Penguins Suffer Injuries, Outlast Stars 4-3
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — The Penguins limped away with a 4-3 shootout win in Dallas Wednesday night, losing a few stars in the process.
Defenseman Kris Letang left the game not five minutes into the first period when he suffered a blow to the head from Dallas winger Eric Nystrom. As Letang reached for the puck, Nystrom appeared to clip him in the jaw, sending Letang to the ice.
He did not return.
Letang has already suffered one concussion this season, when he was blindsided by Montreal's Max Pacioretty Nov. 26. It isn't yet known whether or not he suffered a concussion Wednesday night. He was listed as day-to-day after the game.
The Penguins also lost Steve Sullivan, who scored the first Pittsburgh goal of the evening at 18:53 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1, in the second period. He made an attempt to return in the second, but ended up sitting for the entire third period.
It appears that Sullivan's injury is not severe and he may be able to play Saturday at Colorado. The nature of his injury is not yet known.
Jamie Benn opened the scoring at 15:25 of the first period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. Sullivan tied the game just before the first intermission.
Sheldon Souray gave the Stars a 2-1 lead just before time expired in the second period. Despite the momentum boost heading into the second intermission, it was the Pens that came out strong in the third period.
Craig Adams was able to direct a Jordan Staal shot past Dallas goaltender Kari Lehtonen to tie the game, 2-2, at the 3:33 mark of the third period. Less than a minute later, Chris Kunitz deflected a Paul Martin shot in for the first Pittsburgh lead of the night.
Michael Ryder knotted the game back up, 3-3, at 7:23 of the third period and the game remained tied into overtime.
The Stars had the benefit of a 4-on-3 power play for the opening 1:44 of overtime from a hooking minor issued to Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, but they could not cash in.
The game went to a four-round shootout. Pascal Dupuis gave the Penguins a 3-2 advantage in the fourth round and Marc-Andre Fleury shut the door on Ryder for the win.
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