San Jose — Wyatt Johnston tallied two goals and an assist in the Dallas Stars’ 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Tuesday.
Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists, while Jason Robertson scored twice for the Stars (45-19-9), who have won five straight. Scott Wedgewood recorded 17 saves.
“Everyone’s really churning right now and contributing and playing the right way and not deviating from what works and what we want to do,” he said. “So, it’s encouraging to see and I think it’s contagious.”
William Eklund scored and assisted, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 35 saves for the Sharks (16-47-8), who have lost eight consecutive games (0-7-1) and 17 of their last 18 (1-14-3).
“I did not like
Mason Marchment made the score 2-0 at 16:28. He moved around Nico Sturm in the neutral zone, skated by Kyle Burroughs down the right wing, and scored short side from the bottom of the circle.
“We didn’t play well in the first period,” Sharks forward Mikael Granlund said. “We got a little bit better as the game went on, but just couldn’t do it today.”
Robertson scored 14 seconds into the second period, increasing the margin to 3-0.
“That’s a tough spot to be in when you’re down 3-0, especially with the season [and] where they’re at right now,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “They could have resigned easily, but they did not. It’s a testament to their coach and
San Jose’s Alexander Barabanov scored 40 seconds later to make it 3-1, and Eklund cut the lead to 3-2 at 2:00 with a one-timer from the right circle on a power play.
Benn made it 4-2 at 8:05 by batting the puck out of the air with his backhand.
Klim Kostin made it 4-3 at 8:58 with a wrist shot from the left circle that went glove side.
At 10:33, Johnston scored his second of the game, bringing the score to 5-3. He got behind the defense on a rush, received a return ball from Benn, and finished with his backhand.
At 11:45 in the third period, Robertson scored on a power play to make the final score 6-3.
“Now is the time of year where there’s not much more fine-tuning you can do,” he said. “You’ve got to be on top of your game and in good spirits going into the playoffs. “We have [nine] more here to keep it solid.”
NOTES: Barabanov left in the second period due to an unexplained ailment. Quinn did not provide an update following the game. Benn extended his goal run to five games (six goals) and his point streak to seven games (six goals, four assists). … Marchment scored his 20th goal this season. He is the eighth player to reach the mark for the Stars this season, and the most they have
