The Sharks scored five times against the Dallas Stars, four times against the Buffalo Sabres and then twice in two games in losses to the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. So San Jose, which has now lost twice in a row, will look to right the ship against a Dallas Stars team that is all too happy to cede goals. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
This starts a four-game road trip in the midwest that takes the Sharks to Dallas twice. So San Jose plays the ex-North Stars twice and the zombie North Stars once while also existing as a kind of bastardized version of the North Stars themselves. It’s all very confusing. Seven of the Sharks’ next eight games are on the road; I regret to inform you they can’t top the 28 road wins they picked up last season (they can reach 26).
While San Jose won running away against Dallas last week, they didn’t play all that well for stretches of the contest. A more complete game, something that would have helped against Anaheim on Saturday, would be nice to see. I liked the Sharks’ second and third periods against the Ducks … the first, not so much.
Dallas is 1-2 since losing to the Sharks last week, with their only win coming against the Vancouver Canucks. The Stars are in full free-fall now and entered Sunday with an 8 percent chance of getting the first overall pick. Nope, I didn’t see that one coming. This team offers a great chance for the Sharks to pick up points before facing Minnesota after a day of travel.
Injury Report
Jamie Benn didn’t play in the Stars’ last game because of an eye injury but he is expected to be down for tonight’s contest.
Jannik Hansen left in the third period and didn’t return. There was not an immediate update on his condition. Danny O’Regan and Timo Meier were recalled for the trip. Read into that whatever you want. Neither David Schlemko nor Melker Karlsson were ready to go against Anaheim, but there’s a chance we’ll see them on this road trip.
Update: It looks like no Hansen tonight.
Hansen (upper body injury) doubtful for tonight, per DeBoer.
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) March 20, 2017
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