McCann nets two, lifting Penguins over Stars
Jared McCann scored twice Saturday, including a short-handed goal off a spin move to break a third-period tie, to pace the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars.
Jake Guentzel also scored, and Phil Kessel had two assists for the Penguins (41-24-11), who have won two straight, have points in seven of eight and kept pace in points (93) with the second-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division. Goaltender Matt Murray stopped 29 shots.
Tyler Seguin and Andrew Cogliano scored for Dallas (38-31-6, 82 points), which finished a five-game homestand 1-3-1 and remains in the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Colorado. Anton Khudobin made 27 saves
Guentzel opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 15:25 of the first. His 10th goal in 14 games, and 38th overall, came when he got a rebound of a Kessel shot and sent a sharp-angle attempt inside the left post. Kessel picked up his 50th assist and Kris Letang his 40th on the play.
Dallas pulled even 1-1 at 1:03 of the second. Seguin took a cross-zone pass from Alexander Radulov and lifted the puck past Murray's glove. That gave Seguin 11 points in nine games.
Pittsburgh's Erik Gudbranson beat Khudobin from the right point at 5:24 of the second, but it was waved off -- and the call upheld upon a Pittsburgh challenge -- because the Penguins' Teddy Blueger interfered with the goalie.
McCann gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 14:41 of the second. Kessel carried the puck behind the Stars net and centered a pass to McCann, whose shot whizzed past Khudobin's right pad.
With 1:20 left in the second, Cogliano tied it, beating Murray glove side from near the left dot off of a rush.
McCann struck again for the third Pittsburgh lead, 3-2, at 4:20 of the third. He took a feed from Blueger, orchestrated a spinorama as he moved down the inner edge of the right circle and beat Khudobin far side on a backhander.
It was McCann's fifth goal in eight games and just the second short-handed marker allowed by the Stars all season.
--Field Level Media
