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Setoguchi, Marleau propel Sharks past Stars

Nov 15, 2007 - 6:08 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Rookie Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau scored goals in both regulation and the bonus format as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Dallas Stars, 4-3, in a shootout on Wednesday.

Setoguchi put a wrist shot between the pads of goaltender Marty Turco in the first round and Marleau clinched the win by tallying in the second round.

Evgeni Nabokov only was required to make two saves in the shootout, denying defenseman Sergei Zubov and aggressively challenging Jussi Jokinen with a poke-check.

"If I were a betting man, it would be nuts to go against them and for us," said Sharks coach Ron Wilson, citing the Stars' NHL-best 22-5 record over the past two seasons in shootouts. "But Nabby was solid. He's got a bad record in shootouts. I was thinking we'd have to score two to be even. But he made two big saves, and that relaxed everyone."

"I've had trouble winning shootouts," said Nabokov, who finished with 26 saves. "So anytime you can win, it feels good."

The Stars, playing their first game since a front office shakeup in which general manager Doug Armstrong was fired and president Jim Lites reassigned, erased a 3-1 deficit in the third period when captain Brenden Morrow scored a power-play goal and Niklas Hagman tallied 58 seconds afterward.

"I think it's just that when we feel that desperation level, being down, time's winding out, we seem to have an extra gear there," Morrow said of the comeback. "We need to find it right from the opening faceoff and not wait until the third."

"I thought we played really well in the third period," Hagman added. "We had some good chances to take the game, but we'll build from the third period. It was fun playing in the third - you could see the crowd getting into it and there was a good atmosphere in the building."

Morrow also added an assist for Dallas and Jere Lehtinen set up a pair of tallies.

For San Jose, the 20-year-old Setoguchi scored his sixth goal of the season in his eighth game, while Marleau and rookie Torrey Mitchell also tallied.

"When things are going well, you just want to put shots on net," Setoguchi said. "I've been given the opportunity of a lifetime playing with guys like Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo.

"When you're playing on the first line, you have to make the most of the chances that come to you. The game has gotten a little easier for me. I've been trying to play my game so far. The main thing is, we won a big game."

Wilson was just happy with the victory.

"Two points is two points, and these were two big points on the road," he said. "We'll do it any way we can. You don't like to blow a two-goal lead. We kept our cool and found a way to win."

Turco overcame a shaky first period in which he allowed three goals on nine shots, finishing with 22 saves in the loss.

One game after Turco surrendered six goals in a 6-5 overtime loss in Los Angeles, he gave up two shaky tallies that staked the Sharks to an early lead.

"There was the giveaway, and the second one we thought went through him, so there was those two, but I thought he made a couple of real big saves, a couple in overtime that were real big saves," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "And he's like everybody else, we have to continue to build their game."

San Jose got on the board first after Jeremy Roenick intercepted a pass by Turco behind the net and fed Mitchell in front for an easy one-timer.

Dallas tied it with 4:11 remaining in the first on a nice backhander from in front by Lehtinen, but the Sharks sucked out any momentum the Stars gained by scoring twice in the final two minutes of the period.

After Joe Thornton stole the puck from Zubov at the Stars' blue line, he made a cross-ice pass to Setoguchi, who whipped a soft wrist shot between Turco's pads with 1:55 remaining for a goal that deflated the entire building and gave San Jose a 2-1 edge.

The Sharks then capitalized on another defensive-zone turnover by the Stars, as Marleau picked up a loose puck that bounced off the leg of blue-liner Trevor Daley and ripped a snap shot over the shoulder of a screened Turco with 57 seconds left in the session.

"He's not off to a good start, so hopefully this will get him going," Wilson said of Marleau.

The Stars were not sure what effect the past two turbulent days had on their play, but they were happy to salvage a point in this contest.

"It's still fresh, it just happened, so it's tough to put a finger on it," Turco said. "Immediately, it's drastic change, and it's rock bottom for this team. It's something somebody thought needed to be done, and for us to just get out there and play, that's what we do. We know it can be a lot better."

"We wondered about our team, it was a little bit of a shock, and it was hard to get a read on them," Tippett said. "When changes happen like that, people react in a lot of different ways. We were just trying to focus on tonight. We got behind the eight-ball early, but I like the way our veterans, especially, led the way in the third period. It's something to build on, but we certainly have more to do."