Pittsburgh Penguins at Dallas Stars

· National Hockey League

Pittsburgh Penguins

31-34-12

Final
5 - 3

Dallas Stars

50-22-4

Crosby has 3 goals and an assist as Penguins score 4 in 3rd period to beat Stars 5-3.

Sidney Crosby nets hat trick in thrilling win over Dallas

Bryan Rust and Blake Lizotte also scored to help the Penguins get their second win in three games. Tristan Jarry stopped 21 shots.

Evgenii Dadonov scored three goals for his second hat trick, and Casey DeSmith finished with 35 saves as Dallas snapped a seven-game win streak and 10-game point streak (8-0-2).

Rust tied it 3-3 at 8:49 of the third period as he got a pass in front from Crosby, staked around a sprawled DeSmith and put a backhander into the open net. It was Rust's 200th NHL goal.

Lizotte put the Penguins ahead 4-3 with 1:43 remaining, and Crosby completed his 14th career regular season hat trick with an empty-netter for his 30th goal with 15 seconds to go.

Crosby tied it 2-2 just 20 seconds into the third, getting a centering pass from Rutger McGroarty on the goal line back in front and redirecting a backhander past DeSmith.

Dadonov finished his hat trick at 3:11 to put the Stars back in front as he beat Jarry from the right side with a backhander.

Dadonov put the Stars ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal from below the left circle with 7:24 left in the second.

Takeaways Penguins: Pittsburgh began the day nine points out of a playoff spot and got its third win in eight games (3-3-2).

Stars: Dallas lost for the first time since March 14 at Winnipeg, and lost at home in regulation for just the eighth time this season.

Key moment With the score tied late, Stars defensemen Thomas Harley and Cody Ceci ran into each other and turned the puck over in their defensive zone, Danton Heinen fed Blake Lizotte, who beat DeSmith for the go-ahead goal with 1:43 left.

Key stat Crosby has 11 goals and nine assists during a 12-game point streak, the longest active point streak in the NHL and the fourth-longest of his career. It is also tied Jean Beliveau (1970-71), Brett Hull (2003-04), Joe Sakic (2006-07) and Mathieu Schneider (2006-07) for the longest point streak by a player 37 or older in NHL history.

Up next Penguins play at Chicago on Sunday to open a home-and-home set, and Stars visit Minnesota.

Regular Season Series

Series tied 1-1

Scoring Summary

Goal	1st Period 4:16	Sidney Crosby Goal (28) Snap Shot, assists: Evgeni Malkin (32), Kris Letang (21)
Goal	1st Period 10:43	Evgenii Dadonov Goal (17) Snap Shot, assists: Oskar Bäck (12), Lian Bichsel (5)
Goal	2nd Period 12:36	Evgenii Dadonov Goal (18) Snap Shot, assists: Matt Duchene (49), Mathew Dumba (8)
Goal	3rd Period 0:20	Sidney Crosby Goal (29) Snap Shot, assists: Rutger McGroarty (2)
Goal	3rd Period 3:11	Evgenii Dadonov Goal (19) Backhand, assists: Thomas Harley (33), Ilya Lyubushkin (13)
Goal	3rd Period 8:49	Bryan Rust Goal (28) Backhand, assists: Sidney Crosby (56)
Goal	3rd Period 18:17	Blake Lizotte Goal (11) Snap Shot, assists: Danton Heinen (18)
Goal	3rd Period 18:45	Sidney Crosby Goal (30) Wrist Shot, assists: Conor Timmins (11)

Statistics

PIT		DAL
11	Blocked Shots	20
17	Hits	8
5	Takeaways	6
40	Shots	24
1	Power Play Goals	1
3	Power Play Opportunities	2
33.3	Power Play Percentage	50.0
0	Short Handed Goals	0
0	Shootout Goals	0
38	Faceoffs Won	26
59.4	Faceoff Win Percent	40.6
20	Giveaways	23
2	Total Penalties	3
4	Penalty Minutes	6

Dallas Stars Injuries

NAME, POS	STATUS	DATE
Lian Bichsel, D	Injured Reserve	Feb 4

Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

NAME, POS	STATUS	DATE
Rickard Rakell, RW	Day-To-Day	Feb 6
Noel Acciari, C	Day-To-Day	Feb 6
Blake Lizotte, C	Day-To-Day	Feb 6
Caleb Jones, D	Injured Reserve	Feb 4
Kris Letang, D	Injured Reserve	Jan 31