The Dallas Stars welcomed the Pittsburgh Penguins to the American Airlines Center for a Friday night hockey game. The Stars ended the five-game homestand with a 5-2 win over the Penguins. Dallas improved to 43-19-9, while Pittsburgh fell to 30-30-9.
The Stars’ starting lineup featured Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski, Thomas Harley, Jason Robertson, and Jake Oettinger. Oettinger made 20 saves for a win. Meanwhile, Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry made 16 saves in a losing effort.
The Penguins shocked the Stars fans by getting on the board first. Michael Bunting blasted a snap shot off his glove and into the Stars’ net for an early 1-0 lead at 2:45 of the first period. Evgeni Malkin and Pierre-Olivier Joseph collected the assists on Bunting’s 16th of the season.
The Stars responded with the equalizer. Joe Pavelski put a backhand shot into the Penguins’ net to tie the game 1-1 at 7:16 of the first period. Thomas Harley and Jason Robertson collected the assists on Pavelski’s 25th of the season.
The Stars and Penguins were tied 1-1 at the end of the first period. Dallas outshot Pittsburgh 10-8. Moreover, Pittsburgh carried 27 seconds of the 5-on-4 power-play into the second period but couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage.
The Stars took a two-goal lead in the blink of an eye. Rickard Rakell was called for hooking against Tyler Seguin at 5:30 of the second period. Stars captain Jamie Benn capitalized on the man advantage with a wrist shot into the Penguins’ net to make it a 2-1 game at 5:52. Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson collected the assists on Benn’s 14th of the season. With the goal, Benn upped his power-play goals to six so far this season. Benn added a wrist-shot goal to put the Stars up 3-1 at 7:09. Logan Stankoven collected the lone assist on Benn’s 15th of the season and second of the night.
The Stars brought a 3-1 lead to the locker room at the end of two periods. Dallas outshot Pittsburgh 17-14 through 40 minutes.
The Stars extended the lead to open the third-period scoring. Sam Steel fired a wrist shot past Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry to extend the Stars’ lead to 4-1 at 4:37 of the third period. Craig Smith collected the lone assist on Steel’s eighth of the season.
But the Penguins made it a two-goal game. Rickard Rakell blasted a snap shot past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger to cut the Stars’ lead in half, 4-2, at 11:03 of the third period. Evgeni Malkin and Michael Bunting collected the assists on Rakell’s 11th of the season.
The Stars beat the Penguins 4-2 in regulation. Dallas outshot Pittsburgh 23-22 after a full 60 minutes.
Notes
Three Stars of the Game
1. Jamie Benn (2 points: 2 goals)
2. Jason Robertson (2 points: 2 assists)
3. Sam Steel (1 point: 1 goal)
New Loan
The Dallas Stars loaned Matt Murray (goaltender) to the Texas Stars on Thursday morning.
Up Next
The Stars and Arizona Coyotes will meet again for a rematch on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Central.
Join Conrad and Jayd as they kick off another season of hockey coverage on the Inside The Rink Podcast. Join us weekly as we cover the hot topics across the NHL and Minor Leagues. In this episode: – Four Nations Rosters- Waivers Gone Wild- Nichushkin Returns to Colorado- Penguins Fire Sale?& Much More!