The Stars have reached the end of their four-game road trip with a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. With a 1-2-0 mark through their first three games to start the season, the Stars are hoping to come home with a .500 winning percentage.
Tonight they'll face a Penguins squad without the services of three key players - captain Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust. Crosby underwent wrist surgery on Sept. 8 and is expected to be out a minimum of six weeks, per the Penguins. Malkin is still recovering from offseason knee surgery in June and skated for the first time yesterday. Rust is week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury on Oct. 14 against Florida.
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Despite the injuries, the Penguins sit atop the Metropolitan Division with a 2-0-1 record (five points). They've outscored the opposition 15-9 and are coming off a 5-2 victory at home over Chicago on Sunday. This is the second game of a hefty eight-game homestand that doesn't end until Nov. 6.
Danton Heinen leads the Penguins in scoring with three goals in three games, while veterans Jeff Carter (one goal, three assists) and Kris Letang (four assists) pace the club with four points apiece.
Like the Penguins, the Stars are no strangers to the injury bug. Jason Robertson (upper body) and Blake Comeau (upper body) have yet to play this season, while John Klingberg (lower body) has only played parts of two periods in the season opener. Roope Hintz, who took a skate to the mouth last Saturday, is fine other than a busted lip and a handful of stitches.
Tonight would be a good night for the Stars' power play to come alive if given the opportunity. A power play that ranked fifth in the NHL last season is only 1-for-10 through three games thus far in 2021-22.
"The power play has been completely out of sync," Stars head coach Rick Bowness said. "It's as simple as that. There's nothing happening with it. Sometimes, your power play might go 0-for-5, 0-for-6 and look really good doing it, and the puck's just not going in. Our power play the last couple games hasn't even been close to being good enough."
Dallas is also looking to snap a five-game losing streak against Pittsburgh (0-5-0) overall and four in a row at PPG Paints Arena (0-4-0). The Stars haven't won in the Steel City since a 4-1 victory on Oct. 22, 2015.
Joe Pavelski comes into the game leading active Stars in career assists against Pittsburgh (11) and has 14 points in 20 games. The 37-year-old is five goals shy of 400 in his career and would become the 10th American-born player in NHL history to reach the milestone. Seven active players have hit the 400-goal milestone, including Carter of the Penguins - the most recent addition to the list - who recorded his 400th on Oct. 14 against Florida.
Tyler Seguin leads current Stars with nine goals and 15 points in 25 career games against Pittsburgh.
Be there when Texas Hockey comes home this Friday as the Stars face the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center! The festivities begin with Party on PNC Plaza at 5:30 p.m. and all fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 7 p.m. Don't miss out, get your tickets now!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Kyle Shohara is the Digital Manager for DallasStars.com and writes about the Stars/NHL. Follow him on Twitter @kyleshohara.
