The Dallas Stars fell one goal short in a shootout loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, after a wild night of scoring and a potentially controversial hit.
Pascal Dupuis beat Kari Lehtonen for the third and deciding goal in the fourth round of a shootout for a 4-3 Penguins win. Jamie Benn, Sheldon Souray, and Michael Ryder all scored for the Stars in the loss, while left winger Loui Eriksson had two assists. Ryder's goal came halfway through the third period to tie the game and ultimately send it to overtime, after Pittsburgh opened the third with two goals to take a 3-2 lead.
The talk of the night, however, concerned the hit Dallas' Eric Lystrom put on Pittsburgh's Kris Letang at 9:55 in the first period. Lystrom was penalized for roughing after hitting Letang behind the Pens' goal. Letang left the game with an "upper body injury." Pens head coach Dan Bylsma commented on the hit after the game:
"Kris Letang is upper body and day-to-day at this point," coach Dan Bylsma said. "It's a hit along the boards. [Letang was] reaching for the puck. I have not seen the replay on it. I know 24 [Nystrom] traveled the distance to go into make the hit."
The overtime loss gave the Stars one point (71 in 64 games) and a slim lead over Colorado and Calgary (both have 70 points in 64 games played) for the final spot in the Western Conference.
For more on the Dallas Stars, check out Defending Big D. For news and info on the Pittsburgh Penguins, head over to Pensburgh, and for all your NHL coverage, visit SB Nation's NHL page.