"I think our bench rallied around [Setoguchi] at that point," said Sharks coach Ron Wilson. "I think Seto and [Torrey Mitchell] were rattled to make a mistake like that in a deciding game, but the guys rallied around, dug in and got the job done."

But over the course of 60 minutes it still wasn't easy. It was another tightly played game that ended up being decided by one goal. This time it went the Sharks' way.

The Stars got into some penalty trouble and San Jose's power play, which had struggled throughout the series, cashed in early on a power play chance earl in the third period to provide the winning goal.

"One of the keys to our success was our discipline and we took lots of penalties tonight," said Stars captain Brenden Morrow. "They capitalized. They've got a lot of skill over there and we took too many tonight."

The Sharks, for the first time in the series, won the special teams battle. They scored on the power play and shorthanded, and they kept the Dallas power play off the scoreboard. That all added up to a 2-1 win and some life in the series.

"Obviously, they didn't want to go back, so we got the confidence now and they're going to be nervous now, so it's great for us," Michalek added. "We're going to go home and we're going to win at home now."

"We can't get too far ahead of ourselves," Sharks captain Patrick Marleau said. "We're going home and feel pretty confident about ourselves. That being said, we still have a lot of work ahead of us."

The Sharks played their best game of the series, came out strong in the third period instead of spending it on their heels the way have earlier in the series, got another solid game from goalie Evgeni Nabokov and finally had some things go their way.

On Wednesday it was the Stars who didn't get the breaks. Already up 1-0 on a Jere Lehtinen goal the Stars were trying to take advantage of a  delayed penalty call on the Sharks when Brad Richards ripped a shot past Nabokov that hit the post and went wide.

"It's a game of inches, it was close," Richards said. "You'd like to have those chances back but that's not the way it is."

The Stars then went on the power play and a Sergei Zubov pass at the San Jose blue line was picked off by Marleau, who raced down the ice and beat Marty Turco with a wrist shot.

It was the second straight game in which Zubov coughed up the puck and Marleau scored on a shorthanded breakaway.

"Those are uncharacteristic mistakes by Zubie," said Stars coach Dave Tippett. "Those are mistakes that you'd like to see cleaned up."

That play helped turned the game around, gave the Sharks some momentum and put them in a position to win the game, and they did.

The Stars had their chances. Another solid game by Marty Turco in goal gave them a chance to win. The Stars had some scoring chances, but on this night they didn't go in the net.

"It was another tight game, but we just didn't have the magic tonight," said Turco.

In the battle to end up on the right side of that fine line between winning and losing, the Sharks came out on top this night. Now they have some life in the series, which shifts back to San Jose for Game 5 on Friday.

"We still have a 3-1 lead but we recognize that they're going home and they're going to get some life out of this," said Tippett. "We have to regroup and go into game five and win another road game. It's a challenge for us."

• With Dallas up 1-0 thanks to a Jere Lehtinen goal in the second period and on a delayed penalty, Stars center Brad Richards beats Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov high from the right circle, but his shot goes off the post and bounces out denying the Stars a chance to take a 2-0 lead. The Stars then go on the power play, but San Jose captain Patrick Marleau steals a Sergei Zubov pass and scores on a breakaway to tie the game at 1-1.
   
• Stars center Mike Modano takes a delay of game penalty early in the third, putting San Jose on its fifth power play of the night. Joe Thornton sets up a Milan Michalek goal that holds up as the game-winner.