The Stars were able to squeeze a 3-2 win out against the Penguins Sunday evening at home after a rocky sixty minutes of regulation.
The Stars welcomed back two key players who had been out of the lineup for weeks. Forward Matt Duchene and defenseman Nils Lundkvist were thrown right back into the swing of things in a game that never seemed fully in Dallas’ control.
The Stars struggled to get rolling in the first period. Passes were not connecting and shots were not going in. Thanks to goalie Jake Oettinger, the Penguins were held scoreless until Connor Dewar slapped a puck past him and got Pittsburgh on the board as the period winded down.
The Stars came out hot in the second period, with Jamie Benn leading the charge. Just under a minute and a half into play, Roope Hintz slid the puck to the captain, who shot it in and evened out the score. This is Benn’s fourth goal of the season after missing most of it due to a collapsed lung.
But the Stars’ momentum started to falter. They could not clear their own zone and took on two penalties in the process of trying to slow down the Penguins. Although the Stars killed both power plays, they could not manage to score on the other end, either. The Stars only recorded three shots on goal in the second period.
“It wasn’t our best game. I thought they were better than us tonight, five-on-five, especially in that second period,” head coach Glen Gulutzan said. “It took us a while to generate, we actually didn’t generate a ton… We’ve got to find our footing here a little bit. Whether it’s a little bit more rest or a couple practices to get sharpened up.”
Pittsburgh, who had 11 shots on goal in the second, scored with five minutes to go after Thomas Novak deflected a shot by Kris Letang into Oettinger’s goal.
Dallas came into the third period down 2-1, and for just over twelve minutes Dallas struggled to clear their zone and only recorded four shots on goal. Then, they were handed a chance after Ville Koivunen got sent to the box for slashing. But the Stars’ power play, which has been strong this season, could not deliver.
With just under five minutes to play, desperation for Dallas started to set in. The Stars fired off shots, but none could connect with the back of the net. Instead, they emptied their own net. The extra attacker gave Dallas the edge and defenseman Miro Heiskanen slapped a wrist shot past Tristan Jarry and tied things up.
This uphill battle of a game for Dallas was headed to overtime. Every possession looked like it could be the one to end things. Jason Robertson had a close chance, then Wyatt Johnston and then Robertson again. The Penguins had their own fair share of opportunities, but once again, Oettinger bailed out his team. Neither club could capitalize and the game went to a shootout.
Robertson missed the first shot and Oettinger gloved Bryan Rust’s attempt. Matt Duchene, who missed 24 games, could not convert his chance and neither could Sidney Crosby on the other end.
Mikko Rantanen lined up next, and as chants of “Moooose,” filled the arena, the forward shot the puck past Jarry. Letang had a chance to match that goal, but Oettinger stonewalled him. The Stars recorded another win, despite the uphill battle it took to get there.
“You don’t remember these games in a couple of weeks,” Rantanen said. ” You just remember the two points. So, we’ll take it.”
Dallas will travel to Winnipeg on Tuesday to take on the Jets at 7 p.m. CT.
