Three Keys To A Sharks Victory Against The Stars

The last time the San Jose Sharks visited the Dallas Stars, they walked away with a 3-2 shootout loss; now, 20 games in, they are a different team.

When the Sharks were in Dallas for the first time, they hadn't won a game. Now, they have six wins and are playing much better hockey. They also didn't have Macklin Celebrini in the lineup due to injury.

Here are three keys for a Sharks win tonight:

1. Puck management

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky has discussed it all season, but with a team as structured as the Stars, the focus is even higher.

"We've made some strides since game one. There's still a little ways to go here to make it a little more consistent," Warsofsky said. "You could argue that every team in the National Hockey League talks about neutral zone puck play [and] breakout execution. We're no different. We watch a lot of games. We pre-scout a lot of games that Dallas has played. We pre-scout a lot of games that St Louis has played, and at the end of the day, it's the team that doesn't make the most mistakes usually wins the hockey game."

The Sharks carried play against the Detroit Red Wings, mainly because their puck management was consistent throughout the game.

2. Goaltending remains backbone

San Jose's goaltending has been the least of the team's worries all season. Mackenzie Blackwood will start tonight's game and has begun to entrench himself as the No. 1 goalie.

Blackwood started against the Stars and made 36 saves on 38 shots. He'll need to be stellar again, as the Stars boast a +17 goal differential. Getting key saves at crucial times will be required for the Sharks to stay in the game.

3. Will Smith & Macklin Celebrini have to be good defensively

Will Smith and Mackin Celebrini have created some edge-of-your-seat potential offense since being put on the same line, but there are obvious gaps defensively.

Smith's move to the wing has freed him up to create more offense, but he's still learning the position defensively. Celebrini leads the NHL in most puck-battles won, which is good, but he needs to ensure he stays in position to win a puck battle.

"I hope it continues to grow more so on the defensive side. There are some things defensively that they need to understand and within their own games that need to grow," Warsofsky said. "But offensively, they've done some good things. It's going to be more on the other side of the puck for us."

Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. PT.

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