Stars 5, Sharks 1
Captain Jamie Benn scored two goals and set up another as Dallas spoiled San Jose's home finale shortly after both teams officially were eliminated from postseason contention.
Colton Sceviour, Patrick Eaves and Ryan Garbutt also tallied for the Stars, who avoided being swept of the three-game season series. Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin each recorded two assists while Jhonas Enroth made 23 saves as Dallas improved to 1-1-0 on its three-game road trip.
Joe Thornton netted the lone goal for the Sharks, who along with the Stars were knocked out of the playoff race when Winnipeg defeated Minnesota earlier in the night. Alex Stalock turned aside 20 shots as San Jose finished 19-17-5 at SAP Center.
Dallas took the lead just 28 seconds into the contest as Sceviour grabbed the rebound of former Sharks defenseman Jason Demers' one-timer from the right point and beat Stalock from alone on the doorstep. Eaves doubled the advantage during a power play with 2:28 left in the first period, when Benn's backhand pass over the netminder from the right side of the crease went in off his skate.
Benn made it 3-0 during a 5-on-3 situation at 7:53 of the second, converting a cross-slot feed from the bottom of the left faceoff circle by Seguin, before Thornton ripped a shot past Enroth from the top of the right circle for a power-play tally. Benn restored Dallas' three-goal lead with 4:52 remaining in the third as he tapped in Seguin's pass from along the right-wing boards while standing alone on the doorstep, and Garbutt capped the scoring by sliding a backhander past Enroth during a breakaway less than three minutes later.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Stars C Shawn Horcoff returned to the lineup after missing two contests with an illness and registered a plus-1 rating in 10:32 of ice time. ... Seguin failed to tally, ending his goal-scoring streak at four games. ... San Jose rookie C Chris Tierney set up Thornton's tally, giving him 13 points over his last 15 contests. ... Benn's multi-goal performance was his seventh of the season and second in three games.