Dallas Stars outshine San Jose Sharks in 5-4 overtime win
When the Dallas Stars are shining, opposing teams need to take notice. If not, they could find themselves watching the Stars blast off to a big victory. The Stars battled hard against
the San Jose Sharks last night, winning the game by a score of 5-4 in overtime on Thursday 18 November.
How it happened
The home team got off to a strong start in the first period after Brad Richards opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 5:15 of the first period. James Neal then extended
Dallas’ lead with a power play goal at 7:30. Scott Nichol got the visiting Sharks on the board at 18:41, beating Kari Lehtonen with a wrist shot.
Down 2-1 after the opening period, San Jose went into rally mode. Joe Pavelski notched his sixth goal of the season at 10:21 after a successful wrap-around effort. Logan Couture then gave
the Sharks their first lead of the game when he tallied at 12:37.
The Sharks continued their dominance in the third period as Patrick Marleau added another goal at 6:27. Then the Stars experienced a momentum shift when Neal scored his second goal of
the game. Mike Ribeiro then tied the game at four goals apiece at 17:54, scoring his first goal of the season. The game would remain tied after regulation play ended, forcing overtime.
In overtime, the Stars and Sharks both battled hard, but it was the Stars who would emerge victorious when Ribeiro beat Antti Niemi at 2:52 for his second goal of the game, which was also
the game winner. As a result, the Stars won the game 5-4, handing the Sharks their second straight overtime loss.
What they’re saying
Coming into this game, Ribeiro had not scored a goal in 16 games. The Stars centre admitted that being mired in such a slump was frustrating, but scoring two goals, including the game-winner
in overtime, took a load off of his shoulders.
“I’ve had some slumps in my career, in the middle of the season, so you don’t really feel it – like if it was the 40th game of the year, or the 50th, and you don’t score, it’s not as bad,”
Ribeiro told reporters after the game. “When you go 16 (games) from the beginning of the year (without scoring), it’s a little bit harder. It gets to you. I was a little frustrated the last few games.”
Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was feeling frustrated as well, as his team had lost in overtime for the second game in a row.
“Two nights in a row is disappointing. But it is what it is,” McLellan said. “There were a lot of positives. Just the ability to get going again after playing last night and getting in
late – I know every team in the league has to do it. Falling behind wasn’t what we planned, but we fought back and I thought we played a pretty solid game. … I thought we played well enough to win both games. Unfortunately, we didn’t.”
Both teams will return to action on Saturday 20 November. Dallas will host the Colorado Avalanche, while San Jose will face the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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