DALLAS -- Teams don't get any points in the standings for games they should have won.
It's tough to see any loss as a moral victory this time of year, when every game and point in the standings matter because of how tight the push for the playoffs is shaping up to be.
And yet ... man, there's not much to really point to and complain about in the Penguins' 3-2 loss to the Stars here at American Airlines Center on Thursday night. This was a depleted Penguins roster on the second half of a back-to-back playing against one of the Western Conference's top teams. They were the better team for much of these 60 minutes, got some pretty solid goaltending out of Casey DeSmith, and had a phenomenal effort late in the game when pushing for the tying goal.
The Penguins played well enough to win this game, or at least go home with a point. It's a disappointing result, that's for sure. But if there's any takeaway from this game, it's that this team has it in them to play well enough to solidify a spot in the postseason.
DeSmith likely would have had this start penciled in on the calendar regardless, after Tristan Jarry played Wednesday in the Penguins' win in Denver. But with Mike Sullivan announcing before the game that Jarry was out with a lower-body injury for which he is still being evaluated, the stakes felt higher. This wasn't a backup goaltender playing in his share of a back-to-back -- this is potentially your No. 1 goaltender moving forward, depending on the prognosis for Jarry.
That might not be the worst thing in the world, either. DeSmith's certainly playing his best hockey of the season. In the month of March he's posted a 2.28 goals-against average that ranks 10th among all NHL goaltenders in that span who have appeared in at least three games. His save percentage in that time is .923, which also ranks 10th among the same field of goaltenders. For a goaltender whose play was once appropriately described as "volatile" early in the season by Sullivan, DeSmith's play has both evened out and trended upward.
"I don't think I'm doing anything super different," DeSmith said. "I think I've been in there for a lot of good team efforts. The team has done a good job."
DeSmith doesn't notice much different about his own play, but his coach does.
"He's competing hard," Sullivan said of DeSmith's play as of late. "He's tracking pucks. He's playing a more patient game, he's letting the game come to him a little more, he's not chasing it. That's when Casey is at his best."
DeSmith was at his best in Thursday's loss, stopping 30 of 33 shots, including seven saves on the nine high-danger chances he faced. Those two high-danger chances he allowed were a Joe Pavelski redirect in the slot and a Jamie Benn tally off of a rebound that stood to be the game-winner.
There's no timetable for Jarry to return yet. But if DeSmith can keep playing this way, his teammates have confidence in him moving forward if he is the No. 1.
"He's playing really well, he played great tonight," Sidney Crosby told me of DeSmith. "He's been in this situation before down the stretch where he has to play a lot of games and be leaned on pretty heavily at different points. He looks confident and we're confident in him. He played another great game and gave us a chance to win tonight."
The first period was pretty evenly-matched, with the Penguins outshooting the Stars 15-14 but trailing 1-0 after Roope Hintz's goal off of a wrist shot that beat DeSmith blocker-side. The Penguins were the far better team in the second period, though. By the midway point of the second period, they were outshooting the Stars 10-1. The Stars pushed back in the second half of the second period, but the Penguins still bested them in shots (13-11), high-danger chances (9-2) and goals, with Crosby's redirect tying the game.
The back-to-back penalties by the Penguins early in the third period gave the Stars momentum. The Penguins killed off the minor from P.O Joseph's hooking call, but Chad Ruhwedel's tough high-stick right after proved costly, with Pavelski capitalizing with his redirect goal. Benn's rebound goal made it a 3-1 game less than two minutes later, and Joseph made up for his penalty with a laser of a shot that beat Jake Oettinger to make it a one-goal game again.
The Penguins' push to tie the game was encouraging. Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa slashed Crosby with just 68 seconds left in regulation, and the Penguins also pulled DeSmith to give themselves a 6-on-4 advantage. Oettinger faced a firing squad in that last minute or so. The Penguins weren't able to tie the game, but it certainly wasn't for a lack of effort or chances. They recorded 30 shot attempts to the Stars' 14 that period, had 12 high-danger chances to the Stars' five, and outshot them 14-8, with a lot of those chances coming late in the game.
The Penguins were disappointed to not get the win, or even a point, of course. Nobody thinks it was a perfect game, either. The dumb penalties late in the game didn't help, and the outcome may have even been different without Ruhwedel's high-stick alone. But it was the solid effort against a top team through tough circumstances that has this team feeling pretty good moving forward.
"We played some solid games the last few," Crosby told me. "Unfortunately, we only won one. But I think if we play like that, we give ourselves a pretty good chance to win a lot of games. We're working hard and doing a lot of good things. Eventually, we're able to put a few more in."
DeSmith said that the Penguins "really brought it" in this game.
"Everyone on the roster should feel great about the way they played tonight," DeSmith said. "The effort, the energy, that's hard to do. It's not an easy back-to-back. It's a long flight, we got in late, last night was a great effort as well. We really brought it tonight. It's really a shame that we didn't get any points out of it, because I thought everybody in this locker room deserved some points."
The Penguins have 10 games left in the season against a mixed bag of opponents including some top teams, some teams fighting for a playoff spot and some teams fighting for the best odds in the draft lottery. If they play this way down the stretch, they'll get more of those points and get themselves into a good position heading into the playoffs.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• The Penguins went through the first two periods of this game without a backup goaltender. With Jarry sidelined with a lower-body injury, Dustin Tokarski was recalled on an emergency basis earlier in the day after practicing in Wilkes-Barre early in the afternoon. He was driven from Wilkes-Barre to Newark, then had to fly commercial from Newark to Dallas. He just missed his first flight out of Newark, and the second one was delayed. He made it to the building toward the end of the second period.
