Pittsburgh Review

Sidney Crosby led the Pittsburgh Penguins to an impressive 5-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night in Dallas. The win ended the Stars' seven-game winning streak.

Crosby, by scoring a hat trick, extended his point streak to 12 games. This streak is currently the longest active streak in the NHL and is the fourth-longest of Crosby's career. Bryan Rust also contributed by scoring his 200th career goal, while Blake Lizotte netted the game-winner.

Rust, expressing his views on the match, stated, “I don't think we were intimidated by them or their lineup. They’re obviously a really good team with a lot of really, really good players, and I think all night we played up, in their face, we were skating, we were moving, we're playing really hard. I think when we do that, we can be a really, really good team ourselves.”

Despite trailing 2-1 at the end of the second period, Pittsburgh dominated in shots and managed to score four goals in the third period. The turning point came when Danton Heinen assisted Lizotte, who capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity due to a collision between two Dallas players, putting the Penguins ahead.

Reflecting on the match, Head Coach Mike Sullivan said, “We were down in the game, most of the game, but I thought we were playing extremely well. We just try to encourage them to stay with it. Just keep competing, keep playing the game the right way, we’ll climb back into it.”

Crosby secured his hat trick with an empty-net goal, marking his 30th goal of the season. This achievement was welcomed by his teammates, with Rust remarking on previous missed opportunities to set up Crosby for a hat trick, adding levity by saying, “There's a couple times earlier this year where he had two and I kept trying to get him the puck, and I couldn't get him over there for that hat trick [laughs]. So, it was definitely good to see get it.”

In the first period, Evgeni Malkin returned from injury and assisted Crosby in breaking the ice with a power-play goal. Sullivan noted the impact of Malkin's return, stating, “I thought Geno looked good, he brings a dimension to our team, our team just looks different when he's in the lineup.”

Despite a strong start, Pittsburgh found themselves tied at 1-1 after Evgenii Dadonov scored for Dallas. Dadonov would further complicate the Penguins' efforts in the second period with his second goal, leading his team 2-1.

The Penguins regained their footing in the final period, highlighted by rookie Rutger McGroarty assisting Crosby to level the score. McGroarty continues to impress with Rust saying, “He’s been great. Tends to be in all the right places... he made some really nice plays out there tonight.”

Dallas responded swiftly, regaining the lead as Dadonov completed his own hat trick. Rust then leveled the match again, securing his 200th goal to become the ninth player in Penguins history to reach this milestone. Rust commented on the milestone, “Means I'm getting old, first of all. Second of all, I'm really proud. I didn't think I'd ever get to say I scored 200 goals in the NHL.”

Wrapping up their road trip, the Penguins aim to maintain this momentum as they travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday.