Former Sharks players Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci will return to the Bay Area on Saturday night, as the Dallas Stars face off against San Jose, looking to complete a three-game season sweep. The Sharks traded Granlund and Ceci to Dallas for two 2025 draft picks on February 1.
The Stars are in San Jose to finish a three-game road trip through California, aiming to avoid a third consecutive loss before the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. On Friday night, Dallas lost 5-4 in a shootout to Los Angeles. Matt Duchene scored twice and added an assist. Mavrik Bourque and Thomas Harley also scored, while Jake Oettinger made 33 saves.
“(The Kings) are at a different level this year than they were last year,” Duchene, who recorded his 500th career assist, said. “I thought the first 15 minutes we weren’t very good, and then (Oettinger) was great. The last five minutes of the first period, we sort of came to life, and I thought we were pretty good after that. We had a lot of good looks. Tough loss, but big point.”
The Stars, second in the Central Division, are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have a 14-11-1 road record this season.
Casey DeSmith, who is expected to start Saturday, is 8-6-0 in 16 games this season, with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. In six career games against the Sharks, DeSmith is 2-4-0 with an .888 save percentage and a 3.58 GAA.
Dallas won both of their previous games against the Sharks, both in Dallas: 3-2 in a shootout on October 15 and 5-2 on November 20.
Granlund, who has two assists in three games with the Stars, led the Sharks in assists (30) and points (45) before the trade.
“We miss him, he’s a great player,” said Sharks forward Fabian Zetterlund. “We can’t do anything about it right now. I think we’ve played two really good games here (since the trade).”
Alexandar Georgiev- San Jose SharksThe Sharks, last in the Western Conference, have won only one of their last 10 games (1-8-1). They enter Saturday’s game after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Tyler Toffoli scored his team-leading 20th goal, and Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves as the Sharks fell to 9-17-2 at home this season.
“I thought we competed hard, I thought we worked hard,” said Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “Our puck play was a little iffy at times, but I thought we did enough to win a hockey game, that’s for sure.”
Toffoli has points in four straight games (three goals, two assists) and ranks fourth on the Sharks’ points list (including Granlund) with 35 points in 53 games this season.
Goaltender Alexandar Georgiev is 2-11-0 in 14 games since joining the Sharks in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche in December, with an .875 save percentage and a 4.01 GAA. Georgiev has a 6-4-0 record with a .901 save percentage and a 3.05 GAA in 11 career games against the Stars.