"I just threw on the gear and saw Case was holding down well," Tokarski told me, nodding to DeSmith at his left. "I just put on the gear and watched the third period. Happy to be here."
Dallas emergency backup goaltender Tom Hodges was the Penguins' EBUG in the event of anything happening to DeSmith for the first two periods. The Penguins' own EBUG, Mike Chiasson, is on this road trip but the NHL made the Penguins use the Dallas emergency backup. The Penguins were allowed to use Chiasson in Boston for the Winter Classic, something OK'd by the NHL because it was technically a neutral site game.
• Jason Zucker and Jake Guentzel were both considered "game-time decisions" for this one, presumably after the shots they each took to the foot Wednesday in Colorado. Filip Hallander was recalled on an emergency basis alongside Tokarski, but obviously they didn't make it here in time. Both Zucker and Guentzel were able to play regardless, so Hallander was sent right back down to Wilkes-Barre since the emergency situation was over. Fun little day trip to Dallas for him, hopefully he at least got some barbecue.
• Side note: It's irrelevant now since a forward wasn't ultimately needed, but I saw more than a few "Why no Valtteri Puustinen?!" comments here and on social media. Puustinen hasn't scored a goal in a full month and has five assists in his last 10 games. It pays to read In the System each week.
• Crosby has now scored in every NHL city -- Dallas was his last. He was well aware of that fact, too. I asked him about it for Freeze Frame. He certainly could have had a couple more tonight, too. He led the Penguins with seven shots on goal.
• I mentioned this Wednesday in Denver, too, but the Mark Friedman-Taylor Fedun pairing is surprisingly very effective on both sides of the puck. I've watched a lot of Fedun in Wilkes-Barre and in no way saw this coming. Fedun's a reliable, steady presence on the back end, which makes him the perfect partner for the more offensive Friedman. Friedman can jump up in the play (like he did to set up Crosby's goal) and know that Fedun's right behind him in case things go awry. When they were on the ice together tonight, the Penguins led in shot attempts (14-10), unblocked shot attempts (12-7), shots on goal (9-6) and controlled 62.12% of the expected goals. The score was even at 1-1.
"These guys are competing hard out there," Sullivan said of that pairing. "They're playing within themselves, they're making simple plays, they're joining the rush when they have the opportunity, they're battling at the net-front, they're doing all the things we're asking of them. They're doing a good job for us."
• Tough night for Ryan Poehling in the faceoff circle, going 8-13 (38%). In Colorado he went 14-5, a 74% success rate. He's improving in that regard after having played wing for much of the year, though improvement isn't always linear.
• The Penguins got some help from the Maple Leafs, who beat the Panthers 6-2 and prevented Florida from leapfrogging the Penguins in the standings.
• Funny side note: I told Tokarski I liked his celebration after his shootout win last week, a goofy dance people do called the Griddy. DeSmith chimed in and said that it was better than he could have done in his pads. Tokarski laughed but said that he'd "never in a million years" do it after anything at the NHL level.
The moment Dustin Tokarski celebrated a shootout win last week by hitting the griddy was the moment I thought he deserved another shot up in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/dRSbvdvaM0
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) March 24, 2023
• This arena has a freezer in the press box for ice cream sandwiches and cones. There were nachos, popcorn, some cupcakes, and these unreal little strawberry-flavored cakes. A+.
• If you're ever in Dallas, Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum in the old Texas School Book Depository building is a must-see. Pretty surreal being here.
TAYLOR HAASE / DKPS
The old Texas School Book Depository Building on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, Dallas on Thursday
TAYLOR HAASE / DKPS
Recreation of the Texas School Book Depository sniper's nest on the sixth floor.
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at American Airlines Center:
1. Jake Oettinger, Stars G
2. Jamie Benn, Stars LW
3. Miro Heiskanen, Stars RW
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Jeff Petry suffered an upper-body injury on March 16 in New York. He has resumed skating on his own.
• Defenseman Jan Rutta is sidelined with a lower-body injury and is week-to-week. It seems like it was from the puck to the knee he took on March 14. He played on March 16 then was sidelined after that. He hasn't skated yet.
• Defenseman Marcus Pettersson suffered a lower-body injury on March 18 and is week-to-week. He hasn't resumed skating. He's on long-term injured reserve.
• Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov suffered a lower-body injury on March 12 and is week-to-week. He's on long-term injured reserve.
• Forward Nick Bonino suffered a lacerated kidney on March 9 and is week-to-week. He's on long-term injured reserve.
• Goaltender Tristan Jarry missed his first game with a lower-body injury. There's no timetable for him yet.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen - Ryan Pohling - Mikael Granlund
Drew O'Connor - Jeff Carter - Josh Archibald
P.O Joseph - Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin - Chad Ruhwedel
Mark Friedman - Taylor Fedun
And for Pete DeBoer's Stars:
Jason Robertson - Roope Hintz - Joe Pavelski
Jamie Benn - Wyatt Johnston - Evgenii Dadonov
Ty Dellandrea - Max Domi - Tyler Seguin
Frederik Olofsson - Luke Glendening - Joel Kiviranta
Miro Heiskanen - Colin Miller
Esa Lindell - Jani Hakanpaa
Ryan Suter - Nils Lundkvist
THE SCHEDULE
That's it for the road trip. The Penguins will have a travel day Friday then be back at it again at home Saturday, 8:12 p.m., against the Capitals.
THE MULTIMEDIA
THE CONTENT
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