Much like fellow East power Boston, the Pittsburgh Penguins handled a team that needed two points a whole lot more than they did on Tuesday. Sidney Crosby produced a three-point performance in spoiling Kari Lehtonen’s return for the Dallas Stars, who fell to the Penguins by a discouraging score of 5-1 tonight.
The Penguins were likely frustrated coming off two weekend losses to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Stars felt the brunt of that irritation. Here are the three goals Crosby was involved in points-wise, giving him 91 in 68 contests (after two pointless games against Philly, by the way):
The Stars are a high octane team with a shaky defense, so maybe it’s not so shocking to see this squad experience ups and downs. Regardless, it’s poorly timed; they’ve lost three in a row while looking vulnerable in their own end, as they’ve lost their last two by a troubling combined total of 12-3.
Dallas faces the very Flyers team that frustrated the Penguins in its next game, as they travel to Philly on Thursday. After that, it’s three-of-four at home before a challenging set of road games, so the Stars don’t have a lot of time to lick their wounds.