PITTSBURGH (AP) — Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston scored third-period goals and the Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Tuesday.
Bryan Rust scored the first goal for Pittsburgh, but Dallas had the next four, as the Stars haven’t lost in regulation yet this season.
Jason Robertson, who scored 46 goals last season, scored his first on Tuesday, as did Evgenii Dadonov before third-period goals from Harley and Johnston.
Jake Oettinger stopped 38 shots for the Stars, who won their third straight. Dallas has won four of its first five games this season.
Penguins defenseman John Ludvig, making his NHL debut, left with an injury at 10:41 of the second period. He was briefly knocked unconscious following a collision at center ice with Stars forward Radek Faksa. Ludvig, who was claimed off waivers from Florida before the season started, lay face down, motionless on the ice for several minutes while trainers and medical staff from both teams attended to him. He was eventually helped to his feet and skated from the ice with assistance from teammates Marcus Pettersson and Noel Acciari.
Rust scored his fifth goal in six games for the Penguins, who lost their third straight. Pittsburgh has lost four of its first six games this season.
Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves.
Harley put Dallas in front 3-1 at 5:22 of the third period. Nedeljkovic strayed from his crease to poke a loose puck away, but it eventually reached Harley, who put it into a partially open net. Johnston capped the scoring at 13:51 following a net-mouth scramble.
Rust opened the scoring for Pittsburgh at 19:22 of the first period following a Stars’ neutral-zone turnover. Jake Guentzel set up Rust on the rush and he flipped a shot over Oettinger’s glove from the top of the crease.
Robertson tied the game at 7:37 of the second period. Nedeljkovic stopped Robertson’s first shot from in close. But Robertson picked up the rebound and slid a shot under Nedeljkovic’s outstretched pad.
Dadonov gave Dallas a 2-1 lead at 16:03 of the second. Matt Duchene’s initial backhander got behind Nedeljkovic and Dadonov poked the puck across the line.
CROSBY CHASES HISTORY
Sidney Crosby, who assisted on Rust’s first goal of the game, is now one assist from entering into the top 15 in NHL history in career assists.
Crosby leads all active players with 955 career assists. With one more assist, Crosby will tie former Penguin Mark Recchi. Crosby is 45 assists from becoming the 14th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career assists.
UP NEXT:
Stars: Host Toronto on Thursday.
Penguins: Continue a four-game homestand on Thursday against Colorado.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
