Penguins Report Card: Rare Sullivan Choice, Shorthanded Lineup Loses to Stars (+)

The Pittsburgh Penguins had their 11th straight victory at hand. They were five minutes away with a one-goal lead but the Dallas Stars are a formidable home team and scored two in the final minutes for a 3-2 win.

It was the Penguins third game in four days, but Kasperi Kapanen didn’t use that as an excuse, “We’re in good shape…we can’t hide behind that.”

Brian Dumoulin (2) and Kapanen (8) were the unlikely Penguins goal scorers. Tristan Jarry made 29 saves against 32 shots. The late goals were both unprotected rebound chances. Joe Pavelski had position on Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson for an uncontested rebound tap.

And 75 seconds after Pavelski scored, Roope Hintz also beat all Penguins to the net after a Dallas two-on-one. Hintz was uncontested and had time to pull a loose puck from behind the goal line and chip it into the net.

“I don’t think we changed anything, it’s just a game of momentum,” head coach Mike Sullivan.

In addition to three games in four days, the Penguins were without Bryan Rust and Brock McGinn, and therein lies a rare Sullivan mistake, too.