In their last game before the league pauses its schedule to hold the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Sharks gave up three goals in a lopsided first period. They never fully recovered in an 8-3 loss to the playoff-bound Dallas Stars on Saturday before an announced sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.

The Stars are playing the second night of a back-to-back following an emotional shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

NHL: San Jose Sharks face ex-teammates Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci on Saturday when they face the Dallas Stars at SAP Center

Mikael Granlund is back! Granlund spoke with local media before Saturday’s San Jose Sharks-Dallas Stars tilt. It’s been just one week since Granlund and Cody Ceci were traded to the Stars for a 2025 first and a conditional 2025 fourth (which becomes a third if Dallas makes the Stanley Cup Final).

The 4 Nations Face-Off features most of the best players from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland, and gives stars like Connor McDavid, San Ramon-born Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mikko Rantanen a chance to play in this type of event for the first time in their professional careers.