SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A return to his former hockey home helped Dallas Stars goaltender Antti Niemi get back on track Saturday at SAP Center.

Niemi made 34 saves, Mattias Janmark scored two goals, and the Stars held on for a 4-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks.

Niemi, a former Shark, started for just the second time in the past 11 games, and improved to 2-0-1 against San Jose this season. Niemi has 40 starts to 36 for Kari Lehtonen, but a late-season slump has cost him playing time.

"Really exciting day," Niemi said. "I knew I'd get a game at some point this week on this road trip. Wasn't sure if it would be this game or not. Really exciting game, exciting day. It's been a while since the last game and also since the last win so it feels pretty good."

Patrick Sharp scored in the second period for the Stars (45-22-9), who clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday and lead the Central Division with 99 points. Jamie Benn scored an empty-net goal with 1:08 left to play, his 37th goal of the season.

Martin Jones made 13 saves for the Sharks.

The Sharks (41-28-6) squandered their third straight chance to clinch a playoff spot.

After the loss, San Jose was hoping for some help from the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes. The Sharks could clinch with a Coyotes loss in regulation.

"I think we played a pretty good game tonight," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. "Obviously didn't win. It was one of those nights where every mistake we made ended up in our net. We couldn't buy one at the other end for the first two periods."

Joel Ward and Tomas Hertl scored third-period goals for the Sharks, who entered the period trailing 3-0.

Ward scored a short-handed goal at 3:44 of the third, his 21st goal of the season. Niemi came out of his crease to play the puck, and Ward banged into him then put the puck into a wide-open net.

Hertl scored at 5:48 of the third, knocking a rebound past Niemi as the Sharks cut Dallas' lead to 3-2.

"It was a game where you come back to the room and wonder why you didn't get a couple more goals out there," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. "It was good to see the guys respond in the third period. You never want it to get down 3-0. But we just ran out of time in the game."

The Sharks went on their sixth power play of the game at 13:24 of the third, but the Stars made it six straight penalty kills. Pavelski had a shot from the slot, but Niemi made a glove save with just over six minutes left to play.

"I thought he looked really good," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said of Niemi. "He looked big all night, and he made some terrific saves for us. I want to see both of them playing well. That's a big bonus. Those two guys have been a big reason why we're at where we're at. And tonight he really helped us get a win."

Jones left the net with 1:39 to play, giving San Jose an extra attacker.

Janmark returned to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury and skated on the second line with center Jason Spezza and Valeri Nichushkin.

"Maybe in some way it was a blessing having some time off," Ruff said of Janmark. "He looks refreshed. He was skating well. He looked a little fatigued before he went out. Not only did he score a couple goals, his compete and his skating was good."

The Stars grabbed a 1-0 lead at 15:28 of the first period when Janmark scored his 14th goal of the season, redirecting defenseman Jordie Benn's point shot past Jones.

"It was a while since I played a game, so I was kind of excited to play," Janmark said. "When you play a lot of games you don't appreciate it as much."

Dallas had a great chance to extend its lead in the closing seconds of the first period after a Sharks' turnover in the neutral zone ignited a breakaway for Sharp. But Jones made a glove save of Sharp's shot from close range.

San Jose outshot the Stars 12-5 in the first period, but Niemi stopped every shot he faced.

Janmark scored again at 4:22 of the second period, giving Dallas a 2-0 lead. Spezza took the puck below the goal line and fed a pass to Janmark in the low slot. Janmark's wrist shot deflected off of Hertl's skate and past Jones.

Sharp scored a power play goal at 14:19 of the second period with Pavelski in the penalty box for boarding Johnny Oduya, making it 3-0. Sharp took a cross-ice pass from Spezza in the left circle and beat Jones with a slap shot to the far side. The goal was Sharp's 18th of the season.

The game turned physical quickly in the first period. During one sequence, San Jose's Roman Polak and Tommy Wingels delivered bit hits on Dallas' Antoine Roussel. Roussel retaliated later in the period, fighting Wingels.

"It's actually a good game to get into because we're going to get emotions like that in a playoff game," Ruff said. "There was some physicality early. I thought a really dirty check by (Wingels) on Roussel. Real dirty. I thought (Roussel) responded. I thought (Roussel) did the right thing. But after that it was a heck of a battle."

NOTES: Sharks RW Joonas Donskoi (lower body) took pregame warmups but was scratched. Donskoi was injured seven minutes into the second period Thursday against Edmonton during a collision with Sharks C Logan Couture and did not return to the game. ... Sharks F Dainius Zubrus returned to the lineup after missing one game as a healthy scratch. ... Stars D Kris Russell (lower body) missed his third straight game. "I would think the next game he'll play," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "We're just trying to give him a little extra time." Dallas' next game is Tuesday against Nashville at American Airlines Center. ... Stars LW Mattias Janmark returned to the lineup after missing six games with an upper-body injury. Janmark replaced RW Brett Ritchie in the lineup.