Stars at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are mired in one of their worst tailspins in over a decade, winning only once in their last 10 games, but there may be a reason for optimism on the horizon. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby participated fully in practice Tuesday for the first time in a week and could be back in the lineup for Wednesday's home game against the Dallas Stars.
Pittsburgh suffered its fourth straight loss Monday night, squandering a three-goal lead in a 5-4 loss to visiting Buffalo, so coach Mike Sullivan is hopeful Crosby is nearing a return. "He looks pretty close to me," Sullivan said Tuesday. "He had a strong practice today. We'll see how he responds. His status is still day-to-day, but obviously he had a real good practice today and that's encouraging." The Stars are dealing with a key injury of their own as goaltender Ben Bishop was hurt in Monday's loss to the New York Rangers. Dallas has split the first two contests of its three game road trip and has won six of eight against Pittsburgh over the previous four seasons.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southwest Plus (Dallas), AT&T Sportsnet-Pittsburgh
ABOUT THE STARS (11-8-2): Bishop turned aside 12 of 13 shots against the Rangers before exiting with a lower-body injury that is expected to sideline him for at least one week, Dallas coach Jim Montgomery said Tuesday. Backup Anton Khudobin, who made 29 starts for Boston last season, will take a 2.37 goals-against average and .925 save percentage into Wednesday's matchup. "It's not easy, but that's the part of the job," Khudobin said. "Not really that I'm planning that I am playing every day, but at the same time I have to prepare for it. Nothing changes."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (7-8-4): Crosby, who has missed three games due to an upper-body injury, skated on a line with Jake Guentzel and Patric Hornqvist on Tuesday but was non-committal about playing against Dallas. "It's always difficult watching," Crosby said. "You want to be with the group regardless of winning or losing. You want to be out there, but especially when you lose. You want to go out and help in any way you can. Just trying to stay positive and do my best to get back." Center Evgeni Malkin did not practice Tuesday but is expected to play Wednesday.
OVERTIME
1. Penguins F Tanner Pearson had a goal and an assist Monday, his first points in three games since he was acquired from Los Angeles.
2. Stars C Tyler Seguin has scored four times in the past six games and has eight goals in 21 contests versus Pittsburgh.
3. Malkin has seven assists during a four-game point streak, including two in three straight contests.