It wasn’t pretty, especially considering how poorly the Sharks have played as of late, but the special teams stepped up in the Stars’ 4-3 win over San Jose. Side note—Stars fans must be thrilled to see Mason Marchment diving in a color other than victory green.
Someone tip that penalty box attendant!
The first period was unlike most for the Stars. It was a sloppy, penalty-ridden affair, with the Sharks committing three minor penalties to Dallas’ four.
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Thomas Harley fell victim to puck-watching on the Sharks’ opening tally; I wouldn’t put too much stock in the play, though, as the 25-year-old has been Dallas’ best defensive player as of late. Also, that Macklin Celebrini guy tends to draw the attention of most opposing defenders when he has the puck on his stick.
Tonight was the first time in nine games that the Sharks scored first.
That momentum— like most good things for the Sharks this season— was short-lived. Roope Hintz tied it up two minutes later with a rare 4-on-3 goal.
Michael Kesselring probably wishes he was covering someone in green on that play, but it was truly a surgical power play from the Stars.
Jamie Benn earned the Stars their lone even-strength goal of the period following a lackadaisical clearing attempt by Will Smith. The Stars didn’t get their cycle going much in the first, but all the chances they got were in prime scoring areas.
That was to be expected, as the Sharks came into tonight with the worst five-on-five expected goals against in the NHL. Notably, that goal put Benn within one point of 1000.
The power play looked decisive yet again on the third goal, although perhaps any penalty kill that gives Jason Robertson that much time and space needs to go back to the drawing board.
Is this the blue wave everyone was talking about?
For the first time in weeks, the Sharks had a genuinely strong second period at five-on-five, propelled by Stenberg’s early tally. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky threw Celebrini over the boards seemingly every time he had the chance, and it paid off for the second time tonight.
The two-on-one was made possible by a gutsy effort from Eric Pohlkamp, who earned his first career point with a secondary assist.
After a couple of solid shifts at even strength, the Sharks took their fifth penalty of the night, which the Stars quickly capitalized on.
Thomas Harley put one through a wall of teal and green jerseys, beating Alex Nedeljkovic five-hole and making up for the defensive lapse on the Misa goal.
The Sharks brought it within one after converting on a power play of their own. Marchment, who had a tough game up until this point, fed Smith with a beautiful backdoor pass.
Unfortunately for San Jose, they couldn’t pull off the second-largest upset in Texas this week— collapsing in the third for only two shots in the period.
Harley had arguably his best game of the season, notching three points including the game-winning goal. Head coach Glen Gulutzan would likely have wanted a more dominant offensive showing, but the Stars have four days to work on their even-strength play before they face the Winnipeg Jets at home on Thursday.
