San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Joe Thornton scored the lone goal of the shootout in the fifth round, lifting the San Jose Sharks to a 3-2 triumph over the Dallas Stars on Saturday at SAP Center.
San Jose trailed 2-0 early in the second period, but got a goal apiece from Jason Demers and Joe Pavelski to tie the tilt and force an extra session.
After neither team lit the lamp in overtime, the first eight shooters came up empty in the shootout before Thornton ripped a wrister past the blocker side of Kari Lehtonen to put the Sharks in front.
Alex Stalock, who stopped 44 shots through the first 65 minutes, turned away all comers in the shootout to send the Sharks to their third victory in five tries.
Ray Whitney and Antoine Roussel each scored once, while Lehtonen allowed two goals on 39 shots for the Stars, who had won two straight.
With the Stars trailing 2-0 midway through the second, Demers finished off a San Jose counter-attack by blasting a one-timer from the inner half of the right circle that sailed past Lehtonen to make it 2-1 at 11:47.
Pavelski pulled the Sharks even 4:24 into the third when he picked up the puck just outside the right circle and worked his way into the slot before backhanding the disc over the blocker of Lehtonen.
Early on, Whitney whipped a backhander over the glove of Stalock from the left faceoff dot at 4:48 of the first period.
Dallas doubled its lead 4:47 into the second when Alex Goligoski's centering feed from the low right side was re-directed into the back of the net by Roussel amid a scrum.
Game Notes
Demers' goal was his first of the season ... Stalock made his first NHL shootout appearance ... Dallas went 0-for-2 on the power play, while San Jose finished 0-for-3 on the man-advantage.
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