Patric Hornqvist and Jamie Oleksiak scored goals in the first period and the Pittsburgh defense limited Dallas to just 18 shots as the Penguins outlasted the Stars 3-1 on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh recaptured first place in the Metropolitan Division with the win, which was its fourth in its past five matches.

Dallas remains three points behind Minnesota for third place in the Central Division; the Stars still hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.

The Penguins drew first blood with 7:03 to play in the first period when Hornqvist teed up a pass on the power play from Evgeni Malkin and one-timed it past Dallas goalkeeper Kari Lehtonen. Sidney Crosby earned an assist on the goal.

Pittsburgh doubled its lead late in the first period as Oleksiak, the former Dallas defenseman, burned his old team with a slap shot that beat Lehtonen high on the glove side with just four seconds left in the frame. Phil Kessel and Riley Sheahan got assists.

Alexander Radulov brought Dallas back to within a goal at the 12:03 mark of the second period. Radulov collected a cross-ice pass from Jason Spezza and buried a shot from a sharp angle behind Pittsburgh netminder Casey DeSmith while on a two-man advantage. Tyler Seguin garnered the other assist on the score.

Malkin added an empty-netter with 44 seconds to play as the Stars pressed for the tying goal and added a sixth attacker in lieu of Lehtonen. Crosby passed the puck to Malkin before the length-of-the-ice shot and was granted his second assist of the match.

Dallas is 5-6-2 in its past 13 games following a five-game winning streak.

The Stars continue on with their six-game road trip, the second of which will be on Tuesday in Montreal. Pittsburgh also plays on the road for its next three matches, beginning Wednesday against the Rangers in New York.

--Field Level Media