San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars

Benn scores shootout winner as Stars edge Sharks 3-2

Jason Robertson and Radek Faksa scored in regulation, and Matt Duchene also scored in the shootout for the Stars, who have points in eight straight games at home (6-0-2) and lead the Central Division by two points over Winnipeg.

Jake Oettinger made 21 saves through overtime and six in the shootout, including stopping Luke Kunin to end the game.

Benn’s score came on the 34-year-old captain’s first shootout attempt this season.

“He wanted to get back in the mix,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “So we put him on the list, and he delivered.”

Rookie goalie Magnus Chrona was a standout in a losing effort for the Sharks, winless in their last six games (0-5-1) and one point from last place in the Western Conference. Chrona made 36 saves through overtime plus five shootout stops in his second career NHL start and first league game played from start to finish.

He was recalled from the AHL on Wednesday, one day after Mackenzie Blackwood was injured against New Jersey.

“I was loving hockey out there,” Chrona, 23, said. “It was just awesome to be out there.”

He appeared in relief in early November and lost in his only other start when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots against Edmonton in late December.

“Our guys really felt bad about what happened last time he was in net,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “We kind of left him out to dry and didn’t really give him a fair chance. I thought we did tonight.”

Dallas survived an overtime penalty kill after Miro Heiskanen was called for interference halfway through the extra period.

Filip Zadina and William Eklund scored in regulation, and Anthony Duclair scored in the shootout for the Sharks. Kunin had two assists.

Zadina’s goal late in the second period that put the Sharks ahead 2-1 was initially ruled not to have crossed the goal line but was reversed following video review.

Robertson tied it at 2 at 4:08 of the third period, just 3 seconds into a power play following one of Benn’s nine wins of 11 faceoffs. Dallas had a 43-21 advantage on the dots.

Eklund’s goal 4:39 into the game gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead. San Jose led after one period despite being outshot 12-6, with six of Dallas’ shots coming on two power plays.

“Seeing a lot of shots (early) kind of helps you sweat, get into the game,” Chrona said.

A shot by the Stars’ Ty Dellandrea about a minute after Eklund’s score nearly dribbled over the goal before Chrona, down on the ice, swatted the puck away.

Dallas tied it at 1 early in the second period on Faksa’s first goal in 22 games.

The Sharks began play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, then lost forward Mike Hoffman for much of the second period following a stick to his face.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Complete a road back-to-back at Minnesota on Sunday night.

Stars: Play the Sharks again Tuesday night, this time in San Jose to begin a three-game Pacific Division road trip.

DAL leads series 1-0