For a team overburdened with injuries, the Stars put up a solid game against the Sharks and left the ice with two more points added to their stat sheet.
The game started at a crawl, with both teams putting up single-digit shots on goals in the first period. According to head coach Glen Gulutzan, Jake Oettinger literally did not break a sweat in the opening twenty minutes.
“Those games are not easy. It’s credit to goalies that can keep a performance like he did in low-event games, low shot-volume games,” Gulutzan said. “He made some key saves.”
San Jose’s two hooking penalties gave Dallas two opportunities to be the first team on the board. The Stars were quiet in the first power play but capitalized in the second. Wyatt Johnston slung the puck just short of the goal, and Jason Robertson finished the job, tapping it in to put up his 18th goal of the season.
Mikko Rantanen’s slashing penalty gave the Sharks the opportunity to bounce back, but Dallas neutralized the power play as the first period winded down.
The veteran forward received another penalty for cross-checking and gave the officials a few words to let them know his displeasure at the call. Despite the Stars killing the penalty, San Jose’s Colin Graf scored unassisted and evened the score.
Rantanen’s temper continued to flare, as he and Jeff Skinner each got sent to the box for slashing. The four-on-four play ended scoreless on both sides.
The Stars’ penalty kill has been huge for the team recently. Not only did Dallas kill every penalty thrown at them Friday night, but the club has also not allowed a team to score in 23 straight penalties.
“Anybody on the kill takes a lot of pride in it. We get given that opportunity to go out there and kill a penalty, and we come up with it,” Sam Steel said. “It’s a good feeling.”
As the third period unfolded, the penalties rained down. Ilya Lyubushkin got banished to the box for high-sticking. Dallas killed that penalty, but three and a half minutes later Johnston took his place for hooking. The Stars survived, and San Jose started to pick up the tempo. Oettinger kept his team in the game and kept the puck out of his net.
After a game full of goal chances for Steel, the forward finally got one. The puck slipped into the net after and assist from Alexander Petrovic and Rantanen and brought the score to 2-1 with just under nine minutes to go. Rantanen managed a goal of his own five minutes later and whipped the puck past Yaroslav Askarov.
San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini put a puck in Oettinger’s net, but Dallas challenged the goal. The officials determined the Sharks were offsides and the goal did not count, delighting the crowd. Miro Heiskanen rubbed some salt in San Jose’s wound when he sent a puck across the ice into the Sharks’ empty net.
The Stars will look to keep the momentum going at home as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday night at 5 p.m. CT.