DALLAS (AP) — Tyler Seguin scored early, Michael Raffl added a short-handed goal and the Dallas Stars kept up their surge toward a Western Conference wild-card spot, beating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 on Saturday night.
Dallas remained tied with Nashville for the two West wild-card spots at 91 points apiece as both clubs extended their lead to four points over Vegas, a 4-0 loser at Edmonton. The Stars and Predators, who beat Chicago 4-3, have seven games remaining, one more than the Golden Knights.
Jake Oettinger made 23 saves as the Stars extended their home winning streak against San Jose to seven games. Dallas has recorded at least a point in 13 of 17 games over the past month.
Two games after creating several short-handed chances for himself, Luke Glendening skated free out of the defensive zone on the penalty kill and
six minutes in, redirecting a pass from Jamie Benn into an open net behind Kaapo Kahkonen, who had 24 saves. Ryan Suter also assisted.
Meier ended Oettinger's shutout with a wrister in the final minute of the second after the 23-year-old Dallas goalie had stopped several good scoring chances earlier in the period.
Meier hit the post in the first period, when the Sharks also had a loose puck bounce across the crease behind Oettinger.
NOTES: The Sharks were without injured defensemen Erik Karlsson and Radim Simek, who went home. San Jose had just 12 healthy forwards, with five rookies in that group. ... Stars F Vladislav Namestnikov was out for a second consecutive game since leaving a 1-0 victory over Tampa Bay with a lower-body injury. ... San Jose has missed the playoffs a franchise-worst three consecutive years.
UP NEXT
Sharks: The fourth five-game trip of the season ends on a back-to-back Sunday in Minnesota. They were the longest trips and combined to cover nearly half of San Jose's road games.
Stars: A three-game Canadian swing starts Tuesday in Vancouver. It's the final trip of the season.
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