PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin scored the winner with 35 seconds left in the third period to give the Penguins a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Monday at PPG Paints Arena.
Bryan Rust took the puck hard to the net. Stars goalie Jake Oettinger made the initial save, but Malkin swooped in to swat the loose puck into an open cage.
The thrilling win extended Pittsburgh’s win streak to a season-high six games.
Tristan Jarry stopped 26 of 27 shots to improve to 9-0-1 in his last 10 starts.
The Stars got the game’s opening goal just 19 seconds in. Jake Guentzel gave up the puck trying to hit a streaking Sidney Crosby, allowing the Stars to keep it inside the zone. Six seconds later, Roope Hintz scored after a long shot hit Kris Letang’s skate and skittered to Hintz, who slammed it through Jarry’s five hole.
The Penguins tied it up, 1-1, on the power play later in the first. They weren’t thrilled that Evgeni Malkin was not awarded a penalty shot but settled for a Pierre-Olivier Joseph snipe. That made it six straight games with a power-play goal.
Joseph rushed the puck in from the point, stepped around Tyler Seguin and rifled a shot past Oettinger, who was blinded by a perfect Jason Zucker screen.
That tying tally was Joseph’s first NHL goal since Feb. 6, 2021. And it was a long time coming for the young defenseman, who stormed onto the scene two seasons ago but lost steam and spent much of that season and 2021-22 in the minors. He seized on his opportunity this fall, locking down a regular NHL role.
After a tightly-checked first period, the Stars put Jarry to the test during the second, even with the Penguins generating significantly more offensive zone time.
Jarry stopped a shorthanded Luke Glendening. One of the NHL’s better goalies on 2-on-1 rushes, he shuffled across to kick out a Ty Dellandrea try with his left pad. He shut down Wyatt Johnston on a bang-bang play. Jarry also got lucky when Joe Pavelski hit the post or when Seguin airmailed his shot from in tight.
Beyond Jarry’s saves, the highlight for the Penguins in the second period came when Crosby, looking like a dad who was sick and tired of tripping over toys, angrily swept two sticks out of the way after Dallas defenders had dropped them.
Jarry made another sprawling save, that one on Hintz, to keep the score tied early in the third period. Crosby got a good look midway through the period but flicked a forehand shot just wide. The Stars were surging late in regulation when Malkin got his first game-winner of the season, which stood after a video review.
ICE CHIPS
-- Jeff Petry missed Monday’s game with an upper-body injury. He left Saturday’s win against Buffalo after a collision behind his net late in the game. Petry later said he was fine. Coach Mike Sullivan didn’t provide a timeline for his return.
-- With Petry sidelined, Chad Ruhwedel drew back in, partnering with Joseph.
-- Zucker left the game late in the second period but returned for the third.
-- Guentzel, a 2013 third-round pick of the Penguins, skated in his 400th career game Monday. He ranks sixth in his draft class in career goals and points.
-- Danton Heinen was a healthy scratch for the fifth time in the last seven games.
COMING UP
The Penguins are scheduled to practice Tuesday and Wednesday in Cranberry. They visit the Florida Panthers on Thursday, the start of a two-game trip.
