The Dallas Stars welcomed the San Jose Sharks to the American Airlines Center for Hockey Fights Cancer night. If I had to be honest, the Stars looked entirely out of gas on the ice tonight. Even though Jason Robertson scored a goal in the first period, it's been pretty dead for the Stars for the remainder of the game. Even though the Stars weren't at 100% tonight, they beat the Sharks 4-1. Hopefully, the Stars get some rest tonight before Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
I don't know what got into Mikko Rantanen tonight, but that's got to stop. It was his first three penalty game since 2023, when he committed three penalties against the Dallas Stars. While I do love him trying to be more physical, you have to play smarter than that. Teams are going to start to get him upset to the point that he makes careless mistakes. Hopefully, he calms down on Sunday. Here are the four takeaways from tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks.
Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 4. Kind of boring first period
I'll have to agree that the first period was mainly boring until the point when Robertson scored the first goal of the game on the power play. It was like the Stars and the Sharks were playing ping pong, and the Sharks lost that period. Although I mentioned in the pregame article that I wanted to see the Stars play with some quickness in the opening period, I was happy the Stars found the back of the net to have the lead at the end of the first intermission.
Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 3. It was good to see a couple of former players doing well
With the Sharks in town tonight, the Stars got to catch up with a couple of former teammates. John Klingberg and Ty Dellandrea were in the lineup for the Sharks tonight. I saw that Jamie Benn was chatting with Klingberg during warmups before the game began. It's always exciting to see former Stars do well with other teams in the league. I hope that Klingberg and Dellandrea have a healthy and safe season moving forward.
Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 2. Can we clear out the front of the net?
The only thing that drove me crazy tonight was that Oettinger had too much company in front of his crease. He needs to be able to see the puck and where it is at the top of the key. I wasn't totally surprised by the fact that it went past him to tie the game up. The Stars need to do a better job of making sure his vision isn't hindered during the game. The only thing the Stars can do now is buy Jake Oettinger a dinner for messing up his shutout bid tonight.
Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 1. How much more is Nill going to wait?
Jim Nill has to get with Jason Robertson's agent after the holiday freeze and hammer out a contract extension. Once again, an opposing team left him wide open in front of the net, and he tapped it in for another goal. Someone has to make the first move before another team swoops in and steals him during free agency. I know he's going to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but why wait and let another team submit an offer sheet you can't afford? The Stars return to action on Sunday night as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at the American Airlines Center.