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The Stars tied it when Eric Nystrom and Alex Chiasson scored within 26 seconds early in the middle period.

Torres jarred Nystrom into an offensive-zone turnover and fed Galiardi, who scored on a perfect no-look backhand shot at 7:48 of the second. Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored following a lengthy review at 15:31 for a two-goal edge.

Chiasson scored his second of the game at 6:07 and Loui Eriksson banged home a short rebound at 9:14 of the third to tie it.

"We score four goals, good, but we gave up way too many," Pavelski said. "Guys aren't happy with that."

The other side of the coin is the Sharks were in desperate need of wins at the outset of the homestand and they got them.

"The fact is we're 7-0-1 in our last eight, so we shouldn't be too down," Wingels said.

San Francisco Chronicle LOADED: 04.08.2013

668850 San Jose Sharks

McLellan: 'I didn’t like our game, basically, the whole night'

Kevin Kurz

April 7, 2013, 6:00 pm

SAN JOSE – The satisfaction of recording 13 out of a possible 14 points on their longest homestand of the season wasn’t enough to outweigh the Sharks’ disgust with blowing a pair of two-goal leads to the rebuilding Dallas Stars on Sunday afternoon at HP Pavilion.

[INSTANT REPLAY: Stars top Sharks in shootout]

San Jose saw leads of 2-0 and 4-2 disappear in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Stars, who are a long shot to make it to the postseason after dealing Jaromir Jagr, Derek Roy and captain Brenden Morrow before the trade deadline. It was just the third loss for the Sharks when they led after two periods (13-1-2), and Dallas’ second win when trailing after 40 minutes (2-12-0).

The Sharks’ seven-game winning streak is over, too, and now they’ll embark on a four-game road trip, where they have struggled mightily.

“Pretty disappointed,” Tommy Wingels said of the game. “We’re happy with the homestand as a whole, but you’re only as good as your latest performance. There are things we need to clean up, and move on.”

The defensive zone play was particularly troubling, after it had been so good in recent weeks. San Jose allowed 34 shots on goal, the most it had given up since March 14 against the Kings. The Stars had the territorial advantage in the final two periods, and were rewarded when goals by Alex Chiasson and Loui Erriksson tied the game at 4-4. After a scoreless overtime, Jamie Benn was the only player to convert in the shootout.

“I didn’t like our game, basically, the whole night,” Todd McLellan said. “A lot of mistakes, and we didn’t really look very quick.”

Joe Pavelski said: “We definitely let a point slip away. We score four goals, that’s good, but we give up way too many with too many chances. ... We give up two quick ones to let it get to even, take the lead again, and then it’s the same sort of thing. Guys aren’t happy with that.”

The Sharks remain in fifth place in the Western Conference with 47 points (20-11-7). The Los Angeles Kings own the tiebreaker by virtue of 21 regulation/overtime wins, while the Sharks have just 14.

In their last 10 games, the Sharks will face the Stars twice more, including again in Dallas in less than a week. The win puts the Stars in 10th place in the West, four points out of a playoff spot.

“They’re going to play hard and have got a lot of young kids up, and they’re going to work,” Pavelski said. “That’s the biggest thing. We’ve got to work. We knew that coming in and did that at times, but consistently we didn’t do that enough.”

Bad feelings aside, the Sharks can only view the homestand as a resounding success. When it began, they sat in eighth place in the conference, and the team’s record over the previous seven weeks was an appalling 7-11-6. Now, it’s hard to imagine the Sharks missing the postseason, as they are seven points ahead of ninth-place Phoenix.

The challenge now will be taking it on the road. San Jose is a league-best 14-1-5 on its home ice, but just 6-10-2 in the road whites. Six of the Sharks’ final 10 games are away.

“It was a good homestand, I like to look at the positives,” Joe Thornton said. “Now, we’ve got to go win some games on the road. All-in-all, we needed to win some games at home, and we did.”

Pavelski said: “There’s been a certain way we’ve played since we’ve been home, and it’s been a fairly simple game. On the road, that’s one of the things you focus on, is keeping it simple and keeping the crowd out of it and don’t kill yourself with turnovers. We did that pretty well while we were at home, so let’s try and take that formula on the road.”

