Sharks surprise Stars in 2-1 win

SAN JOSE – 1,700 games. Roll that number around for a bit,; 1,700 nights of hockey.

Patrick Marleau had a goal in his 1,700th NHL game as the San Jose Sharks topped the Dallas Stars on Saturday, 2-1.

Patrick Marleau (12) celebrates his goal

“It’s one of those milestone games,” Marleau said. “You get a little extra energy, some extra jump, and it’s nice getting that one on the board tonight.”

The game also featured the return of former captain Joe Pavelski.

“Thanks to everyone involved out there, and everyone who showed up tonight,” Pavelski said. “Would have liked to win, for sure, but it was pretty special.”

Aaron Dell made 27 saves in the win.

“At least two if not three game-changing saves he made,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “You hear the crowd, you hear the enthusiasm in the building and the players feed off that.

“There’s going to be breakdowns in games, and their guy made some big stops as well, but you need those saves throughout the 60 minutes and it really energized our team.”

Jamie Benn had the lone Stars goal.

Sharks honor Joe Pavelski on his return to San Jose

“We played well enough to get a point, at least,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said. “We had some good looks late. … We just didn’t capitalize on some of the looks we had.”

Brent Burns also scored for the Sharks.

“It’s huge going into any period not down a goal, so it was great to get that tied up before the end of the period,” Dell said. “Kind of a weird play, but we’ll take it.”

[WATCH: All Stars vs. Sharks highlights]

Anton Khudobin made 24 saves in the loss.

“We didn’t give our best tonight and we still were in the game and we still had chances to tie it up late,” Dallas’ Jason Dickinson said. “We can’t be too upset with the result, but we need to learn from it.”

Photos by Jack.Lima@prohockeynews.com