Sharks search for positives as losing streak continues. They had a couple vs. Dallas

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Sharks could have started to mail it in and go through the motions after the Dallas Stars took a three-goal lead early in the second period.

Instead, a few of the Sharks’ youngest players led the response.

William Eklund assisted on an Alexander Barabanov even-strength goal and later scored on the power play off a pretty pass from Thomas Bordeleau. Klim Kostin ripped a shot past Stars goalie Scott Wedgewood for his seventh point in nine games in a San Jose uniform.

That was probably the most encouraging part of the Sharks’ 6-3 loss at SAP Center on Tuesday, as the Stars scored five goals on their first 21 shots. Some of the puck management issues that have frequently haunted the Sharks this season cropped up again as they were sent to their eighth straight loss.

Sharks goalie Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 of 41 shots in the loss.

But the Sharks are looking for any positives they can cling to as they enter the final three-plus weeks of the regular season as the NHL’s last-place team.

Eklund was arguably the Sharks’ most dynamic player against the Stars.

Just 40 seconds after a Jason Robertson goal, which came following a Sharks’ turnover, Eklund a pass from Jan Rutta below the Stars’ goal line, took a few strides toward the back of the Dallas net and sent a backhand pass to Barabanov, who beat Wedgewood from in close.

Barabanov’s goal, his fourth of the season, came at the 54-second mark of the second period.

Just 66 seconds later, with the Sharks on their second power play, Bordeleau won a draw in the Stars’ zone, took a pass from Mikael Granlund, then fired a cross-ice pass to Eklund, who slapped a one-timer past Wedgewood for his 12th goal of the season.

Kostin’s goal, his sixth of the season, came at the 8:58 mark of the second period and cut Dallas’ lead to 4-3.

But the Stars, in the mix for the top seed in the Western Conference, were just too much for the Sharks.

Wyatt Johnston scored his second of the game at the 10:13 mark of the second period, and Robertson put the game away with a power play goal at the 11:45 mark of the third period, giving the Stars a 6-3 lead.

Barabanov did not play the final four minutes of the second period and was ruled out from returning to the game at the beginning of the third period for undisclosed reasons.

The Sharks were coming off a devastating 5-4 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in which they scored the first four goals only to allow the next four before Seth Jones scored in overtime.

The Sharks now begin a two-game road trip with stops in Minnesota on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday.

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