Through the course of the 82-game NHL season, there are wins and there are losses that don’t match the effort. Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins played a superior game at even strength but lost by their own hand as they could not stay out of the penalty box.
The preponderance of the calls and was eventually too much to overcome. Five straight Dallas Stars power plays and a pair of power play goals in the second period were the difference, as the Penguins’ comeback challenge lacked time and enough energy.
Every Penguins player who spoke to the media Saturday lamented losing a “winnable game” as Dallas also scored a pair of empty net goals for a 6-3 win over the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins’ loss was not as damaging in the standings as it could have been, as the Columbus Blue Jackets also lost in regulation, maintaining the Penguins’ one-point playoff cushion. However, with a win Saturday, the New York Islanders leaped over the Penguins for second place by one point, but the Penguins also have a game in hand on NYI.
The Penguins and Islanders play Monday at UBS Arena. Buckle up.
Saturday’s March of the Penguins was not through their opponent, unless you consider the humans in striped shirts to be their opponents. The Penguins took five penalties in the first 30 minutes of the game, leading to Dallas’s third and fourth goals.
Not that the Penguins didn’t commit those infractions, but after the Penguins scored a power play goal early in the game on a soft call, Dallas got most of the breaks. Those frustrating moments that only led more Penguins faithful and even some connected to the organization to wonder the worst aloud including after seeing Dallas’s fourth goal when Lian Bischel swiped Erik Karlsson’s stick, tossed it aside, then skated to the top of the zone to blast a slapshot past Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner.
“You saw it. I don’t think it does me any good or us any good by standing here and having excuses or pointing fingers,” said Karlsson.
Right in the Bichsel wheelhouse 😤 pic.twitter.com/71Jax7FNTe
— x – Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 28, 2026
As non-calls go, it was extraordinary, but in total Dallas had five power plays and the Penguins had four. And none of the calls on the Penguins were questionable, so chasing the officiating would be a fool’s errand.
“We’ve got to we focus on what we can control. I don’t think anybody is going to walk out today feeling good about our game. We’ve got to be better,” said Muse. “Again, it’s all of us, myself included. The things that we have zero control over, we’re not going to waste our time on that. We’re focusing on our game and what we can do right now. Tomorrow, it’s going to be to prepare for going to New York.”
By the end of the second period, the Dallas Stars led 4-2, and the Penguins’ previously energetic legs were wobbly.
The Penguins regained their footing in the third period and closed to within 4-3 midway through the third period when Elmer Soderblom blasted a shot off Noel Acciari, but that was as close as they got.
Penguins Analysis
The Penguins effort was without captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but Erik Karlsson had his second straight three-point game, scoring a goal with two more assists. He is the NHL’s second leading scorer in March with 24 points and counting,
Generally, the Penguins outplayed Dallas at even strength, but those power play chances meant Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust spent a lot of time on the ice while shorthanded and Dallas had momentum.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Penguins and Stars each had 18 scoring chances at even strength, and the Penguins had more high-danger chances (7-5).
“I think we got going in the third again. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t pull through all the way to the end. We unfortunately didn’t do enough today to win,” Karlsson said. “I think it was a winnable game for us, the way it was played. But kudos to them. They did a good job. They stuck with it longer than we did.”
Perhaps the biggest indicator of the special teams’ parade, the even-strength shots on goal were only 10-7 for Dallas after two periods.
That’s a shame because the Penguins’ fourth line grinders brought their lunch boxes and created zone time and pressure, which put the top line centered by Rickard Rakell in the offensive zone several times.
Xs and Os
Tactically, the Penguins were well prepared for Dallas’s structure. Muse detailed their strategy in the pregame talk with the media.
“I think this is a game where you’ve got to have some patience with it. They’re going to defend hard. They have good structure,” Muse said. “And so we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing the right things away from the puck. We’re setting ourselves up to play more in the offensive zone. And I think it’s just a team that plays a hard, grinding game. We have to have patience within our game and focus on our details.”
