Niemi put a stop to 37 of 39 shots Thursday in a 5-2 win over the Stars.This game was close than the final score made it look, and Niemi was called upon for much more in the way of heroics than opposing netminders Kari Lehtonen and Jhonas Enroth. He held strong despite the onslaught, winning for just the second time in his last six starts. Niemi's turned in more than his fair share of clunkers lately, and we'll need to see more than this one good outing to declare that he's officially turned things around.

Niemi will start for the Sharks on Thursday against the Stars.Niemi has had some struggles lately, posting a save percentage below .900 in four of his last five starts. He'll look to get back on track against a banged up Stars team who will be without Tyler Seguin.

Niemi allowed four goals on 32 shots in Sunday's loss to the Lightning.It was Niemi's fourth loss in five games, as his record has dropped to 23-14-7 on the season. While his .911 save percentage and 2.63 GAA could use improvement, Niemi has played in a whopping 44 games this season -- making him a popular fantasy option. He's been up-and-down this season, so it wouldn't be unbelievable to think he will bounce back in a big way in his next outing.

Niemi is slated to start Sunday's game against the Lightning, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports.Niemi, who will be making his 44th start of the season, bounced back from a bit of a rough patch by stopping 34 of 36 shots in Friday's 4-2 win over the Coyotes. He'll take aim at a Lightning squad that has dropped two straight decisions.

Niemi turned aside 34 of 36 shots in Friday's 4-2 win over the Coyotes.Facing pretty much a must-win in terms of playoff implications against the lowly Coyotes, Niemi pushed his way back into the win column after allowing a combined 12 goals in the three previous starts (all losses). He's going to see a huge share of the Sharks' crease time heading down the stretch of the season, so he'll have ample opportunities for wins, but owners will want to be cognizant of his inconsistency this year. To date, the Finn's GAA sits at 2.60 with a .912 save percentage through 43 appearances.

Niemi was the first goalie off the ice at morning skate and will thus receive the start in goal Friday against the Coyotes, Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News reports.Niemi has taken losses in three straight games, posting sub-.900 save percentages on all occasions. Coach Todd McLellan's faith hasn't wavered yet in the goalie, but Niemi's owners should probably proceed with using him on a matchups basis at this time. Friday's match against the non-contending Coyotes will present a decent opportunity for Niemi to rebound.

Niemi allowed five goals on 33 shots in a 5-4 OT loss to the Capitals on Wednesday.The finnish netminder has now allowed a combined 12 goals over the last three games, so it's no surprise he's failed to record a win during that span. Niemi has been wildly inconsistent this year in posting a 22-13-7 record with a 2.61 GAA and .911 save percentage -- ratios that are worse than his career averages of 2.39 and .915 -- so owners with more than one option in net may want to size up the Sharks' opponent before blindly throwing Niemi in their lineup.

Niemi will be in the net for Wednesday's game against the Capitals, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports.Niemi has been far from dependable lately, winning only one of his last four starts while surrendering three-plus goals in all of the losses. Two of those defeats came at the hands of the Oilers and Hurricanes, two squads who are demonstrably worse than the Capitals, one of the Eastern Conference's better outfits. Fantasy owners trying to scrape together any win they can are probably going to want to keep Niemi active Wednesday, but just beware of the ratio damage he's inflicted all too often lately.

Niemi let in three goals on 26 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Flames on Monday. The fourth was an empty-netter.Niemi and the Sharks underwhelmed in a key matchup with the Flames, with the loss allowing Calgary -- who has played one less game -- to jump into a tie with them for second place in the Pacific Division. Niemi has actually dropped three of his last four starts -- two of which were against inferior opponents in Carolina and Edmonton -- so owners have got to be frustrated with his inconsistency this season, especially during crunch time when teams are jockeying for playoff positioning.

Niemi will start between the pipes against the Flames on Monday, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports. Niemi dropped his last decision to the Hurricanes on Saturday, allowing four goals on 29 shots. He still carries a 22-12-6 record, .914 save percentage and 2.55 GAA into Monday's matchup, and will look for a better result against the Flames.