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Sharks 2, Stars 3: San Jose sunk by two minutes of poor play

For approximately 58 minutes San Jose seemed to control the game, but it was those other two minutes that really messed things up. The Sharks fly out of Texas with a 3-2 loss to think about.

San Jose went into the third period in a 1-1 tie with the Stars, but they were controlling the puck more often than not and they were getting pucks in on Ben Bishop. A power play for the Sharks to start the third looked like a great way to take the lead, it was, for the Stars. Dallas killed the penalty, built momentum off that kill and minutes later scored to make it 2-1.

The Stars continued to push and the Sharks folded. Less than two minutes later the Stars scored again and it was 3-1. While San Jose got one back less than a minute later, they couldn’t get that important third goal to at least salvage a point out of the game.

San Jose will have to have a short memory. The team plays the Arizona Coyotes tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

Pregame

After a one game homestand, the Sharks are back on the road, starting things off in Dallas. The Stars are riding a three-game win streak, with their latest victory a 4-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night.

The Sharks have a mini streak of their own, with two quality wins in a row. The team is hoping to duplicate the work it did on Wednesday night, when they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1.

Lines

For the Sharks, here’s what’s going on:

The team is rolling the same lines they did in the last two wins; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Martin Jones is in net. It’s the first night of back-to-backs so we’ll see what happens in goal tomorrow. Defenseman Radim Simek is getting his third start in a row.

For the Stars, tonight’s game marks the NHL return of forward Martin Hanzal. Hanzal hasn’t played since February and had spinal surgery in the interim. You can imagine it’s been tough road back for the veteran. According to our friends at Defending Big D, he will slot in on the second line with Devin Shore and Jason Spezza.

Dallas News reporter Matthew DeFranks offers a full line up here.

Items to note, it’s Ben Bishop in goal tonight for the Stars. Bishop is 9-5-1 this season with a 2.25 goals against average and .925 save percentage. It’s an interesting choice, since Bishop was not in goal during the Stars 4-3 win over the Sharks on Nov. 11. That win went to backup Anton Khudobin, who will be playing backup tonight.

As for the Tale of the Tide, we’ll let the San Jose Sharks Twitter tell that story.

Where to Watch

The game will be broadcast in the Bay Area on NBCS-CA. Radio call on 98.5 KFOX. Puck drop is at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET. If you can’t watch, stick with Fear the Fin. I’ll be live blogging throughout the game tonight.

First Period

20:00 – Puck drop.

18:47 – Timo Meier rings one off the crossbar. Sharks have really jumped on the Stars in the opening minutes.

14:54 – Martin Hanzal just upended Joonas Donskoi with a slightly late hit.

13:19 – Dallas goalie Ben Bishop with a glove save on Justin Braun.

11:45 – The Stars Jamie Benn isn’t on the bench right now. Looks like he and Logan Couture collided and it ended in Benn bleeding. Probably just a little work and he’ll be back.

10:38 – Evander Kane breaks his slump and puts one in past Bishop. Kane started everything out in the Sharks defensive zone by making a play on Jason Spezza. Then the Sharks were off to the races. Erik Karlsson with the primary assist on Kane’s goal.

8:55 – Benn’s back on the ice redness and swelling around his eye. Looks like he’ll have a shiner.

5:58 – A scary scoring chance for the Stars. They didn’t get a goal, but they did get a power play. Couture is headed to the box for hooking.

4:37 – Melker Karlsson with good defense, he clears the puck out of the zone.

3:58 – Power play is over. The Sharks held the Stars to 0 shots on goal.

0:00 – Period ends with a 1-0 score in favor of the Sharks. San Jose out shot Dallas 13-5. Aside from a few short pushes by  Dallas, San Jose dominated play. All in all, a solid first period for the Sharks.

Second Period

Sorry, internet issue slowed my start.

20:00 – Puck drop.

18:59 – Marcus Sorensen takes a delay of game penalty. Stars back on the power play.

16:59 – Sharks kill the penalty.

16:51 – Out of the box, Sorensen with a shot on goal that beats Bishop. It sits on the line and Evander Kane taps it into the net, but no goal. The ref says he blew the whistle first. Still 1-0 Sharks.

11:44 – Marc-Edouard Vlasic with a shot on. I don’t know how Bishop saved that goal with Tomas Hertl literally on top of him.

10:51 – Jamie Benn headed to the box for tripping Donskoi. First power play of the game for the Sharks.

10:10 – Vlasic with another shot on goal. This one was an easy save for Bishop. The power play has some chances, but no goal yet.

8:51 – Sharks had three shots on the power play, but didn’t beat Bishop. The Stars goalie doing good work in the crease tonight.

5:55 – A poor line change by the Sharks led to the Stars first goal of the game. Mattias Janmark found his way behind the Sharks’ defense and got one past Jones. It’s 1-1 now.

0:00 – The period ends at 1-1, but it’s not over after the horn. Tempers flare and

Thoughts: I apologize for my internet issues. Hopefully they’re fixed now. Thoughts on the period. Jones and Bishop both came up with big saves to keep the scores low. They’re on it tonight. There’s also a lot of heavy bodies flying around.

Radim Simek with some serious hits tonight, it’s probably why he’s slotting into the lineup for the third game in a row.

Third Period

20:00 – Puck drop.

19:29 – Blake Comeau called for tripping Joe Pavelski. Sharks power play.

17:29 – Power play ends with exactly zero shots on goal for the Sharks.

16:05 – A turnover by Antti Suomela leads to another scoring chance for Dallas. A series of poor plays by the Sharks led to some extended time in their defensive zone.

15:22 – The Sharks played with fire and they got burned. The Stars gained momentum and finally put one past Jones. Miro Heiskanen with his fifth of the season.

15:22 – Off the ensuing faceoff, the Stars push right back. Jones with a quality save. His play is what’s keeping this 2-1.

13:34 – More poor play by the Sharks leads to another Dallas goal. Looks like two Sharks got tied up in the neutral zone. Erik Karlsson can’t play the puck on the ensuing 2-on-1 and Brett Ritchie finishes things off. Just like that it’s 3-1 Stars.

13:01 – Augh! I can’t keep up with the scoring. Erik Karlsson scores. Logan Couture right there in front of the net, screening Bishop. The score’s now 3-2.

13:01 – Upon further review looks like Couture is getting credit for that one. He just managed to tip it.

10:45 – After a rapid fire pace of scoring, things are slowing down because of a few offsides by the Sharks.

9:35 – Justin Braun with a shot on goal that catches Bishop up high. We head to commercial break with the Stars still leading 3-2.

5:16 – Next commercial break and the Sharks still trail 3-2.

4:30 – Jamie Benn beats Erik Karlsson, but can’t beat Jones. It’s still 3-2.

2:47 – Another shot by Vlasic snagged by Bishop. It’s pretty easy to make those saves when you see them coming from a mile away.

1:47- The net’s empty, the Sharks are in the Stars’ zone.

1:12 – Dallas clears the zone, Sharks come right back in.

0:00 – Sharks can’t score even 6 on 5. Stars win 3-2.

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