The Dallas Stars (26-12-7, second Central) are heading to the Bay Area hot off a Jake Oettinger shutout, while the San Jose Sharks (13-23-9, seventh Pacific) are stumbling into the final game of a so-far 0-2 homestand. Since the Sharks won 5-4 at Dallas on Nov. 11, and the Stars won 5-2 at home on Dec. 31, this third and final match-up will decide who wins the season series.
While the teams are on opposing ends of their respective conferences, the Stars are 3-3-1 and the Sharks are 2-3-2 since the teams’ last meeting at the end of last year; San Jose would have tied Dallas’s record with a win against the New Jersey Devils (29-12-3, first Metropolitan) on Monday.