The Dallas Stars look to extend their points streak to nine games when they host the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
Dallas is 6-0-2 in its last eight games, with six of those contests coming on the road. The Stars return home after a two-game trip that consisted of a 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday and a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
Delivering a shutout in the second half of a back-to-back is always impressive, but the Stars’ win over the Devils came a day after another prominent regular was lost to injury. Tyler Seguin’s season likely ended after the forward sustained an ACL injury against New York.
The Stars already were missing three defenseman (Thomas Harley, Nils Lundkvist, Lian Bichsel) to long-term injuries, and forward Matt Duchene missed the last 23 games with an upper-body injury. Duchene’s status has been upgraded to day-to-day, so the Stars should soon regain the services of their points leader from the 2024-25 season.
Even with the undermanned lineup, Dallas is second in the NHL with 41 points, behind only the Colorado Avalanche (44) through Wednesday.
“It’s crazy how many injuries we’ve had this year and a lot of guys stepping up, especially the (defensive) corps. … Lots of mixing and matching,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said. “Different lines, different positions, and it’s just about going out there and getting the job done.”
The Stars’ steady play can be a model for the inconsistent Sharks. San Jose is 3-4-0 over its last seven games, alternating between stirring victories and tough setbacks.
Wednesday’s 7-1 loss to the Washington Capitals was perhaps San Jose’s ugliest result yet. It matched the Sharks’ season high for goals allowed, and it was San Jose’s second six-goal loss in its last five games.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky described the loss as “a reality check” and a warning against complacency.
“I think we get comfortable having a little bit of success and we think sometimes it’s going to be a little bit easy for us,” Warsofsky said. “Human nature is to kind of come off it a little bit and feel comfortable, and so we’ve got to feel uncomfortable.”
In the wake of that lopsided defeat, the Sharks now begin a five-game road trip with a visit to one of the NHL’s top clubs. The Stars were a perfect 6-0-0 against the Sharks over the previous two seasons.
Yaroslav Askarov got the early hook in Wednesday’s game after allowing four goals on 12 shots. Askarov had moved into a regular starting role for San Jose, but the goalie has now been pulled in two of his last four starts.
Backup Alex Nedeljkovic would get the nod if the Sharks want to give Askarov a breather against the dangerous Stars offense.
Macklin Celebrini leads the Sharks in goals (14) and assists (26). In his second NHL season, the 19-year-old phenom is already sitting among the league leaders with 40 points.
Dallas forwards Jason Robertson (17 goals, 36 points) and Mikko Rantanen (12 goals, 35 points) aren’t far behind Celebrini on the scoring leaderboard.
After a 30-save shutout at New Jersey, Jake Oettinger likely will start again against San Jose. Oettinger is enjoying another standout season, as the goalie is 12-4-2 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage over 18 starts.
