The Pittsburgh Penguins’ struggles in the shootout continued Sunday as they were defeated by the Dallas Stars, 3-2, at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Stars forward Mikko Rantanen scored the lone goal in the shootout.

The Penguins fell to 0-4 in shootouts this season.

Goaltender Tristan Jarry made 21 saves on 23 shots in regulation and overtime as his record slipped to 9-2-1. He allowed one goal on three shootouts.

“A little disappointing,” Jarry said to reporters in Dallas via audio provided by the team’s media relations department. “We were right there.”

Jarry’s appearance on Sunday marked the first time this season any of the Penguins’ goaltenders – including rookies Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov - started three consecutive games.

Sunday’s game also presented the first absence of the season for Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. He was scratched because of an undisclosed injury, and, according to a release from the team, Malkin is considered “day-to-day.”

He entered Sunday tied for the team lead in scoring with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 26 games.

Meanwhile, Penguins forwards Noel Acciari and Justin Brazeau rejoined the lineup after being activated from injury reserve. Each of them had carried that designation since Nov. 4.

The Penguins opened the scoring 18:18 into regulation via forward Connor Dewar’s sixth goal of the season.

From his own right corner, Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves cleared a puck out of danger and flipped a pass to the neutral zone for Acciari. After throwing a bit of a reverse hit against Stars defenseman Alexander Petrovic, Acciari backhanded a puck up the left wing wall for linemate Blake Lizotte. Gaining the offensive zone, Lizotte drew in Stars forward Oskar Back and dished a pass to the high slot for a wide open Dewar, who swatted a low one-timer through goaltender Jake Oettinger’s five hole. Lizotte and Acciari had assists.

Stars forward Jamie Benn’s fourth goal tied the game only 87 seconds into the second period.

Taking a pass at the center red line between the penalty boxes, Stars forward Jason Robertson snapped a cross-ice pass for linemate Roope Hintz, who burst into the offensive zone on the left with all the momentum of a comet. As Penguins forward Kevin Hayes offered a futile pursuit and ex-Stars defenseman Matt Dumba drifted out of position, Hintz slipped a clever pass to the right hashmarks for Benn, who swept a one-timer by Jarry’s glove on the near side. Hintz and Robertson registered assists.

The visitors restored a lead at 5:56 of the second period by way of forward Tommy Novak’s fourth goal.

From the left point of the offensive zone, former Stars defensive prospect Ryan Shea lobbed a wrister toward the cage that struck Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen in the near circle. The ensuing rebound trickled free in the high slot, where Novak collected it and coolly offloaded it to the lower right circle for linemate Sidney Crosby. Considering his options for a moment, Crosby fed a pass to the center point for Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who chopped a rising one-timer. Stationed below the hashmarks with little resistance, Novak deflected the puck with his stick past Oettinger’s glove. Letang and Crosby collected assists.

Heiskanen’s sixth goal came at 18:11 of the third period with Oettinger pulled for an extra attacker.

Off some perimeter passing in the offensive zone, Stars forward Wyatt Johnson accepted the puck low on the left wing, then retreated to the top of the near circle before feeding it to Heiskanen at the center point. Backtracking towards the right point, Heiskanen fed it to the right point for Johnston, who maneuvered a bit toward the high slot, then fed it back to Heiskanen. Still stationed at the right point, Heiskanen cranked a one-timer that glanced off the backside of a kneeling Lizotte and rocketed past Jarry’s blocker on the far side. Graves appeared to screen Jarry on the sequence. Johnston and linemate Mikko Rantanen recorded assists.

In the shootout, Penguins forward Bryan Rust, as well as Crosby and Letang, were denied by Oettinger on their attempts. Meanwhile, Robertson hit a post while Duchene was denied by Jarry.

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“We were in a good spot,” Letang said. “To let that two points go, it’s kind of hard.”

Notes:

• Dating back to last season, the Penguins have lost eight consecutive shootouts. That is the longest such drought in franchise history.

• It has been just over a calendar year since their last shootout victory. They claimed a 4-3 home win against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 16, 2024. Crosby, forward Anthony Beauvillier and Malkin all scored in the shootout for the Penguins while goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped three of five shootout attempts.

• Malkin entered Sunday with the fifth-longest consecutive games played streak on the team at 31. In fact, he was one of only five players on the Penguins who had a streak that began before this season.

The four longest active consecutive games played streaks for the Penguins:

Erik Karlsson, D – 191 games

Sidney Crosby, C – 50 games

Connor Dewar, C – 44 games

Ryan Shea, D – 36 games

• In addition to Karlsson, Crosby, Dewar and Shea, the only members of the Penguins who have played in all 27 of the team’s games this season are forward Anthony Mantha, Novak, Letang and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon.

• Lizotte, Rust and Wotherspoon were the only non-goaltenders on the Penguins who failed to record a shot in regulation or overtime.

• Penguins defensemen Harrison Brunicke and Connor Clifton were healthy scratches.