Dallas scored five times at even strength Monday night, which is an excellent way to make a power play’s empty ledger feel less urgent. It is also how a team can quietly leave a useful advantage sitting on the bench.
The Stars beat the San Jose Sharks 5-0 at American Airlines Center, scoring every goal at 5-on-5 while going 0-for-3 with the man advantage. The first victory of Dallas’ season was built through ordinary five-on-five play: shots arrived, different players finished, and the margin expanded before special teams had a chance to decide anything. That is a sturdy recipe for one night.
It does not erase the missed opportunity with an extra skater.
Five goals from five different scorers
Miro Heiskanen opened the scoring at 18:51 of the first period, taking a backhand from a sequence assisted by Roope Hintz and Jamie Benn. Dallas finished the period with an 11-2 edge in shots, but the important timing is simpler: Heiskanen’s goal arrived with only 69 seconds remaining before intermission, turning a productive opening period into an actual lead.
That distinction matters. Shot volume can make a team feel in control while the scoreboard remains stubbornly blank. Dallas eventually got the finish, and the defenseman’s goal supplied it late enough to change the shape of the game without pretending the earlier 11-2 count itself guaranteed anything.
The Stars made the result considerably less delicate in the second period. Joel Kiviranta scored at 3:17, assisted by Oskar Bäck and Radek Faksa. Jamie Benn followed at 6:19, with Robertson and Hintz providing the assists. The interval between those goals was 3:02, and it moved Dallas from a one-goal lead to 3-0 before San Jose could turn the contest into a serious chase.
Robertson’s unassisted wrist shot at 16:30 added another layer of comfort. Mikko Rantanen’s wrist shot at 15:22 of the third period, assisted by Sam Steel, completed the scoring. The five-goal list included Heiskanen, Kiviranta, Benn, Robertson and Rantanen, a useful spread that kept the night from becoming a one-line production show.
Hintz contributed two assists without scoring, while Benn and Robertson each finished with a goal and an assist.
Dallas outshot San Jose 26-13 overall and held a 20-7 advantage through two periods. Those numbers explain why the Stars had a four-goal cushion before the final frame, when the shots were even at 6-6.
Jake Oettinger made 13 saves for the shutout, including three on the Sharks’ power play, but this was not a night in which the goalie had to perform a rescue act. San Jose simply did not create a large workload until the game was already tilted heavily toward Dallas.
