Stars rebound for shootout win against Penguins

DALLAS -- Kari Lehtonen made 34 saves for the Dallas Stars in a 4-3 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at American Airlines Center on Friday.
Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis scored, and Jamie Benn had three assists for the Stars (33-19-4), who have won five games in a row and hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

\[WATCH: All Penguins vs. Stars highlights\]
The Stars arrived in Dallas at 3:30 a.m. local time after a 2-1 win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
"I felt today, whatever happened today we we're going to learn some valuable lessons," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We learned a lot about ourselves today and we learned a lot about how deep we can dig, and we dug deep tonight to get two points."
Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz tied the game 3-3 with 1:13 remaining after the Stars scored three straight goals, including two in the third period, to take the lead.

Riley Sheahan and Carl Hagelin scored, and Matt Murray made 33 saves for the Penguins (30-22-4), who lost for the second time in seven games (5-1-1) and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the Washington Capitals.
"It's a good team over there, they're going to fight back, and they were able to get a couple goals in the third," Schultz said. "Would've liked to be a little more tight defensively. But it happens, and we got that tying goal which is huge for us. We'll take the point, we would've liked two, but any point now is big."
Seguin scored the only goal of the shootout in the top of the second round.
Evgeni Malkin missed the net on Pittsburgh's first attempt, and Sidney Crosby hit the crossbar in the second round before Lehtonen made a save on Phil Kessel in the third to seal the win for Dallas.

"I decided to stay a little bit more out and be more patient rather than have a lot of flow backwards like what I usually do, so I kind of changed what I was doing," Lehtonen said. "So, I think that helped trick those guys a little bit. But still, I wasn't that close to Crosby's shot. Luckily, he missed the net."
Sheahan gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 9:07 of the first period when he beat Lehtonen between the legs on a breakaway.
Hagelin scored a shorthanded goal at 4-on-3 to make it 2-0 at 10:54 when he forced a turnover, skated past Klingberg, and beat Lehtonen with a wrist shot.
"His foot speed is his biggest strength. He wins foot races," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "That's one of the reasons that he's an effective penalty-killer, is his ability to chase people down and put them under pressure."
Seguin cut the Penguins lead to 2-1 with 2:03 left in the first when he finished off a pass from Benn. Rookie defenseman Dillon Heatherington got his first NHL assist.

Klingberg tied it 2-2 at 2:46 of the third period with a wrist shot from the slot. Alexander Radulov set up the goal with a pass from behind the net, extending his assist streak to four games.
Hamhuis gave the Stars a 3-2 lead at 6:47 with a slap shot from the point. Murray lost his stick on the play and was beaten to the blocker side.

Goal of the game

Hamhuis' goal at 6:47 of the third period.

Save of the game

Lehtonen stopping Malkin at 16:05 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Hagelin's goal at 10:54 of the first period.

They said it

"Obviously, we're disappointed we give up two early in the third there, but I liked the fight. We stayed with it and we get the game tied up. It was a hard-fought game. They're a good team. It was one of those games that had a playoff-type feel. There wasn't a lot of ice out there." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"[Radek] Faksa did a job. That line has done a job for two months now, but Radek did a heck of a job. That was a big load for that line, I mean, first of all, most of the shifts you're not going to have the puck, and you're going to have to check and you're going to have to be really determined and you're going to have to play through really big bodies." -- Stars coach Ken Hitchcock on keeping Penguins center Sidney Crosby off the score sheet

Need to know

It was the first win of the season for the Stars when trailing entering the third period (1-14-1) and the first loss for the Penguins when leading entering the third (17-0-1). … Crosby has not scored in 10 games but has 13 assists in that span. ... Dallas center Martin Hanzal was out with a lower-body injury. He has missed at least one game because of injury seven times this season. … The Stars trail the St. Louis Blues by one point for third place in the Central Division.

What's next

Penguins: At the St. Louis Blues on Sunday (12 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday (4 p.m. ET; FS-SW+, SNP, NHL.TV)