Stars' Antti Niemi: Crumbles in Game 3 start

Niemi gave up three goals on 12 shots before being pulled in the second period of Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Blues in Game 3.

Analysis:

This experiment failed for coach Lindy Ruff. After entering Game 2 in place of a struggling Kari Lehtonen and performing admirably, Niemi was trusted in Game 3 as the starter. Unfortunately, as was the case in the regular season, the netminder was unable to carry over the solid play, which landed the Finn back on the bench. The 32-year-old's 2.75 GAA and .856 save percentage in the playoffs is enough to ignore Niemi when he's between the pipes.