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Sharks host Blackhawks in rematch of West finals

Nov 24, 2010 - 4:27 PM (Sports Network) - Though it is unknown if he will start, Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi will get his first look at his former club tonight when San Jose and the Chicago Blackhawks meet for the first time since last season's Western Conference finals at HP Pavilion.

Niemi was key to the Blackhawks claiming their first Stanley Cup title since 1961 last year. He posted a 2.63 goals-against average in 22 playoff games, including a 1.67 GAA in Chicago's four-game sweep of San Jose in the conference finals.

Niemi's solid postseason and 26-win regular-season earned the restricted free agent a $2.75 million contract from an arbitrator, a deal the salary-cap crunched Blackhawks had to walk away from. That led to Niemi joining the Sharks on a one-year, $2 million deal.

The 27-year-old Finnish netminder has struggled in seven starts this season, going 2-4-1 with a 3.91 GAA. Antero Niittymaki has made 13 appearances for the Sharks this year in net, going 7-2-3 with a 2.07 GAA.

Though head coach Todd McLellan tells his goaltenders the day before who is starting, he doesn't usually announce the decision until the morning skate. He played coy on Monday, saying there was a chance Niemi could start this game.

Niemi, meanwhile, isn't putting any added pressure on himself for this game.

"It's not that big," Niemi told San Jose's website.

Niittymaki got the start in the Sharks' most recent contest, a 3-0 setback to the Blue Jackets. Niittymaki made 24 saves in San Jose's third straight loss and first in regulation since Nov. 4, ending a 4-0-3 run.

The Sharks went 0-for-5 on the power play and have failed to convert their last 15 chances on the man advantage.

"I don't know if I've seen a team mishandle good passes, passes on the tape, breakout opportunities, pucks in the offensive zone, three-on-twos, four-on- two rushes where we end up back-checking off them," said McLellan. "And that's very disturbing."

Defenseman Douglas Murray missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury, but the 240-pounder is expected to return tonight. However, blueliner Jason Demers will sit out with an upper-body injury suffered against the Blue Jackets.

While San Jose currently sits fourth in the Pacific Division and 11th overall in the West, the defending champion Blackhawks are a little better at seventh overall despite a fourth-place showing thus far in the Central standings.

Chicago has put together two solid showings around a horrid outing on a six- game road trip, getting the trek started with a 5-0 win in Edmonton before getting routed, 7-2, in Calgary on Friday.

The Blackhawks rebounded the following day, blowing out Vancouver, 7-1, at Rogers Arena. Patrick Kane, who turned 22 on Friday, had a goal and two assists to surpass 250 career points, while Fernando Pisani scored twice.

"[Vancouver] is a tough team, they're one of the best in the league this year. You don't really expect that game coming in, but the most important thing was just worrying about ourselves," Kane said. "If we compete and play hard, we're tough to play against."

Corey Crawford made 27 saves as Chicago won for the third time in four games.

After completing the western Canada portion of their swing, the Blackhawks made a brief stop in Las Vegas before heading to California for contests in San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.

Marty Turco, signed as Niemi's replacement, will likely get the start in net for the Blackhawks tonight and is 24-14-4 with a tie, four shutouts and 2.26 GAA versus the Sharks.

Kane has three goals and 11 points in 12 career regular-season games versus San Jose. He did not score in last postseason's sweep, but did have five assists.