Sunday, December 31, 2006

San Jose Sharks 4, Dallas Stars 2

By Mark Stepneski of Andrew's Stars Page

Coming off an 8-0 loss in Phoenix Saturday night the San Jose Sharks came out flying Sunday night at the American Airlines Center. They built a 4-1 lead in the first period and then put the clamps on defensively the rest of the way to beat the Dallas Stars 4-2.

The win moved the Sharks (26-14-0) two points ahead of the Stars (25-15-0) in the battle for second place in the Pacific Division.

Joe Thornton had a goal and two assists for the Sharks, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in the last six games.

Sergei Zubov and Niklas Hagman scored for the Stars, who lost for just the second time in the last six games but allowed two power play goals for the fourth time in the last five games.

The Sharks, who had been shutout in their two previous games against the Stars, struck just 1:25 into the game when Joe Pavelski was stopped on a wraparound attempt, but then swept the puck into while down on the ice during a scramble for the rebound.

The Sharks made it 2-0 at the 5:18 mark with their first power play goal of the game. Again it came off a rebound and scramble in front of the net and this time Joe Thornton set up Jonathan Cheechoo, who put the puck in the net.

The Stars cut the lead to 2-1 with a power play goal of the their own at 7:17 when Zubov took a pass from Philippe Boucher and scored off a one-timer from the right point.

Less than two minutes later the Sharks scored on the power play again when Sharks captain Patrick Marleau scored during a scramble for a rebound to make it a 3-1 game at 9:05 of the first.

After the third goal the Stars pulled goalie Marty Turco, who allowed three goals on ten shots but received little help in front of the net.

In came Mike Smith, but he gave up a goal on the first shot he faced when Thornton scored five-hole off the rush at the 11:36 mark.

Smith came up with some key saves in the second period to keep it a 4-1 game going into the third period. He made a nice kick save on a point blank shot by Mark Smith and then came up with a sharp glove save on a Pavelski wrist shot later in the period.

The Stars made it a 4-2 game at 10:03 of the third when Patrik Stefan and Mathias Tjarnqvist won a puck battle behind the net and Tjarnqvist set up Hagman, who scored from close range.

The Stars got a power play chance with 3:51 left and pulled Smith with a little more than more minutes to go for a six-on-four advantage, but couldn't get anything past Sharks goalie Vesa Toskala.

Andrew's Dallas Stars Page has been online since the 1996-97 season. It was created by Mark Stepneski, who continues to run the site.

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