Stars look to keep win streak alive vs. skidding Pens

The Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins each bring a three-game streak, going in opposite directions, into their game Saturday at American Airlines Arena.

Since the Penguins beat the Stars 4-2 on Oct. 18 in Pittsburgh, Dallas has won three straight games, while Pittsburgh has lost three in a row.

The Stars, when they lost to the Penguins, had just one win. They have since beaten Philadelphia, Ottawa and Anaheim, the latter two by 2-1 scores at home after a 1-4 road trip. They lost five of their first six one-goal games before winning the two in a row.

"We are finding ways to win," veteran winger Corey Perry told the Stars' website. "It's not pretty, but it's been effective, and it's getting the job done."

Perry, after spending his entire career with Anaheim, signed with Dallas for this season, but he missed the first seven games because of an earlier foot injury.

Perry has a goal and two assists in his five games, but he hasn't necessarily been responsible for the turnaround. Sometimes, just breaking through with a couple wins goes a long way.

"We've got to keep building," Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said. "It's much easier to teach and build on positives and also teach on areas (in which) we need to get better when you're winning.

"The players are more receptive, and I think coaches do it in a better fashion if things continue to build positively."

Pittsburgh was doing a fair amount of winning before its current losing streak.

The Penguins won five games in a row before being shut out at home by Vegas and former Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, then losing the first two games of their current road trip, at Florida and Tampa Bay.

Pittsburgh has been resilient through a rash of injuries to key forwards -- Evgeni Malkin, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust in particular, with Jared McCann also missing a couple games recently -- but those absences might be catching up.

The Penguins have scored just four goals over their three-game losing streak.

The injury tide might be turning, however. Rust -- who has not played this season after being hit in the hand by a shot in the team's final preseason game -- and Bjugstad, who has missed the past nine of Pittsburgh's 11 games because of an undisclosed injury, could return against Dallas.

"We're hoping to have both of those guys for Saturday," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford told DK Pittsburgh Sports.

With McCann filling in for Malkin as the second-line center, Bjugstad would seem likely to fill his initial role for this season as third-line center, although that could be a fluid situation.

Rust is a versatile winger who could slot in on any line, either side, depending partly on which one or two younger forwards the team returns to the American Hockey League after being recalled on an emergency basis.

The Penguins adopted a more responsible style of play during the winning streak because of the missing injured players. They feel they are still adhering to that, and it will again result in success.

"I really hope so. And yeah, I think that will be the case," Pittsburgh defenseman Justin Schultz told The Athletic. "It just (stinks) right now because we've played some pretty good hockey here and haven't had much to show for it."

--Field Level Media