Stars Harpoon The Sharks, 5-2
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by user UNT66
On Sunday afternoon at the American Airlines Center, the Dallas Stars defeated the San Jose Sharks, 5-2. With the win, the Stars pulled within one point of San Jose for second place in the Pacific Division.
This contest was a laugher, as the Stars pulled out to an insurmountable lead after 40 minutes of play.
Stu Barnes started the scoring, marking the scoresheet six minutes into the game. In the second period, Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen scored, giving the Stars a 3-0 lead after two periods of play.
In the third period, when San Jose scored a goal, Dallas responded as Ribeiro and Lehtinen was score their second goals of the game in the final period.
In net, Marty Turco started the game for Dallas and made 17 saves, earning his first win in the last two weeks. In a game where few scoring chances occurred for San Jose, Turco responded and allowed the home team to jump out to a big lead.
Up next for the Stars is a road game with the Minnesota Wild and a good chance that the Stars can overtake the Sharks for second place in the division.
Notes:
Stars offense Explodes vs. SJ:
Ribeiro and Lehtinen with multigoal efforts
Sergei Zubov dishes two assists, Darryl Sydor netted three assists.
In comparison, the Sharks Jonathan Cheechoo and Joe Thornton combined for only one assist and was -4.
Clearly, the Stars were more productive against their Pacific Division rivals then they were versus the Red Wings, who Dallas could only score one goal in regulation.
Stars dominant over Sharks:
Dallas is now 5-2 over the Sharks this season, earning a winning record over a team that has been considered a contender for the Stanley Cup.
Yet, if the playoffs started today, the Stars would be the team between both Dallas And San Jose that would go longer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs if the playoffs started today.
Injury Bug Hits Sharks too:
In today's game, the Sharks had 5 players out of the lineup, showing a team that is not healthy and play at full strength. As a result, the Sharks offense has struggled, going 191 minutes before scoring in the 3rd period of Sunday's game.
When the offense goes, the chance to win goes down dramatically, no matter how many power plays the Sharks are awarded.
Miettinen's back:
One change for the Dallas injury list, as Antti Miettinen came back to the Stars lineup after a few games off with a lower body injury. In order to join the lineup, Patrik Stefan had to be scratched.
JG