There’s a chance Pavelski could be hearing from the NHL league office in regards to a play in the first period.

Vern Fiddler cross-checked the Sharks’ center in the lower back in the first minute of the game, flattening Pavelski. It took Pavelski a moment to get back to his skates, at which time he swung his stick and made solid contact with Fiddler’s face. He received just a minor penalty, even though it might be viewed as a retaliatory strike.

“Obviously, I’m not trying to do that,” Pavelski said. “It’s unfortunate it gets up there, and you’ve got to move on. I was more trying to be engaged in battle after the cross-check. Obviously, it’s an errant stick, and I’ve got to watch that a little better.”

Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was recently fined, but not suspended, for his slash of Minnesota’s Dany Heatley in the closing seconds of a 4-2 Sharks win on April 3.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.08.2013

668851 San Jose Sharks

Torres: 'They made it easy for me'

Kevin Kurz

April 7, 2013, 5:30 pm

SAN JOSE – There was a fair smattering of boos when Raffi Torres was introduced as one of the starters in the Sharks’ afternoon tilt with Dallas on Sunday at HP Pavilion.

They were all cheers, though, when his name was called twice more over the public address system when the newcomer recorded the primary assist on both of the Sharks’ second period goals.

The Sharks went on to lose in a shootout to Dallas, 5-4, but Torres, TJ Galiardi and Joe Pavelski were the most effective line of the afternoon, according to head coach Todd McLellan. Despite the loss, it was a successful debut for the man that many Sharks fans had grown to hate over recent years.

“I felt good,” said Torres, who was scratched on Friday after he was not feeling well the night before. “I had a good night last night and slept well, and I was excited. I didn’t have to think about it too much today with the early game.”

McLellan said: “He was involved on the score sheet positively. Physical on the ice, people knew when he was out there. A real good start for him.”

Torres' aggressive forecheck of Eric Nystrom led to Galiardi’s fancy spinning backhander in the second period, giving the Sharks a 3-2 lead. San Jose increased it to 4-2 when Torres got his point shot on net, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic tucked the rebound inside the post for a wraparound goal. The lead wouldn't last.

[KURZ: Successful homestand ends in bad defeat]

In 13 minutes and 29 seconds of ice time, all at even strength, Torres had one shot, was a +2 and had a game-high seven hits to go along with his pair of assists. It was his fifth multiple-point game of the season, and second straight two-assist performance, with the previous coming on April 2 in his last game with Phoenix.

“It’s just getting pucks to the net and creating turnovers,” he said. “That’s where I can be effective.”

Joe Pavelski said: “He had a lot of energy out there. He was throwing his weight around, got a few pucks to the net. He was simple to play with, [skated in] straight lines, and it’s big for our team. He brings some speed, and he can play.”

Galiardi’s goal will probably be featured on some NHL highlight reels in the coming days, but it wouldn’t have happened without Torres’ help. Like Pavelski, Galiardi gave the impression that he enjoyed being Torres' linemate.

“He’s great, he just moves the puck quick, and he’s a give-and-go player,” Galiardi said. “I think we could have connected a couple more times. It was a pleasure, and he’s pretty tough, so you don’t really worry about other guys on the other team too much.”

And the goal?

“Raffi did most of the work and the puck was sitting there for me, and I just figured I’d spin and fire and put it on net,” Galiardi said. “Luckily, it went in.”

Even before he got on the scoresheet, though, the crowd started to warm to Torres during a shift midway though the first period. He blitzed into the Stars’ zone and hit Erik Cole, and then got under the skin of defenseman Brenden Dillon. Dillon’s cross-check of Torres into the boards gave the Sharks a power play they were unable to capitalize on.

“I’m not much of a talker, it’s just finishing my hits and some guys don’t like it too well out there,” Torres said. “I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.”

“I thought he played an excellent game for us tonight,” Joe Thornton said.

Comcast SportsNet.com LOADED: 04.08.2013

668852 St Louis Blues

Blues, Elliott blank Detroit 1-0

Jeremy Rutherford

DETROIT • The Blues matched their season-high winning streak with their fourth straight victory Sunday, blanking the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in a matinee at Joe Louis Arena.

Brian Elliott recorded his 19th career shutout and Chris Porter gave the offense the only scoring it needed with his second goal of the season.

Elliott’s shutout was his first since last March and the win marked the Blues’ first shutout in Detroit since Dec. 9, 2009.

The Blues had to sweat out the last period, when Detroit had nine of its 28 shots in the game. But the new-and-improved Elliott made each of the stops, including a game-save on the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk with 20 seconds remaining.

After back-to-back solid starts by Elliott in Chicago and Jake Allen against Columbus, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock had a decision to make in net Sunday against Detroit. But it didn’t appear the coach could go wrong either way.

In his search for traction, however, Elliott played like he out to prove Hitchcock made the right call. The netminder demonstrated before the team even took the ice that his reflexes were at peak-performance level.

Elliott was jumping rope near where the rest of the Blues were kicking a soccer ball. A ball got loose and rolled to Elliott, who without missing a beat kicked the ball back to the group and kept the rope humming.

After a scoreless first period, Elliott stayed humming in the second stanza. A turnover by defenseman Jordan Leopold led to a breakaway by Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist. Elliott got a piece of the attempt with his right arm.

The Blues then gave Elliott offensive support and it came from a player who has increased his contributions in that end recently.

The club played Sunday without Andy McDonald (flu), and when Hitchcock went to reconfigure his forward combinations, he placed Porter on a line with Patrik Berglund and Chris Stewart.

Like Elliott, Porter repaid Hitchcock for the promotion, scoring the Blues’ goal in the second period.

Defenseman Barret Jackman moved the puck out of the team’s zone, giving control to Porter. On a rush with Patrik Berglund, a loose puck ping-ponged in front of the net and lay near Howard. Porter put on the brakes in front of the crease and when got a glimpse of the rubber, he poked it in to break the stalement.

Porter has three points in his last three games and 13 shots in his last six games, mostly on the fourth line.

The Blues’ iron-clad penalty-killing unit made the lead hold up, holding off the Detroit power play on three chances Sunday. The Blues’ PK has now erased 18 consecutive opponent power plays over the last seven games and 28 of 29 over the last 12 games.

Bluenotes

With only 11 healthy forwards, the club dressed Russell, the odd-man out defensively the previous two games, at left wing on a line with Adam Cracknell and Ryan Reaves.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.08.2013

668853 St Louis Blues

Hockey Guy: Elliott stands tall in Motown

Jeff Gordon

Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk stick-handled toward the slot from the left wing as regulation time wound down.

He had plenty of room to work. Skating left, Datsyuk snapped a shot toward the inside of the right post with 20.9 seconds left to play. Blues goaltender Brian Elliott snagged it with his trapper, making the final big save in a remarkable performance.

Elliott shut out the Red Wings 1-0, stopping 28 shots. He won his third consecutive game after rising, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of an awful season.

When the Blues needed great goaltending the most, Elliott delivered. He won in relief of the injured Jaroslav Halak in Minnesota. He prevailed in a wild shootout at Chicago.

And then he saved his best for national television, holding off the Red Wings in Motown Sunday afternoon.

Who saw this coming? From this corner of cyberspace it looked like the Blues should have exposed Elliott to waivers earlier this season and move on without him.

For weeks he had nothing to do. Then he went to Peoria for two games of rust removal . . . and he came back a new man, but he made some brilliant stops as well.

Not only did he make all the routine stops in the game, controlling most rebounds in the process,

Elliott held the fort after defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk lost an edge in the middle of the ice and allowed Gustav Nyquist to attack on a clean break-in. Nyquist tried to go high on the short side and Elliott got his arm up to rob him.

This was the sort of save the Blues did not get earlier this season from Elliott or Halak. Whenever they made big mistake, the puck seemed to end up in the net.

Midway through the third period, Elliott made an excellent pad save on a Datsyuk blast. Later in the period he gloved a backhand shot by Henrik Zetterberg breaking down the middle.

The Red Wings tilted the ice against the Blues during the game's final minutes, but Elliott never buckled under pressure.

