Dallas Stars at San Jose Sharks: game preview
DallasStars2026-27: 1-2-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 50-20-12 · 112 pts · 3rdat
San JoseSharks2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 39-35-8 · 86 pts · 24thTwenty-six points apart last season
Dallas finished last season 3rd in the league on 112 points. San Jose finished 24th on 86, and the 2025-26 season series went DAL 2-0-1.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 164
Across 163 completed games, Dallas lead the head-to-head 89-57-16.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 5 Dec 2025, Dallas were 2nd in the league and San Jose 25th. By 5 Oct it was 26th and 13th.
Dallas out-attempted San Jose 277 to 268
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Dallas Stars
San Jose Sharks
Dallas have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Dallas, 3 for San Jose. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Dallas, 10 for San Jose.
2025-26: 82 games for Dallas, 82 for San Jose.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Dallas
Small sampleSan Jose
Small sampleMikko Rantanen has 8 points in the last 5 meetings
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away, then who has produced in the last meetings.
Mikko Rantanen vs San Jose · game by game
See all: Mikko Rantanen vs San Jose · game by game →Jake Oettinger has started most of these meetings
Jake Oettinger played 3 of the last 5 meetings with San Jose, with a .940 save percentage. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Jake Oettinger
See all: Jake Oettinger →DAL · 1-1-0 in 2026-27 Starter estimate from 3 Jan
Also on the roster, 2026-27: Casey DeSmith .923 (1 GP)
Full game logSan Jose crease
SJS · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 3 Jan
Two goalies used against Dallas
Scoring rates point to about 6.3 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Dallas2.002.003.402.76
San Jose3.004.003.063.56Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
10 on the injury lists
Dallas · injuries
San Jose · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Assigned D Cameron Bertucci to Texas (AHL).
Placed F Matt Duchene on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Sept. 29. Recalled Fs Arttu Hyry and Colin Blackwell from Texas (AHL).
Signed G Casey DeSmith to a two-year contract.
Placed C Patrick Giles on waivers.
Placed G Ilya Samsonov on waivers.
Placed RW Ethan Cardwell, D Libor Hajek and LW Tye Felhaber on waivers.
Dallas · 2026 draft
See all: Dallas · 2026 draft →San Jose · 2026 draft
See all: San Jose · 2026 draft →Wednesday 6 January · the full slate
See all: Wednesday 6 January · the full slate →
Updated after every final