NHL Playoffs 2012: San Jose Sharks Must Use Victory vs. Dallas as Momentum

The San Jose Sharks haven't exactly made things easy on themselves heading into their final two regular-season games.

But after some embarrassing losses to the Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks offense has gotten hot at just the right time, scoring eight combined goals in two games against the contending Dallas Stars.

The Sharks, ranked 15th in the NHL with 2.6 goals per game, have all of a sudden come alive when it's been needed most. Joe Pavelski has been huge for San Jose, with three points in two games, and the Sharks have used a team effort to remain in the No. 8 playoff spot in the Western Conference.

That's not to mention goalie Antti Niemi, who has been fantastic down the stretch for the Sharks.

Logan Couture got on the scoreboard for the first time in 10 games against the Stars on Tuesday. That's great news for Sharks fans going into the remaining two games of the regular season. His goal at 17:24 in the second period gave San Jose a 3-2 lead.

Couture said, via ESPN:

"

It had been a while, so it felt good to get on the board. (Martin Havlat) made a great play to me. It's something we work on, on the power play. I went to the slot and he had the patience to wait `til I was open. It was right on my stick.

"

The Sharks were actually losing to the Stars early in the second period, when Alex Goligoski swung it into the net at the 11:10 mark. But they bounced back, sparked by T.J. Galiardi when he beat Kari Lehtonen at the right of the cage.

Joe Thornton said it best, via ESPN: "It was a great momentum swing for us."

The Sharks can't rely on the rest of the contenders to falter as the regular season winds down. They need to do the same to the Los Angeles Kings as they did against the Stars.

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