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San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars

Mon Oct 57:00 PM CTESPN+Dallas, TX
By JR·2 min read
Sharks(1-0-0)
Stars(0-2-0)
Monday 10/057:00 PM

TLDR: Dallas has scored 1 goal in 2 games, and that's with Robertson, Rantanen, Heiskanen and Johnston in the lineup. Monday, October 5, at American Airlines Center, the Stars try to fix it against a young San Jose team with a 20-year-old captain.

TUE OCT 6, 7:00 PMESPN+
Sharks
(1-0-0)
W
Stars
(0-2-0)
LL

Dallas has lost its first 2 games and scored 1 goal in them despite a top group of Robertson, Rantanen, Heiskanen and Johnston. Duchene's long-term injury and several injured depth centers have left the middle thin. San Jose opened with an overtime win over Florida behind Celebrini's 3 assists and 2 goals from Will Smith, but it blew a 3-goal lead along the way and hosts the Kings before flying to Dallas. The question is whether the Stars' stars start finishing before the Sharks' young offense gets the kind of open game it played in the opener.

San Jose Sharks
  • Celebrini had 3 assists in his first game as captain
  • Will Smith scored twice and set up the OT winner
  • Marchment scored in his debut, adding a veteran scorer
  • Blew a 3-goal lead to Florida in the opener
  • Hosts the Kings first, then travels to Dallas
  • Lund, Musty, Giles and Gaudette out, so depth is thin
Dallas Stars
  • Robertson, Rantanen, Heiskanen, Johnston due to start scoring
  • Home and rested after the Nashville back-to-back
  • Oettinger kept the Blues game at 2-0 until empty-netters
  • 1 goal in 2 games to open the season
  • Duchene on LTIR, with 3 more centers on non-roster IR
  • Gave up 2 1st-period goals in the Nashville loss

The Stars have had a rough first week. The Blues shut them out 4-0 in their home opener, and that game was closer than the final makes it look: it was 2-0 until Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter scored into an empty net 15 seconds apart in the final 2:30. Joel Hofer stopped all 25 shots, and Jake Oettinger made 20 saves on the other end. The next night in Nashville, on the back half of a back-to-back, Dallas gave up 2 goals in the 1st period, 1 of them to Steven Stamkos. Then the offense spent 2 full periods unable to get the 1 goal it needed to tie, and lost 2-1.

The goals should come with that top group. What Dallas doesn't have is depth through the middle. Matt Duchene is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and Harrison Scott, Cameron Hughes and Jaxon Fuder, 3 more centers, are on non-roster IR. So the forwards behind the stars are thinner than usual, and teams have been able to load up on the top line. No lines are posted for this one yet, so there's nothing to price.

San Jose's start was much more fun. In Macklin Celebrini's first game as captain he had 3 assists. At 20 he is the youngest active captain in the league and the youngest in Sharks history. Will Smith scored twice and set up Luca Cagnoni's overtime winner, and Mason Marchment scored in his Sharks debut. It's also fair to point out that Florida came back from 3 goals down to force overtime. Eetu Luostarinen scored twice and Matthew Tkachuk tied it. That's a lot to give up late for a team that wants to be taken seriously.

San Jose has a game to play before this one: the Sharks host the Kings and then fly to Dallas. That result will set San Jose's record and its mood coming in, and it will show how much a young group can carry on the road with a game the night before. Whatever happens against LA, the profile stays the same. Celebrini and Smith drive the offense, there are new veterans like Marchment around them, and the team defense is still being worked out.

San Jose Sharks
(1-0-0)
10/02WvsPanthers4-3
Dallas Stars
(0-2-0)
10/04L@Predators1-2
10/03LvsBlues0-4

San Jose's injury list is long, but it's mostly depth. Cam Lund, Quentin Musty, Patrick Giles and Adam Gaudette are all on non-roster IR, and Alex Barre-Boulet opened the season on injured reserve. That takes away bottom-6 options the Sharks would have liked for a road trip. Goalie Kyle Keyser is also on non-roster IR. Neither team has a goalie on its injury report who would have been in line for this start.

This matchup comes down to Dallas's skill players against San Jose's habit of letting a game open up. The Stars have shot-generating talent all over the top of the lineup and haven't been able to finish. The Sharks showed in the opener that they can score in bunches and give it back just as quickly. Puck drop is 7:00 PM CT. Dallas will be home and rested, with 2 bad losses to answer for.

San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars — Celebrini's Sharks Visit a Dallas Team Still Hunting for Goals | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush