There are a lot of things the San Jose Sharks have done right this season, but the one thing this team has struggled with is matching up with some of the heavyweights in the NHL. This weekend will put the Sharks to the test, and it starts with a showdown with the Dallas Stars. The Sharks have had a tough time showing up when it counts against the Stars.
The last time these two teams met, Dallas jumped out to a two goal lead in the first period and ultimately won 5-3 on Dec. 18. There was a similar issue on Dec. 5, when Dallas jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period and the Sharks were again stuck playing catch up and ultimately ended up losing 4-1. The point being, getting a good start would go a long way to exorcising some of these demons.
This is the final meeting between these two teams in the regular season.
Dallas has a 26-10-8 record and remains in second place in the Central Division and second in the entire NHL because it feels like no matter how well you do, no one is catching the Colorado Avalanche this season. The Sharks will need to watch out for the special teams. The Dallas power play is operating at 29.5% success rate, good for third in the NHL. The penalty kill is operating at 81.6%, 12th in the NHL. Both of those are much better than the Sharks’ special teams so discipline will be key for San Jose today.
The positive for the Sharks, if there is one, is that while San Jose is 6-4-0 in its last 10 games, the Stars are 4-3-3 and so San Jose is hotter. Keep an eye on Mikko Rantanen, who leads the team with 59 points. The team’s top goal scorer is Jason Robertson with 25 goals. (Yet somehow that’s not good enough to make the US Olympic team, make that make sense.) Wyatt Johnston is close behind with 24 goals.
Casey DeSmith is expected to start for the Stars today. DeSmith is 10-2-4 with a .916 save percentage, so even though he’s the “backup goaltender” for the Stars, he’s no pushover.
San Jose Sharks lines today
According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Ty Dellandrea is out until at least the Olympics. Will Smith is practicing with the team but is not going to play today. It sounds like Alex Nedeljkovic will start for the Sharks today. Since it’s the first day of back-to-back games, we expect that Yaroslav Askarov will start tomorrow.
Forwards
William Eklund — Macklin Celebrini — Igor Chernyshov
Pavol Regenda — Alexander Wennberg — Tyler Toffoli
Jeff Skinner — Adam Gaudette — Collin Graf
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Ryan Reaves
Defense
Dmitry Orlov — Timothy Liljegren
Mario Ferraro — Vincent Iorio
Sam Dickinson — Nick Leddy
Goaltenders
Alex Nedeljkovic
Yaroslav Askarov
Dallas Stars lines vs. San Jose Sharks today
For the Stars, NHL.com reports that Tyler Seguin, Lian Bichsel and Jamie Benn are all out with injuries. As a result, this will be the following lines.
Forwards
Matt Duchene — Wyatt Johnston — Mikko Rantanen
Jason Robertson — Roope Hintz — Mavrik Bourque
Justin Hryckowian — Sam Steel — Nathan Bastian
Oskar Back — Radek Faksa — Colin Blackwell
Defense
Esa Lindell — Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley — Kyle Capobianco
Ilya Lyubushkin — Nils Lundkvist
Goaltenders
Casey DeSmith
Jake Oettinger
How to watch Dallas Stars at San Jose Sharks Jan. 9, 2026
The puck drops at 1 p.m. PT/3 p.m. CT at SAP Center in San Jose.
Sharks fans can watch today’s game on NBCSCA or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Stars fans can watch the game on Victory+ or listen to the radio call on 96.7 FM The Ticket or 1310 AM.
Be sure to come back here at game time to talk with other Sharks fans about what’s happening around the league. Almost all of the teams are in action today and the NFL playoffs start today for those who care.
