Jake Oettinger posts shutout as Stars earn first win over Sharks

The Dallas Stars picked up their first win of the season in convincing fashion on Monday night, shutting out the San Jose Sharks 5-0 on home ice. Jake Oettinger turned aside all 14 shots he faced to record the 17th shutout of his NHL career, anchoring a one-sided victory.

San Jose was forced to adjust moments before puck drop when star centre and captain Macklin Celebrini was ruled out with a lower-body injury. Celebrini had taken the warmup but left the ice earlier than usual, and the Sharks confirmed he would not play shortly before the game began.

Benn drives offence as Heiskanen nets winner

Jamie Benn paced the Stars attack with a goal and an assist in the win. Dallas also got goals from Miro Heiskanen, Joel Kiviranta, Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen, spreading the scoring throughout the lineup against a Sharks team that struggled to generate much pushback.

Heiskanen opened the scoring late in the first period, beating Yaroslav Askarov with a backhand shot with 1:09 remaining. That goal held up as the game-winner, as Oettinger and the Stars locked things down defensively while adding four more goals to put the result out of reach.

Sharks adjust without Celebrini

With Celebrini unavailable, San Jose turned to former Stars forward Ty Dellandrea, who made his season debut in the injured captain’s spot. The 20-year-old centre has quickly become the face of the Sharks franchise and had been impactful early in the season, assisting on Igor Chernyshov’s overtime winner on Saturday that pushed San Jose to a 2-0 start.

Celebrini solidified his long-term role in San Jose over the summer by signing a five-year, $94 million extension, underscoring how significant his absence is for the club. In Monday’s game, Askarov finished with 21 saves for the Sharks, but received little offensive support as Dallas controlled the play.

Road ahead for Dallas and San Jose

The Sharks will try to regroup on the road when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. The Stars will also head out of town, looking to build on their first win of the season in a matchup against the Buffalo Sabres that same night.