San Jose Sharks' power play overwhelms Dallas Stars in OT loss

The Dallas Stars continued their six-game road trip in San Jose this afternoon as they took on the San Jose Sharks. After getting some momentum back by snapping their losing streak against the Washington Capitals, the Stars finally got their momentum back. However, the San Jose Sharks' power play proved too much for the Stars' defense this afternoon, leading to a 5-4 loss. Some questions must be answered by Monday night.

One of the big moments that sparked the Stars' offense was when Justin Hryckowian puck-jacked the puck in the first period and turned it into a breakaway goal. That set the tone until the Stars started giving up power-play goals. Now I will give the Sharks some credit for fighting their way back into the game and making it competitive. The Sharks are not going away anytime soon with the young core they are building. Here are the four takeaways from today's loss against the Sharks.

Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 4. Excuse me Ritzy?

Justin Hryckowian decided to be a little naughty in the Shark Tank today and puckjack a puck. Hryckowian stole the puck and decided he wanted to open the scoring this afternoon with a breakaway goal. All I have to say is the league is about to get acquainted with this young man very soon. The fact that Hryckowian found his way to the Stars shows how good a scouting team Dallas has. Here is the goal below, as Hryckowian shows why the Stars locked him down.

Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 3. Great first period by the Stars

One of the things that tends to trip up the Stars is having bad opening periods. However, except for a minor slip-up, the Stars got out to a 2-0 lead until the Sharks' power play overwhelmed the Stars. Hryckowian's scoop and score and Robertson's little snipe got DeSmith the nice goal cushion until the Stars' penalty kill unit vanished. If the Stars can keep doing that, especially against playoff teams like Colorado, I'd watch out for the Stars after the Winter Olympics.

Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 2. The Stars have to stop sending teams on the power play

The one thing the Stars need to work on before the back-to-back this week is to stop sending opposing players to the penalty box. The Sharks scored on four of their six power plays. That's how teams get back into the swing of things when they trail opponents. The fact that the Stars' 2-0 lead vanished in the second period was unacceptable. I would rather have opposing teams score at even strength. Stars have to be smarter with their sticks to stay out of the penalty box.

Dallas Stars vs. San Jose Sharks Recap: 1. Penalty Kill issues

When did the penalty kill become a big issue for the Dallas Stars? I remember at the beginning of the season, they stopped so many power-play opportunities. The Stars need to shuffle the penalty kill units around because today was unacceptable as well. If the Sharks didn't get all those power play opportunities, the Stars might have had a shot of coming away with two points. The Stars will be back in action on Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings.