There are enough subplots surrounding the Dallas Stars’ shootout win Thursday over the San Jose Sharks to make it seem like a seismic shift of power in the Pacific Division. Not quite.

It was, however, a breakthrough for the Stars, who had yet to win in four previous trips to the shootout this season. It was their first of six matchups against the Sharks, which is a good omen when the division title figures go through San Jose again.

And for a Dallas team seeking some semblance of consistency following losses to Florida, Nashville and Minnesota the previous two weeks, this will suffice.

“To grind out a win is obviously huge,” goaltender Marty Turco told reporters after the game. “But the best part in my eyes [is], as flat as we kind of played without our needed spunk and energy in the first two periods, to just say ‘screw it,’ and throw everything we had at them.”

The secret to the Stars’ inconsistency is really no secret at all. Injuries to Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen haven’t helped but, even without two of their biggest offensive weapons, head coach Marc Crawford has done enough lineup shuffling to raise eyebrows in the stands and the press box.

Saturday in Phoenix, for example, the coach had the option of keeping three of his four lines intact from the San Jose game, despite injuries to forwards Brian Sutherby (groin), Jere Lehtinen (groin) and Fabian Brunnstrom (shoulder). Instead he went for the full shakeup; only the outstanding top line of James Neal, Brad Richards and Loui Eriksson was kept together.

Coincidentally or not, Dallas lost 3-2 to a Coyotes squad that had won just once in its previous five games. Crawford told the Stars’ Web site on Sunday that he doesn’t fancy himself a juggler.

“I haven’t really juggled the lines,” he said. “We talk about how one of our strengths is depth and when we can throw that kind of depth on a line, that’s an advantage for us and we want to utilize that advantage. We’re going to try to keep everybody involved, we think we’re going to have to use all 23 guys from here to the end of the month at least (when the club has eight games in 13 nights) and it’s nice that you don’t have a drop-off in players when the need arises.”

In other words, Dallas has the cylinders. The question is when all of them can start firing at once.

Forward Torrey Mitchell got one step closer to rejoining the Sharks when he was assigned to AHL Worcester on a conditioning assignment Tuesday. It’s been a long road back for the speedy Mitchell, who missed all of 2008-09 with a broken leg before returning in the playoffs. He hadn’t played this season before appearing in three games for Worcester, notching one assist. … Logan Couture, recalled for games in St. Louis and Chicago over the weekend, was returned to Worcester on Monday. The 20-year-old forward did not score in either game. … Rookie winger Ryan Vesce was reassigned to Worcester after taking part, and missing, in the shootout in St. Louis. Vesce appeared in six games during a month in the NHL, notching three goals and an assist, and spending much of the month on injured reserve. … The Sharks haven’t lost in regulation since losing 5-2 to Tampa Bay on Oct. 22, going 9-0-3 since.

With attendance continuing to drop — it’s dropped to an average of 9,759 through 10 games at Jobing.com Arena — the Coyotes’ marketing department is getting creative. Last Wednesday, the team introduced the “Coyotes Express” shuttle, which includes a ride and a ticket ($20 upper level/$30 lower level). One shuttle will transport fans to and from Arizona State University in Phoenix, and the other will originate from the Gila River Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler. … Kevin Porter was recalled Monday from AHL San Antonio, where he had 13 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 14 games. … C Robert Lang has scored a goal in each of the first two games of the Coyotes’ homestand. … According to the team’s official Web site, Zbynek Michalek (lower-body) may return to action this weekend, while Ed Jovanovski (lower-body) is still listed as week-to-week.

A 4-3 win over the Panthers on Monday gave the Kings back-to-back shootout wins in Florida, following a 2-1 win in Tampa Bay on Saturday. Forward Ryan Smyth left in the second period of Monday’s game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. … Their 7-0 loss to Atlanta on Friday was the largest margin of defeat since a 10-1 loss at Buffalo in 2006, and their worst shutout since a 9-0 loss to the Hartford Whalers on Nov. 27, 1985. … Defenseman Randy Jones has two goals and four points in four games since being claimed off waivers from Philadelphia.

Kyle Calder was recalled from ECHL Bakersfield and made his Ducks debut Monday in a 5-2 loss in Pittsburgh. Calder was a minus-1 and was held scoreless in 9 minutes, 33 seconds. … Head coach Randy Carlyle held a closed-door, one-on-one meeting with each player on Sunday. … Corey Perry extended his league-leading point-scoring streak to 12 games Monday, but teammate Ryan Getzlaf saw his end at 11. … Defenseman Scott Niedermayer played in his 1,200th career game Friday in Columbus. … Saturday in Detroit, Teemu Selanne collected his 635th career assist to surpass Neil Broten for 64th place on the all-time list.

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