DALLAS — The Dallas Stars delivered their most complete performance of the young season Monday night, shutting out the San Jose Sharks 5-0 behind 13 saves from Jake Oettinger and a balanced offensive attack.
The victory extended Dallas’ point streak against San Jose to 10 games at 9-0-1, giving the Stars their second active double-digit point streak against a single opponent.
Oettinger recorded the 17th shutout of his career, moving into fifth place on the Stars’ franchise list. He also improved to 9-2-0 in his career against the Sharks.
“I felt like we just got to our game and we were playing smart,” Oettinger said. “If we just played hard and smart, we would get chances and we did that.”
Miro Heiskanen opened the scoring with his second goal in as many games. The goal was the 69th of his career, tying Darryl Sydor for sixth-most among defensemen in franchise history.
Heiskanen said the Stars established themselves early and controlled more of the game in the offensive zone.
“Right when the puck dropped we were ready to go, ready to battle,” Heiskanen said. “I felt like we won a lot of battles and played with the puck a lot more.”
Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson each finished with two points, while Roope Hintz recorded two assists. Benn’s goal was his 23rd career goal against San Jose, second-most among active NHL skaters behind Corey Perry.
Robertson said the Stars were more effective because they executed better and consistently attacked the net.
“Everyone in the room knew what we had to do,” Robertson said. “Guys kept going and getting it back. It takes a lot of pressure off our defense and Jake.”
Mikko Rantanen capped the scoring, extending his point streak against the Sharks to eight games. He now has 39 points in 30 career games against San Jose.
The Stars also received strong five-on-five play from the line of Benn, Hintz and Robertson. During their shifts together, Dallas outscored San Jose 2-0 and held a 6-1 edge in shots.
For coach Glen Gulutzan, the formula was straightforward: establish offensive-zone time, play directly and force the Sharks to defend.
“One way to slow them down is to grind and play in their zone and force them to defend,” Gulutzan said. “That slows them down and I thought our guys did a good job of that.”
After dropping three of their first games, the Stars finally put together the type of performance they had been looking for — strong defensive play, consistent pressure and contributions throughout the lineup.
