PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins got off to a strong start Saturday. But a cascade of penalties and a brutal second period derailed their chances against one of the NHL’s best teams.

The Dallas Stars beat the Penguins, 6-3, on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena.

Pittsburgh played without Sidney Crosby (lower-body injury) and Evgeni Malkin (upper-body injury).

The Penguins picked up a critical shootout win Thursday in Ottawa, Canada. They rode that momentum into a tremendous opening sequence against the Stars.

They drew the first power play of the game and capitalized, as Anthony Mantha perfectly tipped an Erik Karlsson shot past Jake Oettinger. It was Mantha’s 27th goal of the season and Karlsson’s 46th assist — continuing an incredible scoring streak for the defenseman.

Pittsburgh dominated the puck for several minutes after and nearly added to the lead. But starting with an Anthony Mantha penalty about 11 minutes into the game, the Penguins spent a good chunk of the period shorthanded.

They didn’t give up a goal, despite facing 37 seconds of a 5-on-3. The penalty kill, which has struggled recently, stopped all three Stars power plays in the first period.

Stuart Skinner made multiple tough saves in that sequence.

But neither Skinner nor the penalty kill could replicate that success in the second.

Dallas tied the game about two minutes into the period. The puck popped to Justin Hryckowian amid a scramble around the net, and he fired it in against an essentially empty net, as Skinner was down and out.

Karlsson quickly put the Penguins back in front with his seventh goal in the past seven games, rifling in a pinpoint shot from the high slot.

But with the Stars back on a power play a few minutes later, Jason Robertson tied it again with his own filthy high-slot shot.

That set off a Stars avalanche.

On Dallas’ fifth power play of the game three minutes later, Robertson slid a beautiful pass to Mikko Rantanen, who announced his return from a 15-game absence with a heavy one-timer from the circle that beat Skinner.

The first three Dallas goals would have been difficult for Skinner to stop. Not so much on the fourth. Lian Bichsel rifled a shot over Skinner’s glove from just inside the blue line to put the Stars up 4-2 entering the second intermission.

Bichsel took Karlsson’s stick out of his hands just before scoring but was not penalized.

The Penguins were unable to score in consecutive power plays late in the second period and early in the third. But they clawed back to within a goal about nine minutes into the period, as Noel Acciari redirected a hard shot from Elmer Soderblom.

Karlsson registered his third point of the night with a primary assist on Acciari’s goal.

Muse pulled Skinner for the extra attacker with just over three minutes to play. With seconds, Mavrik Bourque scored on the empty net from long range to pad the Stars’ lead.

Bourque fired in another empty netter with just over a minute to play.

It was over when …

Bourque scored his first of two empty-netters to make it a multi-goal lead again.

Stat of the game

12: The Penguins’ shot total. They controlled the puck for long stretches without putting much pressure on Oettinger.

Around the boards

— Malkin missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. The team has designated him as day-to-day.

— Crosby has also been listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He exited Thursday’s shootout win in Ottawa early in the second period and did not return. Penguins coach Dan Muse does not specify whether Crosby’s latest injury is related to the lower-body injury he suffered at the Olympics that held him out for 11 games.

— The Penguins recalled forward Rutger McGroarty from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League with the injuries to Crosby and Malkin. He slotted in on a line with Ben Kindel and Ville Koivunen.

— Forwards Avery Hayes and Joona Koppanen were sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after both were called up Thursday. Neither played against the Senators.

Up next

The Penguins head to New York for the biggest game of the season so far against the Islanders at 7 p.m. ET Monday.

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