The San Jose Sharks entered Thursday's March finale with a chance to clinch a playoff spot and move ahead of the Detroit Red Wings into second place in the Western Conference.
The Dallas Stars could no longer win the Pacific Division, but they could take a big step in preventing the Sharks from tying them for six titles since they joined the division in 1999. More importantly, they could take a significant step in making the playoffs themselves.
After Antti Niemi's sixth shutout of the season, expect to see the Sharks win the Pacific and the Blackhawks earn the final playoff spot. Dallas is now a game-and-a-half back of Chicago with six to go, and the defending champions hold the tiebreaker.
The Stars looked lifeless in a 6-0 rout, allowing 52 shots to their 29. Despite the Sharks puck possession edge from a 31-22 faceoff edge, Dallas blocked only two more shots and registered only two more hits.
The Stars did not even take to cheapshots beyond Steve Ott's attempted knee followed by kicking up his skates when he missed and hit the boards at the Sharks bench in the first period. There were no fights and just one physical penalty (bot ...
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Article written by MJ Kasprzak
San Jose Sharks Rout Dallas Stars, Jump to Second in Western Conference
April 1st, 2011 by MJ Kasprzak Leave a reply »
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