The Stars put out the Sharks

Four Dallas goals in Pittsburgh leave San Jose dark

Two games, one flame

Qualification night lit all 32 candles. By the end of it the San Jose Sharks' had gone out. This was a virtual match: the Dallas Stars and the Sharks each played their own game, against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Florida Panthers, and whichever scored more went through. One loss meant darkness. Dallas came in eighth of 32 last season, San Jose 29th, and neither had a Gauntlet past to lean on.

The Stars pile on

Pittsburgh struck first when Bryan Rust's wrist shot beat Jake Oettinger at 19:22 of the first. Then Dallas answered, four times. Jason Robertson tied it on a backhand at 7:37 of the second. Evgenii Dadonov's wrist shot at 16:03 put the Stars ahead for good. Defenseman Thomas Harley snapped one home at 5:22 of the third, and Wyatt Johnston finished it with a backhand at 13:51. Oettinger stopped 38 of 39.

One spark in Sunrise

In Florida, Fabian Zetterlund gave San Jose the lead with a power-play wrist shot at 8:30 of the second. It lasted 1:18 before Carter Verhaeghe tied it. Sam Reinhart's power-play goal at 15:23 won the game for Florida, and Mackenzie Blackwood's 33 saves couldn't buy the Sharks another goal. One goal never had a chance against four. The Sharks were snuffed, and 26 flames burn on.