First-time goal scorers lead Penguins to victory over Stars

DALLAS — Even in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins had spoken highly of their method. They were pleased with how they were playing. To a man, the players were implementing the style demanded of them.

But while a perfectly executed breakout or a precisely executed faceoff play will satisfy a coach, wins are ultimately what matter.

“We’re in a results business,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “That’s just the world that we all live in. And I think our players are well aware of that.”

They got the result they wanted Saturday with a 3-0 victory against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. They were buoyed by two players who hadn’t gotten any sort of result in the area of goal scoring over the first 11 games of the season: Dominik Kahun and Bryan Rust.

The Penguins got on the scoreboard at 7 minutes, 29 seconds of the third. Stars goaltender Ben Bishop fumbled a puck exchange behind his net and allowed a forechecking Kahun to steal it and feed a pass to forward Sam Lafferty in the slot. Lafferty shuffled a wrister into a scrambling Bishop, who tried to fall backward and plant his 6-foot-7 frame on the puck in hopes of freezing it.

The puck came loose in the crease, however, and Kahun, from the right of the cage, jabbed it into the net with a forehand shot. For Kahun, acquired in an offseason trade, it was his first goal with the Penguins.

“It’s great for Dom Kahun,” Sullivan said. “We felt he was all around it for the last handful of games. He’s had a lot of chances, and the puck hasn’t gone in the net for him. He gets a big one for us tonight.”

Rust also had been scoreless in the first 11 games of the season. But then again, he hadn’t played in any of those games as he had been sidelined since suffering a left hand injury in the preseason.

He struck at 9:07 of the third.

Off a faceoff win in the right circle by Penguins forward Nick Bjugstad, who also returned to the lineup after missing nine games because of an undisclosed ailment, forward Patric Hornqvist fed a pass to rookie defenseman John Marino at the right point. Marino whacked a slapper that struck Stars forward Justin Dowling and caromed to the right of the cage. Rust jumped on the rebound and darted to the left side of the net, sweeping the puck into the crease.

Trying to shield a potential pass, Stars defenseman John Klingberg inadvertently deflected the puck with his right skate into the net. It was Rust’s first goal since March 21, and Marino recorded his first career point with the primary assist.

“Its good for both of us to kind of get involved there,” Rust said of himself and Bjugstad. “It’s, obviously, good for the team to get a win here after losing three in a row.”

Forward Brandon Tanev secured victory at 18:46 with an empty net score.

Goaltender Matt Murray kept his net clean by stopping 25 shots for his first shutout of the season. The bulk of his work came in the first two periods as his team was outshot 22-11.

“I just tried to do my job,” Murray said. “Honestly, I just tried to make as many saves as I could. They play a hard game. They get a lot of bodies to the net, and they make it difficult. I loved the character we showed coming out of the third.”

There were anxious moments over captain Sidney Crosby’s well being. In the final moments of the second period, he was struck on the left side of his head with a puck shot by teammates Kris Letang.

After not initially beginning the third with his teammates, Crosby eventually emerged from the dressing room and recorded his first shift 2:47 into the period.

“We’re always concerned when somebody gets hit by a shot like that, the way he did,” Sullivan said of Crosby, who has suffered multiple head injuries during his career. “He was able to come back in the game. He was evaluated by the doctors. We’ll continue to evaluate him.”

The Penguins were happy to evaluate and celebrate a win for the first time in eight days.