ED MORAN
Philadelphia Daily News
ROBERT ESCHE doesn't believe there is a goalie controversy.
He doesn't think Ken Hitchcock is struggling to decide whether Esche or Antero Niittymaki is going to be the Flyers' starter when the playoffs begin or that his coach will wait until the end of the regular season to make his choice known.
"The writing is on the wall," Esche said. "[Hitchcock] hasn't said anything to me, and I really don't know what's going to happen, but I'll bet you right now that [Niittymaki] is the starter and is going to be the starter for the rest of the year.
"It's not tough to analyze, I don't think, anyway. I'm not really sure why but obviously [Hitchcock] has gotten a lack of confidence in my game somehow. I don't know why. I've been having a tough time all year trying to put my finger on it. So I don't know.
"I know one thing: This has been a frustrating year."
And that is understandable. When the season started, Esche was a clear-choice NHL starter. Niittymaki was a rookie with a ton of promise, but he was a rookie. Esche was the veteran with playoff experience. He backstopped the Flyers to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference finals in the season before the lockout. It was his job to lose.
He struggled early getting used to playing again after a year off. He lost his first two games but got it together enough to earn points in 12 of his next 14, winning 10 of them.
He was allowing goals, 54 in
18 games, but logging wins and hanging onto his job. The Flyers were an injured team from the beginning, and when they had problems winning Esche spoke out about the way they were playing. It bothered Hitchcock enough that he called his starter in for a meeting.
"The meeting was about focus, about worrying about things he could control and not worrying about the things that weren't in his control," Hitchcock said yesterday. "Things like the way the team plays in front of you."
And then Esche's groin gave out.
For Niittymaki, this was a huge opportunity and he took full advantage, winning 13 of 23 games, including an 8-3 road trip, from Dec. 3 through Jan. 23.
It might have been enough for Niittymaki to cement his position right there, except that he went in the tank along with the rest of the team, winning only two of eight going into the Olympic break.
In the Olympics, playing for Finland, Niittymaki won the silver medal and was voted both MVP and best goalie of the tournament. Esche played one game for the United States, a loss against Russia.
But watching from a distance, it isn't easy to read what Hitchcock is thinking. Esche started six of the first nine games coming out of the break and then Niittymaki took over, playing three of the last four, including home victories over Ottawa and New Jersey.
Through it all Hitchcock has said he would make his decision when he was ready, that both goalies were playing good hockey and that he just wasn't sure yet.
I don't believe it. I think Hitchcock started changing his mind about Esche right after the meeting about focus. He hasn't said so publicly, and he's been careful when the subject comes up.
"I haven't lost confidence in him," Hitchcock said. "They are both playing well."
The numbers between the goalies are close - Esche has 3.06 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage; Niittymaki has a 2.96 goals against and an .896 save percentage. That's not much of a difference.
And if those numbers are judged against some other starters, they are not as good.
Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff has a 2.18 goals against and a .918 save percentage, Marty Turco in Dallas is 2.52 and .897 and in Nashville, Tomas Vokoun is 2.63 and .920.
So Niittymaki is not that much better than Esche. And Esche has more experience, he's been in the NHL longer, he's bigger, he's a better athlete.
But the biggest difference is demeanor. And that is something Hitchcock watches; he always has. And it plays to Niittymaki's benefit.
Niittymaki has nothing to lose, and Esche knows it. The rookie backup never was expected to unseat the veteran starter. It's so much easier for Niittymaki to appear calm, cool and ready to go - he's not about to lose anything because he never had it. Listen to what he says about Esche saying he thinks he's lost the job.
"I don't know what to say,"
Niittymaki said. "I think [Hitchcock] is going to make a decision pretty soon. I played now three out of four, but before that Esche played three out of four. If you look, after the Olympics, I only started four games, so I don't know what to say.
"I haven't talked to coach about that. He's going to talk to us and he's going to say who's going to be the starter. If it happens, it happens.
"I didn't have any plans, for this to happen [at the start of the season]. I thought I could play at this level and then I had a couple of good games and right now I know I can play here and I can play against the best teams.
"I'm not worried about the playoffs being different. Last year the Calder Cup was great, but I didn't notice a big difference. It's still just hockey."
So he comes off confident while Esche comes off discouraged, and he ends up all but conceding that Niittymaki has taken his job and that he is back in the role of the always-prepared backup.
"Niittymaki is playing really well and I feel that I've been playing really well too," Esche said.
"It's a good situation to be in. You've got two goalies playing really well right now and that's kind of it. I think it's great for the Flyers, I really do.
"We're building a team here so it's not about Robert Esche. Whether it's three games the rest of the year or whether it's [11], I have an obligation to the rest of the team to make sure that I'm ready when I step on the ice."