at times, scoring just one goal in 13 playoff games. "It wa

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SAN JOSE, Calif. . -- Joe Thornton scored the lone shootout goal in the fifth round, and Alex Stalock stopped all five tries as the San Jose Sharks overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday night. Joe Pavelski and Jason Demers scored in regulation for the Sharks, who had lost six of eight before rallying for this win. Stalock made 44 saves and got the win in his first career shootout. Ray Whitney and Antoine Roussel scored for the Stars, who were in position to win their third straight game but couldnt hold a third-period lead. Kari Lehtonen made 37 saves. After neither team scored in the first four rounds, Thornton beat Lehtonen for his second shootout goal in as many tries this season. Stalock sealed the win when he stopped Whitney. After a lacklustre start that led to a 2-0 deficit, the Sharks fought back and tied the game early in the third period shortly after failing to convert on the power play. Thornton did a good job keeping the puck in the zone at the blue line and fed Pavelski, who skated from the boards to the middle and beat Lehtonen with a backhand for his 14th goal. That is where the game stood until the shootout. Stalock got his first career start at home in place of Antti Niemi, who got a night off after allowing four goals in a loss at Los Angeles on Thursday night. Stalock had four road starts this season, mostly playing on the back end of back-to-backs. He was shaky at times as the Sharks fell behind 2-0 early in the second period. It is the second straight game and fifth this month that San Jose has allowed the first two goals after not doing it in the first two months. Whitney, who played on the original Sharks team in 1991-92, capitalized on a bad clearing attempt by San Jose when he sent a backhand from the circle through Brad Stuarts legs and over Stalocks shoulder to give him points in 10 straight games against his former team. Each team failed on a pair of power-play chances, and that is where the game stood after the first period. But Dallas struck again early in the second on a delayed penalty when Alex Goligoskis centring pass from a bad angle deflected off Roussel and into the net. The Stars nearly added another but referee Mike Leggo blew his whistle even though the puck was loose in the crease, negating a potential goal by Colton Sceviour. The Sharks picked up their play after that and got on the board midway through the second when Tyler Kennedy fed a trailing Demers, who beat Lehtonen with a one-timer to end a 44-game goalless streak. NOTES: Dallas D Sergei Gonchar left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. ... The Sharks will be without rookie F Tomas Hertl for at least a month after he was hurt in a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles Dustin Brown on Thursday. ... F Vern Fiddler (upper body) was activated from IR to take the place of injured D Aaron Rome (lower body). ... San Jose had its 150th consecutive regular-season sellout. . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. . The club says its first-choice centre back "underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning" which confirmed he has injured his right hamstring. The injury was caused in the second minute of Tuesdays 4-1 league win over Real Sociedad in the Camp Nou when teammate Sergio Busquets accidentally struck Mascherano just above the knee with an outstretched boot. .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Sidney Crosby will be back. Evgeni Malkin too. After that, what happens to the Pittsburgh Penguins over another post-season disappointment is anybodys guess. Dan Bylsma, the winningest coach in franchise history, may be out of a job. Ray Shero, the general manager who spent the last half-decade unsuccessfully trying to replicate the success of 2009, could also be gone. When Crosby lifted the Stanley Cup in triumph on that warm night in Detroit five years ago, it was supposed to mark the beginning of hockeys next dynasty. That hasnt materialized. A handful of maddening springs later, it might be time to move on. Bylsma allowed as much Tuesday night after the Penguins fell to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, a 2-1 defeat that capped a stunning collapse after Pittsburgh grabbed a commanding 3-1 series lead. "You think about it being the last game," Bylsma said. While the Rangers exulted at one end of the Consol Energy Center ice after advancing to hockeys final four, the Penguins solemnly lined up for a handshake after losing a Game 7 at home for the third time in five seasons. This isnt the way it was supposed to go. Not this time. Despite losing over 500 man games to injury — easily the highest total in the NHL — Pittsburgh strolled to the Metropolitan Division title behind the steady and spectacular play of Crosby, who led the league in scoring and is a heavy favourite to win his second MVP award. After surviving a bumpy six-game series with plucky Columbus in the opening round, the Penguins appeared in total control after a 4-2 win in Game 4 against the weary Rangers. Then it all fell apart. A dismal 5-1 loss in Game 5 shifted momentum to the guys in the blue shirts. New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist did the rest, including 35 sublime saves in the deciding game. Defenceman Matt Niskanen called the debacle in Game 5 a "missed opportunity," one that could lead to significant change in a dressing room that has been among the most stable in the league. "When expectations are high and you ddont win, thats normal," Crosby said. . "Im sure there will be a lot of questions." At the moment, there dont appear to be a lot of answers. Crosby insists hes healthy but lacked his otherworldly sharpness at times, scoring just one goal in 13 playoff games. "It wasnt a lack of effort or competing or anything like that," he said. "Id love to tear it up every series, but its not always the case. It doesnt make it any easier, Ill tell you that. Its tough losing as it is but when youre unable to contribute as much as youd like, its even tougher." Maybe, but its become all too common for one of the NHLs marquee franchises. The Penguins have sold out every home game since Valentines Day in 2007 and play a brand of entertaining hockey that is overwhelmingly successful in the regular season but doesnt always translate in the tight-checking crucible of the playoffs. The leagues top power play during the regular season went just 1 for 20 with the man advantage against New York. Unable to generate much offence from in front of the net, the Penguins spent most of the last three games unsuccessfully peppering Lundqvist from long distance. Its a path that led only to frustration and an all-too-familiar result: the Penguins watching another team skate off the ice in celebration. It happened in 2010, when Pittsburgh fell to Montreal at home in Game 7. It happened last spring, when the Penguins failed to lead the Boston Bruins for a single second while getting swept out of the conference finals. Ray Shero doubled down after seeing his team silenced by the Bruins. He awarded Bylsma a two-year extension, signed Malkin and defenceman Kris Letang to long-term deals and brought back defenceman Rob Scuderi to give the blue line some heft. Different path. Same result. Only this time there will be no doubling down. There will be only change. "Its all tough," Malkin said. "We have great teammates here. We work hard. But 3-1 up in series and last three games we lost, its tough. See you next season, I dont know." Neither does anybody else. ' ' '

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