Niemi's season-opening winning streak ended at three games Tuesday when he allowed four goals on 32 shots in a loss to the Bruins. The Sharks have lost three out of four, and neither Alex Stalock nor Niemi has excelled sufficiently to pull away from the other. They'll continue to split starts until one can get hot; one gets the feeling that if Niemi had delivered the goods Tuesday, he would have had an opportunity to win much more playing time going forward. But alas, it was not to be.