Antti Niemi lasted nine minutes in the San Jose Sharks' Game 5 loss.
Think about that: It probably took you longer to get through the supermarket checkout line than Niemi lasted in Game 5. And you got to flip through the pages of Cosmo (don't lie) while Niemi gave up three goals on four shots as his defense let him down.
It was the second game in this series in which he was pulled, and he's given up an unforgivable eight first-period goals in five games.
Well, almost unforgivable: Coach Todd McLellan's giving him the start in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, of course -- a show of confidence in what could be the series finale for San Jose.
Jon Swenson of Sharkspage reports that Niemi's preparing himself mentally for the challenge:
For Game 6 against Los Angeles, Niemi almost has to turn off his brain and use what has worked for him over the last 2 months of the season. Sometimes thinking about making changes while you are making them results in the puck finding the back of the net. Building on the success he had last year after being pulled against Vancouver, and on earning a win in Game 4 after being pulled a game earlier, Niemi expressed confidence in himself and in his preparation.
"It is always a new time when you have to come back," Niemi said. "It takes careful preparation, just getting ready and not thinking about it too much."
Niemi bounced back in Game Four-- whether he bounces back in Game Six won't be known until the game gets underway, even if historical data suggests that Niemi does play well after a bad start. With San Jose facing down Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick, who was absolutely brilliant [in Game 5] during the course of his 52 save performance, all eyes will be on Niemi to match that type of game-changing ability.
Sure, but they're also on Quick. He has a shutout and that 51-save stunner to his credit; but he also gave up 12 goals in Games 3 and 4 on home ice. He needs to be better than Niemi, which has been easy for most of the series, given where Niemi has set the bar. More importantly, he has to keep the Sharks from scoring goals in clusters as they did in their Game 3 rally and their Game 4 win in LA.
For both goalies, it's about establishing confidence for their teammates. The Sharks want to end this thing. The Kings want to extend this thing; and as Dustin Brown told the LA Times, they've learned a bit since the last time they were in an elimination Game 6:
"Going into Game 6 last year at home it was a different team, just as the result of not being in that situation [before], win or go home," Brown�said. "I think everyone understands playing in that game it wasn't a big mistake, or a couple of big mistakes. It was stuff that probably the average fan doesn't recognize. ... I think the message that needs to be in this [dressing] room is eliminating those tiny mistakes because that's what's going to be the difference here tonight."
So will we see a Game 7 in this series? Time to get pumped, courtesy of the Kings Game 6 Jumbotron video:
Charisma Carpenter Hilarie Burton Kelly Carlson Sara Foster Natassia Malthe
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