San Jose goalie Antti Niemi needed only 18 seconds Thursday to show that he was on his game. Los Angeles forward Jeff Carter had sneaked past the San Jose defense and was alone for the first shot of Game 1, only to have Niemi get a piece of the puck. A quality scoring chance but no goal. "It was a pretty huge save," Sharks center James Sheppard said. "That's a puck that could easily have went in, and that's 18 seconds into a series. So when I saw it, I was pretty happy. I knew he was going to be there -- not that I had any doubts." Sheppard might not have had any doubts, but others did. Niemi had faltered at times down the stretch, while rookie backup Alex Stalock was more consistent. Coach Todd McLellan added to the drama by not publicly naming his starter until game day. Thursday, Niemi rewarded his team's faith, stopping the first 19 shots he faced before giving up three goals in the third period after the Sharks had built a 5-0 lead. And none of those Los Angeles goals could be categorized as softies in what ended up as a 6-3 win for San Jose.