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Thursday, February 2, 2012
FINAL
2 - 5
FINAL 1 2 3 T
Stars 0 1 1 2
Sharks 2 2 1 5
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GOAL SCORERS

DAL:   S. Ott (PPG, 12:41 - 2nd) , J. Benn (06:22 - 3rd)
SJS:   M. Handzus (04:42 - 1st) , J. Pavelski (PPG, 16:32 - 1st) , P. Marleau (PPG, 14:59 - 2nd) , J. Thornton (16:43 - 2nd) , R. Clowe (11:34 - 3rd)
GOALIES

DAL: R. Bachman (L)
 SJS: T. Greiss (W)
Sharks 5, Stars 2
Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Ryane Clowe had plenty to celebrate. He played his first game since a facial fracture two weeks ago and scored a goal. Even better, his father was among the sellout crowd.

"I looked up and saw him pumping his fists," Clowe said. "He seemed to be having a good time."

Clowe and four others scored in helping the San Jose Sharks win their third straight, beating the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Thursday night.

Several of the Sharks played in front of their fathers, who were seated in a luxury suite and were shown, beers in hand, on the big screen every time the Sharks scored.

Michal Handzus, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau also scored for the Sharks, who beat the Stars for the fifth straight time.

"We all enjoy having our fathers here," Thornton said. "They all turn into kids when they are at the rink."

Clowe scored with 8:26 remaining. He has eight goals and 23 points against the Stars, his most against any team.

"I felt stronger as the game went on," he said. "There were a couple of times early when I got the puck in the neutral zone and got caught from behind. I had to remind myself to keep my feet moving. I had to get up to the pace."

Steve Ott and Jamie Benn scored for the Stars, who have yet to win the second game of back-to-backs this season in nine chances.

"There were a lot of frustrating things tonight," Ott said. "We didn't get the result we wanted and collectively there were a lot of little breakdowns. I think our faceoff percentage was about 15 percent and when that happens you're going to chase the puck around a lot."

The Sharks had a 77 percent faceoff advantage, the best by any team since the lockout.

Thomas Greiss stopped 19 shots to earn his seventh win for the Sharks, who established a franchise record for the longest scoreless streak by their opponents of 190:51. Dallas' Richard Bachman made 32 saves.

Handzus gave the Sharks an early lead, taking a pass from Brent Burns, who skated the puck out from behind the net, and converting at 4:42 of the first period.

Pavelski scored on a power play with 3:38 left in the period to pad the Sharks' lead.

"Our power play got us two and I thought our penalty kill was good too," Sharks' coach Todd McLellan said. "The power play is starting to look like it should. There is some emotion."

Ott was credited with an unassisted goal during a power play midway through the second period. Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle tried to take the puck away, but he put it into his own net.

The Sharks answered with two goals in the final five minutes of the period. Marleau redirected a shot from Burns off the skates of Stars defender Trevor Daley.

"The Sharks played a good game from start to finish," Stars' coach Glen Gulutzan said. "Good indications were the faceoffs. They were manhandling us in the draws."

San Jose scored less than two minutes later after Pavelski stole a pass and gave Thornton an empty net to shoot at for an easy goal.

"It's good to see Joe creating some offensive numbers," Clowe said. "When he starts to score like that you know he's creating a lot of opportunities."

Benn made it 4-2 early in the third period when he took advantage of Griess' inability to cover the puck.

NOTES: Sharks G Antti Niemi missed the game because of an injury. The Sharks recalled G Tyson Sexsmith from Worchester of the AHL to be Greiss' backup. ... Sharks D Jason Demers was placed on the injured list to make room for Clowe, who was activated before the game. ... Stars D Nicklaus Grossman was back in the lineup after missing a game due to flulike symptoms. ... San Francisco Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong became the second baseball player to visit the Sharks in two days. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan skated with the Sharks on Wednesday. ... Ott has four points in two games. ... Benn scored for the second straight game since returning from an injury.


Three star selections
1st:   JOE PAVELSKI
2nd:   LOGAN COUTURE
3rd:   BRENT BURNS
Winning Goaltender
Thomas Greiss

Losing Goaltender
Richard Bachman

SCHEDULE

HOME
AWAY
PROMOTIONAL

STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

STATS

2012-2013 PLAYOFFS
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
J. Pavelski 11 4 8 0 12
L. Couture 11 5 6 -6 11
J. Thornton 11 2 8 5 10
P. Marleau 11 5 3 0 8
D. Boyle 11 3 5 -3 8
B. Burns 11 2 2 -1 4
S. Hannan 11 0 4 1 4
B. Stuart 11 1 2 3 3
M. Vlasic 11 1 1 2 2
T. Galiardi 11 1 1 1 2
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
A. Niemi 7 4 0 .930 1.87