SAN JOSE, Calif.—Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson each scored twice, Jamie Benn added a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars beat the San Jose Sharks 6–3 for their fifth consecutive victory Tuesday night at SAP Center.
Dallas (45–19–9) took over sole possession of first place in the NHL’s Central Division, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, which dropped a 2–1 decision to visiting Montreal.
“Now is the time of year where there’s not much more fine-tuning you can do,” Benn said. “You’ve got to be on top of your game and feeling good going into the playoffs. We’ve got 10 more [games] here to keep it solid.”
San Jose (16–47–8), in last place in the NHL overall standings, has dropped eight straight games and 17 of its past 18.
The teams combined for six goals in the second period, with the Stars responding after the Sharks twice made it a one-goal game.
Benn batted in the puck out of mid-air after it was deflected in front, then assisted on Johnston’s second goal of the game with a backhand flip pass on a give-and-go that put Johnston in alone on San Jose goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. That gave Dallas a 5–3 lead heading into the third.
“(The Sharks) played hard and made us earn it, but we did what we were supposed to do,” said Stars Coach Pete DeBoer, a former head man in San Jose.
Benn extended his goal streak to five games, his longest since 2014. The 34-year-old Stars captain and the 20-year-old Johnston were all over the ice, teaming up on half of Dallas’ goals.
Johnston said the experience level on the team helped calm things down in the back-and-forth second period.
“We have a lot of veteran players who have played in so many games and been in so many different situations,“ Johnston said. “So, I think we have that confidence to slow it down and obviously not try to force things.”
Robertson made it 6–3 with a power-play strike in the third period, his second goal of the night. He said everything seems to be clicking right now for the Stars.
“It’s encouraging to see, and I think it’s contagious,” Robertson said. “You see one line do it properly, one D pair do it properly, you just want to keep going out there and do it and do it and do it—and the results speak for itself.”
Mason Marchment also scored for the Stars. Alexander Barabanov, William Eklund, and Klim Kostin had San Jose’s goals.
Scott Wedgewood made 19 saves for Dallas. Blackwood stopped 35 shots for the Sharks.
“I didn’t like our physicality, or lack thereof,” San Jose Coach David Quinn said. “Two of the goals are clearly just getting beat 1-on-1. We’re better than that, and we have been better than that. But unfortunately, we were slow closing in on people. I thought they just had way, way too much room all night.”
Johnston scored first for the Stars on a short-handed breakaway after Benn blocked a shot in the defensive zone.
Marchment gave Dallas a 2–0 lead heading into the second period with a spectacular individual effort, deking Nico Sturm at center ice and skating around Kyle Burroughs before beating Blackwood.
Up Next
Stars: Visit the Vancouver Canucks in a matchup of Western Conference division leaders Thursday night.Sharks: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
