San Jose – The Dallas Stars moved within four points of the San Jose Sharks in Pacific Division play by defeating the home team 3-0 at sold-out HP Pavilion.
The Sharks continue a six-game homestand Saturday against the Calgary Flames.
Marty Turco brought an 11-2-1-2 record against the Sharks into Thursday’s showdown.
The 31-year-old netminder responded to the challenge of playing the second night of back-to-back games in different cities by stopping 21 shots. The Stars dropped a 4-1 tilt to the streaking Anaheim Ducks Wednesday, while San Jose had been idle since a 4-3 win over Anaheim Saturday..
The loss left San Jose with 48 points after 35 games. The Stars have 44 points in 35 games. Anaheim controls the division with 60 points in 37 games.
While the Sharks settled for just five shots on net in the first period, the Stars pounced on one opportunity for a 1-0 lead and nearly had another goal in the next 90 seconds.
Dallas center Jeff Halpern made it 1-0 with 6:56 gone in the game. The Stars controlled an offensive-zone face-off, leading to a hard shot from the right point by Philippe Boucher.
The puck bounded off the leg of San Jose defenseman Kyle McLaren, sliding toward the left circle. Halpern was unmarked, backhanding the puck into an open net before goalie Vesa Toskala to react to the play.
With 8:30 gone, Toskala hit the ice to make a save, then hustled to his skates to keep Star Loui Eriksson form stuffing home the point-blank rebound. Shark Mark Bell was also involved in denying Eriksson’s scoring try.
The Stars turned a 13-7 edge in shots on net in the second 20 minutes into a 2-0 lead.
San Jose’s Josh Gorges earned a two-minute penalty for hooking at the 4:29 mark, setting up the second Dallas power play of the game. The Stars converted when a streaking Jussi Jokinen received a head-man pass from Stephane Robidas at the San Jose blueline, rushed around McLaren and beat Toskala over the goalie’s left shoulder from five feet out.
After 2-0 Sharks and 1-0 Stars games in the first two meetings of the season between the teams, the Stars managed a third goal 12:17 into the third period.
Captain Brendan Morrow and Trevor Daley turned a 2-on-1 rush into a 3-0 cushion. Daley’s crisp shot from the high slot was deflected to the endboards by Toskala. The big bounce enabled Morrow to corral the puck and shove it off Toskala’s stick and into the net.
Turco earned his fourth shut-out of the season and 28th of his career.
