(Sports Network) - The Dallas Stars will try to grab a commanding three games to none lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals tonight, when they host the second-seeded San Jose Sharks in Game 3 at American Airlines Center.

The fifth-seeded Stars have jumped out to a 2-0 lead in this series by winning the first two games in San Jose. The series now shifts to Dallas for Games 3 and 4.

Dallas was 23-16-2 as the hosts this year, while the Sharks were the NHL's best road team during the regular season, going 27-10-4 as the visitor. San Jose was 3-1 at Dallas this season.

Game 4 of this set is scheduled for Wednesday night in Dallas.

The Sharks won the Pacific Division crown this year and posted a franchise- record 108 points. The Stars finished 11 points behind San Jose in the Pacific.

San Jose has been pegged as playoff underachievers in recent years, and it's hard to dispute that claim. After reaching the Western Conference finals in 2004, San Jose has been bounced out in the second round in back-to-back seasons.

That wasn't supposed to happen again this year as the Sharks were the NHL's hottest team in the second half of the season, posting an 18-0-2 stretch at one point.

After notching a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1, the Stars used a big third period to defeat the Sharks, 5-2, in Sunday's meeting at the Shark Tank. Brad Richards collected a goal and three assists -- all in the third period -- to lead Dallas to the win and a 2-0 series' advantage.

Richards, who was acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, has been excellent in this postseason, recording nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) in eight contests. The 27-year-old centerman won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP while leading the Lightning to a Stanley Cup title in 2004.

Niklas Hagman scored twice, while Mike Ribeiro and Mike Modano also lit the lamp for the Stars.

Marty Turco made 29 saves to add another victory to what has been an excellent postseason so far. Turco is 6-2 with a 1.98 goals against average and .918 save percentage in the playoffs.

The Stars also welcomed the return of defenseman Sergei Zubov, who had been sidelined since late January -- first with a hairline fracture in his foot and then by a sports hernia. Zubov, who wasn't cleared to play until moments before Game 2, finished with one assist.

Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek scored for San Jose, while Evgeni Nabokov surrendered four goals on 25 shots.

While Turco has been stellar in this year's playoffs, Nabokov has struggled mightily. The 32-year-old backstop is 4-5 with a 2.67 GAA and .883 save percentage in the postseason after being named as a Vezina Trophy finalist for his superb play during the regular season.

The Sharks have never won a series when falling behind two games to none.

The Stars last lost a series when holding a 2-0 lead in 1992, when they fell in six games to Detroit in the opening round. That was also the last playoff series for the Minnesota North Stars, who relocated to Dallas for the 1993-94 campaign.

The regular-season series between Dallas and San Jose was extremely close with each team winning four games. Dallas has won both of its playoff meetings with the Sharks, with the most recent victory coming in five games during the 2000 conference semifinals.