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DALLAS - The San Jose Sharks accomplished almost everything on their list Tuesday.
Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov looked like a Vezina Trophy finalist for the first time in the series, stopping Niklas Hagman on a key third-period penalty shot.
Captain Patrick Marleau delivered a short-handed goal off a rare Sergei Zubov mistake, the kind of play that has turned games and even series.
"We played pretty close to a perfect road game, especially in the playoffs," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said after the 2-1 overtime loss to the Stars.
For all their effort and execution, the Sharks' season can end Wednesday night. Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders have rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.
"I don't even want to talk about that right now," Wilson said.
In each game, the Sharks have been unable to hold a lead.
In the last two games, they were ahead going into the third period and lost. In the regular season, they were 35-1-2 when leading after two periods.
The Pacific Division champions were reduced to talking about breaks and whistles.
"It's amazing how we can't get a bounce in our favor in this series," said Jeremy Roenick, whose aggressive attempt at blocking Mattias Norstrom's shot sent it sailing into the net for the winner.
Marleau, who had failed to register a point and was minus-5 in his last four games, saw a rebound goal disallowed by referee Don VanMassenhoven's whistle.
Said Wilson: "He doesn't see it because he's standing behind the goalie, behind the net. The puck is laying in the crease, we put it in. It should be a goal. He made a mistake. There's nothing I can do about it."
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(c) 2008, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.
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