Marc-Edouard Vlasic, according to the National Hockey League, had never recorded a multi-goal game in his NHL career -- until Saturday.
He scored twice versus the Dallas Stars and also finished the night with three points, adding an assist on the winning goal from Tomas Hertl in overtime, as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Stars 4-3 in a back-and-forth game.
San Jose, growing in confidence during this recent surge, has won five games in a row, which has them one point back of the Arizona Coyotes for second in the Pacific Division.
Martin Jones (@SanJoseSharks) made 32 saves to reach the 20-win mark for the first time in his NHL career. pic.twitter.com/aGg34HJr77
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2016
Meanwhile, the Stars continue to struggle through a difficult month of January that has seen them win just once -- in a shootout against Winnipeg -- and fall out of top spot in the Central. Chicago has taken over with a 10-game winning streak.
Perhaps a positive sign is that Dallas’ two stars had a strong night against the Sharks. Jamie Benn recorded a pair of assists, giving him points in three straight, and Tyler Seguin had a two-point night for the first time in seven games.