the team's reserve goalie Fredrik Norrena.[48]

In the 2010 Winter Olympics Niittymäki was selected to the team as Finland's third goalie, behind Miikka Kiprusoff and Niklas Bäckström.[49] However he did not see any action during the tournament.[50]

Awards[]

Records[]

Early career[]

  • First goaltender to record an overtime goal in North American pro-hockey (11 April 2004)[14]
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record[56][57] for first goal by a goaltender
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for lowest career GAA (2.19 GAA)
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for lowest GAA during the postseason (1.75 GAA in 2005)
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for most saves in a period during a playoff game (23 saves, 1st period, 29 April 2005)
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for most saves in the postseason (611 saves in 2005)
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for most shutouts in a season (7 SO in 2003–04)
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for most shutouts in the postseason (3 SO in 2005) tied with Neil Little
  • Philadelphia Phantoms' franchise record for most wins by a goalie in a season (33 wins in 2004–05)

NHL[]

  • National Hockey League record for most consecutive wins, current streak and lifetime, and most lifetime undefeated wins, against a single team, for his streak of 17-0-0 against the Atlanta Thrashers tied with Chris Osgood (whose streak is against the Tampa Bay Lightning)[14][37][38][39][40][41]
  • Philadelphia Flyers' franchise record for most saves in a game (54 on January 5, 2008)[30]
  • Philadelphia Flyers' franchise record for first shootout win (December 6, 2005)[58]
  • Philadelphia Flyers' franchise record for most losses by a goalie in a season (29 in 2006–07) tied with Bernie Parent
  • Tampa Bay Lightning's franchise record for most saves in a game (47 on March 25, 2010)[36]

Transactions[]

Career statistics[]

[2][3][31][59]

Regular season[]

Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1999–00 TPS SM-liiga 32 23 6 3 — 1899 68 3 2.15
2000–01 TPS SM-liiga 21 10 5 1 — 1112 46 2 2.48 .907
2001–02 TPS SM-liiga 27 16 8 1 — 1498 46 3 1.84 .937
2002–03 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 40 14 21 2 — 2283 98 0 2.58 .903
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 3 3 0 0 — 180 3 0 1.00 .961
2003–04 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 49 24 13 6 — 2728 92 7 2.02 .924
2004–05 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 58 33 21 4 — 3453 119 6 2.07 .924
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 46 23 15 — 6 2690 133 2 2.97 .895
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 52 9 29 — 9 2942 166 0 3.38 .894
2007–08 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 28 12 9 — 2 1424 69 1 2.91 .907
2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 32 15 8 — 6 1804 83 1 2.76 .912
2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 49 21 18 — 5 2657 127 1 2.87 .909
2010–11 San Jose Sharks NHL 24 12 7 — 3 1414 64 0 2.72 .896
NHL totals 234 95 86 0 31 13113 645 5 2.95 .902

Playoffs[]

Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1999–00 TPS SM-liiga 8 6 2 453 13 0 1.72 .944
2001–02 TPS SM-liiga 4 2 2 295 11 0 2.23 .926
2003–04 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 12 6 6 796 24 0 1.81 .926
2004–05 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 21 15 5 1269 37 3 1.75 .943
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 0 0 72 5 0 4.11 .828
2010-11 San Jose Sharks NHL 2 1 0 91 1 0 .66 .967
NHL totals 4 1 0 164 6 0 2.19 .898

International[]

Year Team Event   GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1998 Finland EJC 1 60 4 0 4.00
2000 Finland WJC 5 245 10 0 2.45
2006 Finland Oly 6 5 1 - 359 8 3 1.34 .951
2006 Finland WC 4 2 1 1 212 6 2 1.70 .927
Senior int'l totals 10 7 2 1 571 14 5 1.53 .939

References[]

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named middlename
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nhl
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named euro
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named meltzer
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named lampinen
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named alven
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hockeydb1998
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named interview2003
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms17nov2003
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ahlallstar
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms15feb2005
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms14feb2006
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms11apr2004
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hockeygoalies
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms10jun2005
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers3feb2004
  17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers9feb2004
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers13feb2004
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers25feb2004
  20. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers14oct2005
  21. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers6dec2005
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers20jan2006
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers27jan2006
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbl10jul2009
  25. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers28dec2006
  26. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers22oct2007
  27. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers6dec2007
  28. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers21oct2008
  29. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers14jun2007
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nhl54shots
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tsn
  32. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers10jun2009
  33. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers1jul2009
  34. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named goaliesworldnov2009
  35. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbl
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbtimes500
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbl6mar2010
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbl13nov2008
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hockeygoaliesosgood
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbtimesatl16
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named espnatl11
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cbs1jul2010
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sharks1jul2010a
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sharks1jul2010b
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sjs6nov2010
  46. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sjs8feb2011
  47. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sjs5mar2011
  48. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named norrena
  49. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tbl30dec2009
  50. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nhloly2010
  51. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms2feb2004
  52. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms2apr2004
  53. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms1dec2004
  54. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantoms22dec2005
  55. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named echlaeb
  56. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantomsrecords
  57. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named phantomsrecordsplayoffs
  58. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flyers
  59. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named hockeydbstats

External links[]

Interviews

  • E-mail the Phantoms:
  • Phun Phacts:

Statistics

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Antero Niittymäki
Preceded by
Timo Pärssinen 		Winner of the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy
1999–2000 		Succeeded by
Toni Dahlman
Preceded by
Wade Flaherty 		Winner of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy
2004–05 		Succeeded by
Frédéric Cassivi
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