Rantanen has goal, assist in return, Stars defeat Penguins

PITTSBURGH -- Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his return from missing 15 games with a lower-body injury, and the Dallas Stars scored four goals in the second period en route to a 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday.

The 29-year-old forward last played for Dallas on Feb. 4, before being injured on Feb. 20 while playing for Team Finland against Team Canada in the semifinals of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

“A little rusty, obviously,” Rantanen said. “It’s a lot different than practicing, you know? You can do a lot of things in the practice, but games are a little different. Sometimes you think it’s faster than it is.

“We got a lot of power plays, so I got the puck a lot. I think that helped me get into the game. But overall, the body felt good.”

Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist, and Mavrik Bourque had two empty-net goals and an assist for the Stars (44-18-11), who had lost four in a row (0-3-1). Jamie Benn had two assists, and Jake Oettinger made nine saves.

Dallas is second in the Central Division, seven points behind the Colorado Avalanche.

“I thought [the Penguins] played very well,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “They played very structured. They play with a lot of passion in their game, a lot of intensity. I thought it was a tough game for us. Kudos to them.”

Erik Karlsson had a goal and two assists for his second straight three-point game, and Stuart Skinner made 20 saves for the Penguins (36-21-16), who have lost three of four and are one point behind the New York Islanders for second in the Metropolitan Division.

Pittsburgh played without forwards Sidney Crosby (lower body) and Evgeni Malkin (upper body), who are each day to day.

“We focus in on what we can control,” Penguins coach Dan Muse said. “I don’t think anybody is going to walk out of today feeling good about our game. We’ve got to be better. It’s all of us, myself included.”

Anthony Mantha put Pittsburgh up 1-0 with a power-play goal at 2:12 of the first period. Karlsson sent a wrist shot on net from the blue line and Mantha tipped the puck through Oettinger's pads from in front.

Justin Hryckowian tied it 1-1 at 2:10 of the second period. Colin Blackwell had a shot blocked by Ben Kindel and it bounced to Hryckowian near the right circle for a wrist shot into an open net.

Karlsson put the Penguins back up just 48 seconds later at 2:58 when he buried a wrist shot from between the circles that went bar down.

“I think it was a winnable game for us today,” Karlsson said. “Ultimately, we didn’t do the work. They’re a good team for a reason. They showed that today.”

The Stars scored three straight goals in a 4:26 span to take the lead.

Robertson evened the game 2-2 at 7:12 while on the power play. He took a pass from Rantanen and put a wrist shot from between the circles past a screened Skinner into the top right corner for his 40th of the season.

“Not forcing it was a big thing,” Robertson said. “And, I mean, having a lot of talent out there helps.”

Rantanen's power-play goal at 10:12 gave Dallas a 3-2 lead. Robertson fed a no-look cross-ice pass to Rantanen in the right circle, where he one-timed the puck in off Skinner's glove.

Lian Bichsel pushed the lead to 4-2 with a one-timer from the point over Skinner's right shoulder at 11:38.

Noel Acciari cut the deficit to 4-3 while on the power play at 8:54 of the third period. Elmer Soderblom's one-timer from the right boards deflected in off Acciari as he battled in front of the net.

Bourque scored into an empty net to extend it to 5-3 at 16:52, and added another empty-net goal at 18:50 to secure the 6-3 final.

“I thought we had a great start,” Pittsburgh forward Bryan Rust said. “I thought we were in their face. We had some really good shifts. Got into penalty trouble. I think that hurt us.

“I don’t think we did a very good job of playing hard and simple to get that momentum back on our side.”

NOTES: Robertson tied forward Wyatt Johnston for the team lead with 40 goals. They are the first pair of teammates with 40 goals in a season for the Stars/Minnesota North Stars since Brian Bellows (55) and Dave Gagner (40) in 1989-90. ... Robertson is the third player in Stars/North Stars history with three 40-goal seasons, alongside Dino Ciccarelli (four) and Bellows (three). ... Karlsson, who has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in his past 15 games, has had nine games with at least two points in March. He is the sixth defenseman in NHL history with nine multipoint games in a month, joining Bobby Orr (10 in Dec. 1974 and nine in March 1973), Cale Makar (nine in Nov. 2023), Paul Coffey (nine in Jan. 1985 and Jan. 1986), Larry Robinson (nine in Jan. 1986) and Denis Potvin (nine in March 1979). ... Karlsson (13 goals, 47 assists) reached 60 points for the eighth time in the NHL, the most among active defensemen and second-most all-time by a Swedish defenseman (Nicklas Lidstrom, nine).