SAN JOSE, Calif. _ The luxury of the San Jose Sharks building a sizeable lead in the Pacific Division is that they can turn their attention to bigger things. So with less than four weeks to go in the regular season, the primary goal will be to improve their seed for the Western Conference playoffs.
A few more nights like Sunday's game against the Dallas Stars will help.
Joe Pavelski scored twice and Logan Couture added two assists as the Sharks took care of another non-playoff team, routing the Stars 5-1 at SAP Center.
Paul Martin also had two assists and goalie Aaron Dell made 29 saves for his fourth straight win as the Sharks, with 89 points, maintained their seven-point lead over the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific.
Just as important, they moved to within three points of Central Division-leading Minnesota with 14 games to go. The Sharks would earn home-ice advantage for the first three rounds of the playoffs if they finish atop the Western Conference standings.
Regularly beating the NHL's also-rans has been a major reason why the Sharks can think about such lofty goals.
The Sharks entered Sunday with a 16-3-5 record this season against teams that, right now, are at least five points out of a playoff position. Just in the last three-plus weeks, the Sharks have two wins over Vancouver and one each over Arizona and Winnipeg.
The Sharks play five more games against non-playoff teams over the next four weeks, including two more against the Stars. The Buffalo Sabres, who were eight points out of a postseason spot as of Sunday, come to SAP Center on Tuesday.
For a team looking for the highest seed possible for the playoffs, winning games against those kind of opponents will obviously be critical. The Sharks close out their homestand against two tougher teams, facing St. Louis on Thursday and Anaheim on Saturday.
Pavelski scored both of his goals as he rushed up the ice.
The first came with 2:46 left in the first period, as he took a pass from Martin and moved toward the Dallas net on a 2-on-1 with Jannik Hansen. Pavelski then beat Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen with a wrist shot to the far side for a 2-1 Sharks lead.
In the second period with the Sharks up 3-1 on Joel Ward's eighth goal of the season, an individual effort led to Pavelski's 26th goal of the season.
With the Stars on a power play, defenseman Esa Lindell couldn't handle a bouncing puck near the Sharks' blue line. Pavelski pounced on it and raced toward Antti Niemi, beating the former Sharks goalie low to the glove side with 7:34 to go in the second.
Niemi had come in relief of Lehtonen just a few moments after Ward's goal. It appeared Dallas coach Lindy Ruff wanted to make a goalie change right after Ward scored at the 2:46 mark of the second, but couldn't right away as Niemi, it seemed, was still in the Stars' dressing room.
The Sharks had a 2-1 lead after the first period despite being outshot 15-6.
Patrick Marleau scored his 23rd of the season, taking a centering pass from Couture and beating Lehtonen's high blocker side for a 1-0 Sharks lead 3:56 into the first period.
Some suspect work in the Sharks' own zone led to the Stars' first goal, as Brent Burns and Joonas Donskoi collided a few feet to the left of Dell. Remi Elie collected the loose puck and was able to put away his own rebound for the first goal of his career at the 12:54 mark.
_ Melker Karlsson missed Sunday's game with a lower body injury as Marcus Sorensen drew into the lineup. Karlsson, who had been playing on the Sharks' third line with Tomas Hertl and Donskoi, was hurt in Saturday's loss. Sharks coach Pete DeBoer labeled Karlsson's injury as minor. Sorensen, who had a goal and an assist in his first six NHL games this season, had been a healthy scratch for the last two games.
_ Defenseman David Schlemko did some light skating late Sunday morning, the first time he's been on the ice since he was injured March 2 in a game against the Vancouver Canucks. He was considered day-to-day when he was first hurt, but DeBoer said Sunday the injury is going to keep Schlemko out "probably a little longer than I thought, but I wouldn't call it serious. I think that's right on the horizon here."
