Stars continue to control their own destiny with huge game vs. San Jose

Stars (42-27-5, 89 points) vs. Sharks (29-33-11, 69 points)

The Stars have gone past regulation 19 times this season are 14-5 in those games, including 10-3 in overtime.
That's pretty good. In fact, best in the league and a real reason why the team is in contention for a wild card playoff spot.
However, Dallas has lost its past two overtime games on home ice, and that's a little concerning. The Stars were twice beaten by great plays - by Auston Matthews at 2:10 against Toronto, and by Frederick Gaudreau at 1:40 vs. Minnesota. Both plays happened in transition, both plays had structural team breakdowns and individual breakdowns. That's overtime, it seems.
But the two defeats have allowed some speculation on strategy. The Stars have started with two good defensive forwards on several occasions, and that has paid off in strong possession on some occasions, and simply eaten up ice time that more skilled players might have used on others. Which is right? It's hard to say.
Radek Faksa has started opening seven times and won three of those draws. Dallas coach Rick Bowness said he likes to win possession on the opening draw, because then it sets up strategy for the entire overtime and allows the Stars to control the first change.
"Faksy's been winning a lot of faceoffs," Bowness said after the Minnesota game. "We've done it before, just get control of the puck and then you come back with Roope [Hintz] and Robo [Jason Robertson], and then you come back with Seggy and Jamie. We wanted to get control of the puck."
On the year, Hintz leads all Stars players in overtime time on ice at 25:37. Miro Heiskanen is next at 23:22, then John Klingberg (22:44), Jamie Benn (20:84) and Robertson (18:39). Faksa is ninth at 10:15.
While the past two OT games haven't turned out the way they would've liked, the numbers on the season say they're doing pretty well.

What to watch

In just his second NHL season, Robertson has 36 goals. That's tied with the second-best total from a Stars player in the past five seasons. Tyler Seguin had 40 in 2017-18 and Benn had 36 that year.
Robertson has nine games left to up his numbers.
"His goal-scoring abilities are top notch," Seguin said. "His ability to slow plays down and having that big opportunity, but being able to slow it down, judge it all in that split-second is what makes him a gifted goal scorer and he's consistent with it."
Bowness said Robertson is opening the eyes of people who don't realize the impact he has on the league.
"They don't see him enough," Bowness said of the hockey world at large. "They don't realize what a natural goal scorer he is. Those pucks are going in, he knows where to put a puck on a goalie. He has the timing, he has the sense. He's just a natural goal scorer. We've watched him long enough to know that. People that don't know him just haven't watched us play enough."

Lineup update

Jake Oettinger is expected back in net after Scott Wedgewood has started the past two games.
Here's a possible lineup:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Seguin-Gurianov
Raffl-Faksa-Glendening
Studenic-Peterson-Radulov
Suter-Heiskanen
Lindell-Klingberg
Hanley-Hakanpaa
Oettinger
Wedgewood

Numbers

2.58

San Jose ranks 28th in scoring at 2.58 goals per game.

85.7

San Jose ranks third in penalty killing at 85.7 percent.

1,214

San Jose leads the NHL in blocked shots at 1,214.

He said it

"We're not going to back down. We're going to keep playing and we'll play through it whistle to whistle. We'll keep pushing. They're big, they're heavy, they're forecheckers and you've got to play through it." -- Bowness on the Stars dialing up a more physical game against Minnesota
Great seats are still available for tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks! Get your tickets now!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.