Antti Niemi made 44 saves and Dustin Byfuglien scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:45 remaining in regulation to help the Chicago Blackhawks get off to a fast start for a change this postseason by beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 Sunday in the opener of the Western Conference finals.

Niemi stopped almost everything that came his way in his first career game against the Sharks, helping Chicago kill four of five power plays including a 6-on-4 advantage in the closing minute. That snapped a run of four straight series-opening losses for Chicago.

Patrick Sharp also scored for the Blackhawks; who improved to 6-1 on the road this postseason.

Game 2 will be Tuesday night in San Jose.

In other NHL playoff action:

• Fresh off a historic series comeback over the Boston Bruins which included a historic comeback in Game 7, the Flyers scored early against Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens and rolled to a 6-0 win in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night.
• Get your favorite team hats here!

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