PITTSBURGH — An offensive outburst hardly seemed likely when the Penguins opened the season.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were still recovering from offseason surgeries. Jake Guentzel sat out the first game as he completed his COVID isolation period. And by the end of Game 2, Bryan Rust would be sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Yet, thanks to the significant contributions from the bottom-six and depth players stepping into more prominent roles, the Penguins – somehow – were the NHL’s highest-scoring team through the first three games with 15 goals.
Well, about that…
During the Penguins’ 2-1 shootout loss at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, water found its level.
On an evening the Penguins honored their legendary play-by-play voice with Mike Lange Night, there were few opportunities to recite his catchy goal calls. The Penguins and Dallas Stars engaged in a low-scoring, rock fight with no power plays for either team, not a ton of shots and limited scoring chances.
Alexander Radulov eventually won the game for the Stars when he beat Tristan Jarry in the third round of a shootout.
The Penguins earned a loser point in the process for pushing the game to overtime. They’ve now secured six of eight possible points through the first four games of the season.
After a sluggish first period, the Dallas Stars made a late push and captured a 1-0 lead with just 10 seconds remaining in the period. The Penguins, in the midst of a change with a mismatched group of forwards and defensemen on the ice, lost Michael Raffl in coverage as the Stars gained the offensive zone. Radek Faska found Raffl all alone in the right circle. He one-timed the puck, top-shelf, past Jarry.
The Penguins evened the score 5:26 into the second period. A good shift with extended offensive zone time from the Teddy Blueger line stressed the Stars. Then, defenseman John Marino jumped into the play. When Brock McGinn’s rebound landed in the slot, Marino was in the right place at the right time to bury it.
Marino could prove to be one of the Penguins' x-factors this season. He burst onto the scene as a rookie who could seemingly do no wrong during his 2019-20 rookie season. His poise with the puck, mobility and Harvard-educated hockey mind was well on display.
However, there were times last season when Marino got caught trying to do too much with the puck. He was hoping to add an offensive dimension to match his consistent defensive game. Instead, Marino was just half as productive offensively in his second season. In 52 games, he netted three goals, 10 assists and a plus-five rating as compared to six goals, 20 assists and a plus-17 rating as a rookie.
It’s still early in Year 3. But Marino is beginning to flash that offensive upside that the team believed would come. Through four games, he’s tied with Jeff Carter and Kris Letang for the team lead with four points, including that one goal.
Meanwhile, Jarry was not tested a ton. He was solid enough to give the Penguins a chance to win. Some of his best saves came in the most-critical moments.
With just under 10 minutes remaining, Jacob Peterson ripped a one-timer from the left circle. Jarry slid across his save to rob Peterson and keep the game knotted at 1, as the crowd burst into a “Jarr-yyy! Jarr-yyy! Jarr-yyy!” chant.
In total, Jarry stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced. On the other end of the ice, Braden Holby saved 27 of 28 to earn the win.
The Penguins return to action at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday to host the Toronto Maple Leafs.
