PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov scored in a shootout to lift the Dallas Stars over the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Pavelski and Radulov both beat Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry with backhands to help Dallas end a season-opening four-game trip on a high note.
Michael Raffl scored his second goal of the season for the Stars. Goaltender Braden Holtby turned aside 27 shots in regulation overtime and stopped Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang in the shootout as Dallas ended a five-game losing streak in Pittsburgh.
John Marino scored his first goal of the season for Pittsburgh, while Jarry played spectacularly at times and finished with 28 saves.
The Penguins have picked up at least one point in each of their first four games despite playing without injured stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The crowd of 16,450 — nearly 2,000 short of capacity — marked the first non-sellout crowd for the Penguins since Feb. 14, 2007, a span of 634 games. The streak ended on a night when Pittsburgh honored Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan credited his team’s steady start without its franchise cornerstones Crosby and Malkin to consistent effort and the kind of smart defensive play he believes needs to become the norm for a group that, when fully healthy, is one of the NHL’s most dynamic attacks.
Pittsburgh spent most of the first period clamping down on the Stars before a late lapse gave Dallas room to take an early lead. Raffl finished off an extended push by slamming home a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Radek Faska with 10 seconds to go in the first period.
Marino pulled the Penguins even 5:26 into the second. The defenseman held the puck in at the blue line then drifted toward the Dallas net and found himself in the right spot when a rebound off a Brock McGinn shot went right to his stick. Marino ripped it by Holtby to give himself at least one point in each game so far this season.
Jarry, trying to bounce back after a dreadful performance in last year’s playoffs, continued his strong start by making a series of sprawling saves to keep the game tied. He slid across the crease to turn away Denis Gurianov in the second and stopped Jacob Peterson from point-blank range in the third.
