Stars hold off Sharks, take over second wild card in West

SAN JOSE -- Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist to help the Dallas Stars hang on for a 5-4 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday.

Vladislav Namestnikov, Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson also each had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Seguin had three assists for the Stars (39-25-3), who have won three straight. Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves.
Dallas holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights.
"It's a big trip for us right now, so if we can go home with four wins it will be huge," Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpää said. "We've just got to go one moment at a time here and hopefully we get the job done."
Erik Karlsson, Noah Gregor and Sasha Chmelevski each had two assists for the Sharks (29-31-8), who have lost three straight. James Reimer made 14 saves in relief of Kaapo Kahkonen, who allowed four goals on 14 shots in the first period.
"I didn't think we played that poorly," Sharks captain Logan Couture said. "I think they capitalized on some chances. They had some sustained pressure in the O-zone. But for the most part we were able to keep them to the outside. We were able to find a way to push back, but when you're down three after one [period] it's tough to win."

Nick Bonino put the Sharks ahead 1-0 at 1:25 of the first period. Wedgewood denied an attempt by Gregor and Bonino scored on the rebound with a shot that went five-hole.
Namestnikov tied it 1-1 at 1:50 with a one-timer that was set up by Jamie Benn. It was his first goal with Dallas after being traded from the Detroit Red Wings on March 21.
"Giving up that early goal, it got our attention," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "I love how we responded. We came right back quickly and got a couple ourselves. I always tell the guys, 'they score, let's go back at them,' and we did."
Hakanpaa made it 2-1 at 8:11 with a shot between the face-off circles before Hintz made it 3-1 at 9:53 when he tipped a shot from John Klingberg.
"I saw 'Klinger' was looking at the net, and I don't even know if he tried to pass to me," Hintz said. "But it caught my stick. I didn't even know if it went in at first"
Robertson extended the lead 4-1 at 19:59 when he banked in a rebound off Kahkonen's back just before the horn.
"That's just, it's not a good goal," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. "We lost the first period. We won the second and we came out and we won the third, but you can't start off by allowing four goals, and that [fourth] goal right there was the backbreaker. We get a point tonight or maybe two going into overtime, but the difference is two seconds and it's just a bad goal."

Brent Burns cut Dallas' lead to 4-2 at 7:53 of the second period after being set up with a cross-ice pass by Chmelevski. The defenseman has scored in three consecutive games.
Pavelski, who played his first 13 NHL seasons with the Sharks before signing with the Stars as a free agent in 2019, extended the lead 5-2 at 7:44 of the third period after Hintz set him up with a no-look pass.
"You've got to stay in the moment, I think that's been the key for us," Hakanpaa said. "Whatever happens out there, you just have to make sure you get out there and focus on your next shift and make sure you do the little things right, and that way you just keep turning the momentum back to us. Sometimes in these hockey games, you never know what's going to happen, so you've got to stick to the moment and just keep playing."
Leonard made it 5-3 at 15:21 before Couture made it 5-4 at 18:35 with the extra attacker on for San Jose.
NOTES: With three assists in the first period, Seguin matched the Stars/Minnesota North Stars record for most assists in a period. ... Hintz is the second Stars player, along with Robertson, to reach the 30-goal mark this season. This is the first season multiple Stars players have scored 30-plus goal since Seguin and Benn did so in the 2017-18 season.