Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists in the Dallas Stars’ 4-1 win over the visiting San Jose Sharks on Friday.
The victory extended the Stars’ points streak to nine games (7-0-2) and continued the Sharks’ longstanding struggles in Dallas. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, the Stars are 12-1-0 in 13 home games against the Sharks.
With the score tied 1-1 at 10:56 of the third period, Sam Steel deposited his own rebound for the first of three unanswered Stars goals.
Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen also scored for Dallas and Wyatt Johnston had two assists.
Rantanen has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) over a five-game points streak.
Jake Oettinger stopped 16 of 17 shots in the Dallas net. Oettinger is 5-0-0 with a .935 save percentage over his last five starts.
Yaroslav Askarov stopped 20 of 23 shots for the Sharks, who are on a two-game skid.
Collin Graf recorded San Jose’s only goal. Macklin Celebrini seemingly scored late in the third, but the goal was erased on an offsides call after a video review.
During a Stars power play at 14:20 of the first period, Robertson tucked in a rebound for his team-leading 18th goal. Fifteen of those goals have come within his last 13 games.
Dallas has one of the NHL’s top power plays, and no team has been better on home ice with the extra attacker. The Stars were 1-for-2 on the power play against San Jose, improving to 40.4% (20-for-49) on home power-play chances this season.
The Stars’ penalty-kill unit has also been in top form. After going 4-for-4 against the Sharks on Friday, Dallas is 23-for-23 on kills over its last seven games.
Graf equalized for San Jose 8:23 into the second. Nick Leddy’s point shot hit a group of players in front of the net, and Graf was in position to deposit the loose puck.
After Steel’s go-ahead goal, Rantanen extended the lead at 16:39 of the third. Heiskanen sealed the win 62 seconds later with an empty-net goal.
–Field Level Media
