San Jose, CA (My Sportsbook) - Joe Pavelski tallied a goal and two assists, as the San Jose Sharks handled the struggling Dallas Stars, 5-2, at HP Pavilion.

Joe Thornton, Devin Setoguchi, Milan Michalek, and Patrick Marleau also lit the lamp for the Sharks, who won their third consecutive game at home. Marleau and Setoguchi added one assist apiece for the victors. Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for the victory.

Nabokov improved to 4-0-0 since returning on March 14 from an upper-body injury.

San Jose has already clinched the Pacific Division and is just one point behind Detroit for best record in the NHL.

"Everyone's getting ready for the playoffs, and guys are trying to get in. We're trying to get first place overall," Setoguchi said.

Loui Eriksson and Stephane Robidas scored for the Stars, who finished a three- game road trip with an 0-3-0 mark. Marty Turco turned aside 26 shots in defeat.

Dallas, which is three points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, is in danger of missing the postseason for the first time in four years.

"It's a big two points that we gave up again tonight. There's 10 games left and we can't give up," Robidas said.

Center's Mike Modano and Brad Richards returned to the lineup for Dallas. Richards was back after missing 15 games with a broken right wrist. Modano returned to the lineup after missing Dallas' game against the Flames on Wednesday due to a groin injury.

The Stars drew first blood at the 7:30 mark of the first period on a goal from Eriksson -- Dallas' leading scorer. Eriksson skated to the right to get past his defender before sliding a wraparound attempt past a sliding Nabokov.

San Jose took the momentum away from the Stars by scoring a pair of goals within 29 seconds of each other. Thornton lit the lamp on the power play with 6:55 remaining in the stanza. Thornton's shot from the right circle beat Turco stick side.

Setoguchi's 26th goal of the year put the Sharks ahead 2-1. Brad Lukowich's shot settled behind the pads of Turco, who wasn't aware of where the puck was. Setoguchi saw the disc from behind the net and skated to the side of the goal to chip the puck past the goalline.

Pavelski scored his first goal in eight games with 5:43 left in the second period to extend San Jose's lead to 3-1.

Michalek lit the lamp 19 ticks later to give the Sharks a commanding 4-1 advantage. Michalek was trying to hit Setoguchi with a pass in front of the net. But instead the puck deflected off the skate of a Dallas player and went flying into the net.

Robidas' slap shot from the point cut the margin to 4-2 with 14:43 to go in the game. But Marleau scored a short-handed empty-net goal with one minute left to secure the win.

Game Notes

The Sharks went 1-for-4 on the power play, compared to 0-for-4 for the Stars...San Jose improved to 29-3-4 as the host this year...Nabokov has won all four of his starts versus the Stars this season...The Sharks won five of the six meetings with Dallas this year...San Jose finishes a three-game homestand on Sunday versus Colorado...Sharks defenseman Rob Blake left midway through the second period with an unidentified injury, and center Marcel Goc suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury in the third.