PITTSBURGH _ No comeback was necessary this time. Not even close, actually, as the Penguins avoided a second consecutive regulation loss with a 6-2 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins have not lost back-to-back regular season games in regulation since December 2015, in coach Mike Sullivan's first four games on the job.
Thursday's win pushed the Penguins record to 14-7-3 and snapped the Stars' four-game winning streak in the series.
Sidney Crosby put the Penguins in front for good with a magnificent goal at 19:38 of the second period. He shot once at Stars netminder Antti Niemi. The puck bounced in the air, and Crosby put the rebound off Niemi's back and in.
It was Crosby's 16th of the season, and it helped him avoid going two consecutive games without a goal.
Marc-Andre Fleury started in goal and had one of his best performances of the season, stopping 32 of 34 shots to improve to 7-5-3. All but one of those wins have come on home ice.
The marquee moment may have come for Fleury at the 10:27 mark of the third, when he stopped Brett Ritchie, then scrambled to freeze the puck.
When Fleury got to his feet, the 18,240 in attendance cheered, and a smile was visible behind Fleury's mask.
Fleury didn't get credit for an assist on the Penguins' fourth goal, but he probably should have. He made two quick saves, and a beautiful passing sequence followed. Justin Schultz to Crosby to Conor Sheary, a tape-to-tape backhand pass that made it 4-2 at 16:22.
That triggered a run of three goals in 1:33, as Eric Fehr's picked up the 100th of his career with an empty-netter, and Nick Bonino scored his second in 24 games.
Ian Cole and Devin Shore exchanged goals in the first period.
It appeared Shore's goal would be credited to Stephen Johns, playing his first game in the city near where he grew up, but Johns' shot from the right dot glanced off Shore's skate.
Patric Hornqvist, who returned from a six-game absence Wednesday in Brooklyn, snapped the Penguins power play's 0-for-18 skid over its previous five-plus games at 7:43 of the second period to push the Penguins ahead, 2-1.
Tyler Seguin tied it for the Stars at 11:21, on the power play, from a severe angle.
Fleury made several key stops in the middle period. Early on, at 16:37, he went down to the butterfly to deny Brett Ritchie with his right pad on a three-on-one.
Dam Hamhuis had a backhand chance while cutting across at 15:18 that Fleury stopped.
Fleury got a little help when Patrick Sharp came with speed and left a pass for Julius Honka at 12:37, as Honka's shot clanked off the crossbar.