This victory was the fourth in a row for the Blues, who appear to be gathering steam for their last 11 games. With rookie Jake Allen also playing well in goal, coach Ken Hitchcock finally has the sort of comforting goaltending scenario he enjoyed last season.

Here are some more thoughts on the game:

With Andy McDonald (flu) joining T.J. Oshie on the injured list for the game, the Blues had to play more of a grinding game. Their absence subtracted a lot of speed and skill from the lineup.

Chris Porter played a heavy game, as today's coaches like to say, up on the Patrik Berglund-Chris Stewart line. That trio scored a dirty goal -- by Porter in goal-mouth scramble -- by outmuscling the Red Wings defense. Porter made a deft pass, Berglund used his strength to attack the net and Porter jammed home the loose puck.

Defenseman Barret Jackman triggered that scoring opportunity with a timely shot block to send the play back up the ice. By adding Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold, the Blues can use Jackman solely in his familiar shut-down role. Barret was very, very good in Detroit.

Earlier, Porter's sturdy fore-checking along the right dasher boards earned the Blues a power play. He won a battle and drew an interference call. This is the sort of small play that earned him a contract extension.

It was interesting to see spare defenseman Kris Russell play up on the wing for the Note. Russell can skate and play the body, so why not keep him busy? Deploying him at forward also positions him to help on defense should a major injury or penalty deplete the ranks.

Bouwmeester demonstrated his ability to jump up to fill the left wing on the rush and shoot the puck with purpose.

The Red Wings were able to give collegiate free agent Danny DeKeyser a big defensive role right away -- something the Blues could not offer to the Michigan native as he came out of Western Michigan University. It looks like the Red Wings found a very good defensive defenseman.

AROUND THE RINKS: Looking to lose some weight? Follow the dietary example of Chris Stewart, who has looked like a new man this season for the Kings . . . The Los Angeles Kings are following the lead of the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. They are using a two-goalie system, with Jonathan Bernier sharing time with Jonathan Quick down the stretch . . . Do the Washington Capitals have time to salvage their season? GM George McPhee hopes they do. He is sitting on one of the NHL's hottest seats right now. A dreadful start under rookie coach Adam Oates left will a giant deficit to overcome . . . Another GM feeling major heat is Greg Sherman of the Colorado Avalanche, who is best known for loading up the Blues with Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk . . . The NHL is exploring new ideas about how to grown its brand internationally. There will be no European games to start next season . . . . With the New York Islanders pushing for a playoff spot, John Tavares is getting recognized as one of the league's MVPs . . . Injuries have claimed one key Pittsburgh Penguin after another. That Stanley Cup favorite will play shorthanded during the final three weeks of the season . . . So far Marian Gaborik is making the Columbus Blue Jackets look wise for rescuing him from the Rangers. He is making his case for big contract extension this summer . . . The Carolina Hurricanes have also been hit hard by injuries. And since they lack Pittsburgh's depth, they have whirled into a season-threatening tailspin . . . Has Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith settled down yet? . . . How will Roberto Luongo orchestrate his exit from Vancouver? The time to swap Luongo came and went and GM Mike Gillis missed his opportunity. Of course, it would have been easier if Gillis got along with Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.08.2013

668854 St Louis Blues

Blues could soon be adding Jaskin

Jeremy Rutherford

DETROIT • Prospect Dmitrij Jaskin could soon be joining the Blues.

Jaskin inked his three-year NHL entry-level contract last Wednesday, after which the Blues immediately assigned the forward to the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League. But apparently the Blues never intended him to play at Peoria.

Immigration issues have slowed the arrival of the Russian-born Jaskin, who played this season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. But now it appears that once his issues are resolved, Jaskin will be headed to meet the Blues on their current four-game trip.

“We might bring him right in,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Sunday in Detroit. “We’re hoping in a day or two.”

Jaskin, 20, was the Blues’ second-round pick (41st overall) in 2011. He spent the following season with Slavia Praha HC in the Czech Republic, and after he posted one goal and one assist in 30 games, the Blues had some questions about their own pick. But after he was released from his contract and joined the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the team’s questions went away.

