Antti Niemi will work between the pipes as the starter Friday evening against the Canucks.

Niemi will work between the pipes as the starter Friday evening against the Canucks, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Analysis:

The writing was on the wall with this news, as fellow puck stopper Kari Lehtonen landed on IR with an upper-body injury Thursday. Niemi has been somewhat lucky against teams in the Pacific Division this season, having notched wins in all of three starts despite a 2.97 GAA and .889 save percentage in that span.