San Jose Sharks defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9) skates for the puck in front of Dallas Stars center Sam Steel (18) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
The Sharks were unable to capitalize on some third-period scoring opportunities Friday and instead allowed a go-ahead goal to Sam Steel with 9:04 left in regulation time in what became a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center to open a five-game road trip.
After curling away from Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren, Steel put a shot on net that Sharks goalie Yaroslav Askarov could not quite control. A second effort by Steel ended up going through Askarov’s legs, off the far post, and in for a 2-1 Stars lead.
“Their defenseman (Alexander Petrovic) shot the puck, and I blocked it. (Steel) made a cutback on me, and I got back too late on him,” Sharks defenseman Timothy Liljegren said. “Stuff that has been happening too much as of late for me, and I feel like that’s on me.
“I’ve got to play way better. I feel like I’ve been playing pretty (poorly) as of late, so I have to find a way to play better.”
Mikko Rantanen added an insurance goal at the 16:39 mark of the third period for Dallas, just before Macklin Celebrini had a goal with 2:20 left in regulation time taken away after the Stars successfully challenged that Philipp Kurashev was offside 24 seconds earlier.
Dallas added an empty-net goal by Miro Heiskanen with 2:19 left in the third, helping to hand the Sharks (13-13-3) their fifth straight loss on the road.
Collin Graf scored the Sharks’ only goal, as he netted his fourth of the season at the 8:23 mark of the second period. San Jose also had chances to score in the third, but failed to capitalize on two power plays in the final 20 minutes. The Sharks went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
“We had chances. Two power plays there, but we didn’t get anything out of them, momentum or anything,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “That can’t happen in this game.”
Kurashev took a pass from Mario Ferraro, entered the Stars zone, and sent the puck back to defenseman Nick Leddy at the point. Leddy then sent a puck toward the Dallas net, which went off a Stars player before it came to Graf, who fired it past goalie Jake Oettinger to tie the game.
Graf’s goal represented his 11th point in 28 games this season. He had 11 points in 33 games last season, his full year as a professional after he signed with the Sharks as a free agent in April 2024, a year after he helped Quinnipiac win the NCAA national championship.
The Sharks were whistled for two stick infractions in the first period, and with Celebrini off for hooking, forward Jason Robertson gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 14:20.
After the Sharks lost a faceoff in their own end, the Stars moved the puck to the other side of the ice before Wyatt Johnston took a pass from Mikko Rantanen and fired a shot from the slot that went off the crossbar. The puck then came to Robertson, who had a wide-open net behind Askarov and scored his 18th of the season.
The Sharks were hoping to bounce back from their most lopsided loss of the season, a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
“It can’t really get worse than the Washington game, so I thought for the most part we battled with (the Stars), just a couple mistakes and didn’t get the result,” Graf said. “But a loss is a loss, and we’ve got to get back in the win column.”
Although the Sharks hoped not to be in that position in the first place, they had done an excellent job in recent weeks of bouncing back after a loss. After their most recent eight defeats before Wednesday, they bounced back with a win seven times.
That was going to be tough to do against a Stars team that had gone 7-1-2 in its last 10 games before Friday, averaging close to four goals per game along the way. Oettinger, this season, was 12-4-2 with a .906 save percentage in 18 games before Friday.
On Wednesday, though, the Stars announced that center Tyler Seguin would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Seguin had 17 points in 27 games for the Stars this season.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka