The San Jose Sharks hosted the Dallas Stars on Saturday night at HP Pavilion in an absolute must-win game. The Sharks entered the game having lost two in a row and needed to pick up a vital victory over their Pacific Division rivals to remain in the playoff hunt. They managed to pull off the win by a final score of 3-0.
Joe Pavelski netted his 30th goal of the season within the first minute of play and that would prove to be the only offense the Sharks would need, as Antti Niemi saved all 22 shots that came his way. San Jose would add another first period goal by Jason Demers and Pavelski scored his second goal of the game midway through the second period.
The Sharks are now in the No. 8 slot in the Western Conference and are in third place in the division, one point ahead of the Stars and one point behind both the Phoenix Coyotes and the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks will play the Stars once more in Dallas on Tuesday.
For all news and information regarding the San Jose Sharks, please visit Fear the Fin. For updates and perspective on the Dallas Stars, head on over to Defending Big D.