The Penguins avoided Dallas’s neutral zone structure and defensive clog by altering their preferred breakout. The Penguins typically excel when they find the center-up pass to create speed past a forecheck. Saturday, the Penguins used the left wall especially well.
The left side was the primary outlet, and the second forward then provided another up-outlet on the left side in the neutral zone.
The Penguins followed their quick zone escapes with plenty of dump-and-chase hockey, at which they performed quite well. This is where the grinders came into play; the Penguins’ fourth line and especially 6-foot-8 Elmer Soderblom figured prominently.
Ultimately, those penalties, that time shorthanded, and the lack of reciprocity caught the Penguins.
Skinner also alluded to opposing teams finding a crack in the Penguins’ penalty killing, which is currently without Blake Lizotte. The Penguins’ PK was quite good in the first period as they allowed little time or space and had three odd-man rushes. But they faded deeper into the game.
“I mean, I think teams are starting to, I’m guessing, look at our PK and their pre-scout and trying to find some holes. I think some teams are making some really good plays,” Skinner said. “Caroline made some really good plays on us, sneaking pucks through the middle. I think at times we can give their team a little bit too much time and space. But in saying that, we’ve got a heck of a PK. It’s just not going our way right now.”
Penguins Report Card
Team: Good?
The Penguins did much good Saturday, but they mustered just nine shots in the first 40 minutes, a season-low, 12 shots on goal. They attempted plenty more, but Dallas is adept at filling shooting lanes with legs, bodies, and sticks.
Dallas blocked 25 shots.
On the positive ledger, the Penguins’ puck pursuit was as good as it has been in some time. Their energy level and even their structure were on point in the first and third periods, but that second period was–pun intended–an iceberg.
Those penalties were stick fouls and too many men on the ice; they were not soft calls and could have been avoided.
Stuart Skinner: B-
One softy and one bad luck goal. Skinner made some brilliant saves to keep the Penguins in the game. Dallas’s third goal was just a storm of terrible timing; Skinner was peering around Matt Duchene in the slot. Just as Skinner leaned to his left and to his right to get a look at the puck. Just as Skinner leaned to his right, Robertson whipped the shot to Skinner’s left. Adding to the unluckiness was penalty killer Noel Acciari was hurt blocking the previous shot. As Acciari hunched over in pain near the net, Robertson had acres of space at the top of the zone where Acciari would have been.
Kris Letang: A
Letang provided a little offense, making several good keeps at the blue line. He was also quite good in the defensive zone and good at getting the puck out of the zone. Credit Letang for nullifying a few scoring chances and playing with patience. His was a steady presence.
Elmer Soderblom: A+
The big man had a big game. He was all over the puck in the offensive zone. His pursuit created several extended offensive zone sequences, including the longest of the game when the Penguins controlled the O-zone for approximately two minutes, even executing a line change while they maintained pressure.
Soderblom also set up the Penguins’ second goal by creating a few loose pucks in the offensive zone on one shift–Dallas simply couldn’t escape him before Karlsson went bar-down from the slot for the goal.
Erik Karlsson: A
Consecutive three points games and the best Penguins month since Paul Coffey picked up the Mario Lemieux-less Penguins in February 1990. It’s fair to compare Coffey’s career stretch to Karlsson’s.
The Penguins’ D-man is controlling the game in the offensive zone. He’s defending well at even strength and even on the PK. He won’t win the Norris, but he deserves votes.
Bad Grades
Tommy Novak: The Penguins lines centered by Novak Saturday combined for one shot on goal. It’s becoming a far too recurring theme to grade Novak as invisible. He did not have a shot on goal, had just one blocked and one miss. His miss was a glorious chance from the slot that sailed over the net. At the risk of piling on, he also lost six of seven faceoffs.
Justin Brazeau: See above. Repeat.
Ville Koivunen: The table was set for the Penguins “Kids Line” to have some fun. Koivunen played with Ben Kindel and Rutger McGroarty, but the puck touches were largely Kindel’s. McGroarty had three shots blocked, but Koivunen only attempted one shot. He has a lot more to give, and the Penguins desperately need it without their top two players in the lineup.
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