In 51 games this season, Jaskin led Moncton and ranked fifth in the league with 99 points (46 goals, 53 assists). At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he was named the league’s No. 1 star in November and January.

“Everyone matures at a different time, not only skill-wise but also development-wise,” Armstrong said. “He’s got the size to play in the NHL right now, and our guys said he had a very good year, so we thought we’d bring him in now and take a look at him. We’ve felt that instead of adding a player that we weren’t really sure where he’d fit in at the trade deadline and giving up an asset, we would sign him and bring him in.”

Russell on wing

With Andy McDonald missing Sunday’s game because of the flu, the Blues were down to 11 healthy forwards. That pressed defenseman Kris Russell into the game on left wing, playing alongside Ryan Reaves and Adam Cracknell on the fourth line.

Russell, who had averaged 16 minutes of ice time in 30 games this season, logged 5:11 against Detroit and had one shot on goal.

“A little overwhelming, but it was all right,” Russell said. “I was just trying to keep it simple, more worried about the defensive side of the puck. ‘Revo’ and ‘Cracks’ talked to me a lot, so that helped.”

Russell, who played for Blues coach Ken Hitchcock in Columbus, said that Sunday was his first NHL game at forward, but he practiced in that spot with the Blue Jackets.

“Russ has played with us in Columbus as a forward, so that’s a no-brainer,” Hitchcock said. “I really liked Russ today. I know he only got six or seven minutes. It was that type of game, but I really liked the energy that he brought to the team.”

Bluenotes

Right winger T.J. Oshie (bruised foot) is on the trip, but he did not play Sunday and won’t play Tuesday at Nashville. … Center Scott Nichol (lower-body injury) missed his third straight game Sunday and is not on the trip.

St Louis Post Dispatch LOADED: 04.08.2013

668855 St Louis Blues

Blues grind out shutout win behind Elliott

Associated Press

Published: April 7, 2013

DETROIT (AP) — The St. Louis Blues are getting back to their effective, grind-it-out ways of last season.

Brian Elliott made 28 saves for his 19th career shutout and Chris Porter scored the game's only goal in St. Louis' 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

"The way we're back winning these close games, we're back to playing the way we were last year," said Patrik Berglund, who had an assist on Porter's goal.

It was the Blues' fourth straight win as they moved into a tie with Minnesota for sixth place in the Western Conference.

"We've just got to keep building on things," Elliott said. "We don't have much time left so we just want to keep building."

Porter scored off a goalmouth scramble with 3:32 remaining in the second period with this second goal of the season.

"It was just two guys, Bergy (Berglund) and I, going to the net," Porter said. "The rebound popped out and I'm just trying to get it back into the crease and it went in."

The goal came as a surprise to Berglund.

"I thought I threw away something," he said. "And then I turned my back to everything and looked back and saw Ports putting it in."

Elliott got his first shutout of the season for St. Louis.

"We're going to need that (great goaltending)," Blues' coach ken Hitchcock said. "I think every game the rest of the year is going to be like this.

Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots for Detroit, which dropped from seventh to eighth in the West.

"It was really tight, felt a little bit like a playoff game almost, not a lot of room out there, didn't feel like there were a lot of chances either way," Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "I thought we had some good opportunities there in the third, but their goalie came up with some good saves."

Elliott stopped Gustav Nyquist's breakaway attempt by using a shoulder save with 8 minutes left in the second period.

The Blues' Alexander Steen hit the goal post behind Howard from the left circle 4:24 into the game. St. Louis outshot Detroit 11-7 in the first period.

NOTES: The NHL held a news conference on the ice before the game to officially announce the Winter Classic outdoor game between the Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium will be held on Jan. 1 next season. The game was originally scheduled for this past New Year's day, but was canceled due to the lockout. It was also made official that -- as originally planned -- a second sheet of ice will also be constructed in downtown Detroit at Comerica Park, where two alumni games, American Hockey League, college, high school and youth games will be held in the two weeks leading up to the Winter Classic. ... It was the 1,000th game for referee Dan O'Halloran, who lives in Brighton, Mich., which is about 60 miles west of Detroit. He was recognized before the game.