3. ... Korver missed a free throw for only the third time this season.

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Lee Stempniak have been playing together for less than two weeks. Funny, they looked like longtime friends during Pittsburghs 5-1 demolition of Dallas on Tuesday night. Quick to the puck and even quicker to the net, the Penguins top line overwhelmed the suddenly struggling Stars as Pittsburgh bounced back from a dismal weekend sweep at the hands of Philadelphia by jumping on Dallas early. Crosby scored his 32nd goal less than 5 minutes in, added his 33rd early in the third period and dished out an assist on Stempniaks first goal with the Penguins to push his point total to an NHL-leading 91. More importantly, Pittsburgh hardly looked like the team humbled by the Flyers during a forgettable home-and-home sweep. "We werent happy with those losses, we have to do better," Crosby said. "We wanted to make sure we went out there and played hard. Its a desperate team were playing and hopefully we can build that same emotion, same intensity we had tonight and carry it over to the rest of the season." Kunitz chipped in his 32nd goal after skipping two games with a leg injury and added an assist. Brandon Sutter pushed in a late short-handed goal and Jeff Zatkoff stopped 32 shots to win for the 11th time in his past 14 games. Tyler Seguin scored his 31st goal for the Stars. Kari Lehtonen made 27 saves, but Dallas slumped again on the road. The Stars have been outscored 12-3 over their past two games to slip out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. "I think you cant blame one guy for any of the goals," Seguin said. "This is a team matter were going to deal with. Its just about execution. Weve been showing glimpses of it lately, but too many breakdowns." A no-no when playing Crosby. The Pittsburgh captain seemed energized by the return of Kunitz. Reunited against a scuffling team trying to make a late run at the post-season, Crosby and Kunitz helped the Metropolitan Division-leading Penguins rebound by playing with the chemistry that makes them one of the most potent one-two combinations in the league. The game was less than 5 minutes old when Crosby put Pittsburgh in front. Fourth-line forward Craig Adams -- finishing out his shift -- dug out a loose puck in the corner and fed it to Crosby darting through the slot. Crosby deked past Dallas defenceman Sergei Gonchar then held the puck long enough for Lehtonen to commit before slipping the puck into an open net to give the Penguins some welcome momentum. Seguin tied it at 12:30 into the first with a pretty deflection off a Trevor Daley shot from the point, but the game was tied less than three minutes before Kunitz pounced on a rebound off a Stempniak shot to put the Penguins in front to stay. The Penguins acquired Stempniak from Calgary on March 5 hoping the veteran forward could patch the hole on the first line that hasnt really been filled since Pascal Dupuis was lost for the season with a knee injury in December. After a series of near misses in his first six games with Pittsburgh, Stempniak finally broke through 13:21 into the second period. He skated into the zone and dropped the puck to Crosby and sprinted to the net. The puck was on Stempniaks stick again a split second later as Kunitz hit him streaking through the slot. Stempniak knocked it in for his ninth of the season while getting tripped by Dallas Brenden Dillon in the process. "Its been a little while, its nice to get a goal," Stempniak said. "Great passing play from Sid to Chris. I went to the net and it was on my tape ... Sids so dynamic, he opens up a lot. Chris has a great shot. I just try to fit in and skate and keep up." That was more than enough for Zatkoff, who made two glove saves in the second period during Dallas best sustained pressure. Crosby banged in a rebound 1:56 into the third to push Pittsburghs lead to three and the pressure that had built after dispiriting performances against the Flyers -- games in which the Penguins said they were more concerned with the way they played than the actual score -- lifted. NOTES: Pittsburgh is 42-5-4 this season when Crosby collects at least one point. ... Dallas has lost three straight for the first time since a six-game skid from Jan. 2-12. ... The Penguins play at Detroit on Thursday. ... Dallas visits Philadelphia on Thursday. Pittsburgh Pirates Shirts . -- The Minnesota Vikings released reserve cornerback A. Pittsburgh Pirates Store . -- Having already fallen behind because of the NFL lockout, Blaine Gabbert couldnt afford a lengthy holdout. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . 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Scherzer tossed a three-hitter in his 179th career start for his first complete game and Victor Martinez hit his 16th homer to lead the Detroit Tigers a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.DALLAS - Dennis Schroder wanted to do well Monday night when he played against his boyhood idols.He did just that, scoring a career-high 22 points as his Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks, with Dirk Nowitzki and Rajon Rondo, 105-102.Its a great thing to play and compete against Rondo. He was my favourite player, Schroder said. And Dirk Nowitzki, another German basketball player. I was ready to play.Nowitzki is in his 17th NBA season, and Rondo his ninth. The German-born Schroder, 21, was making only the third start in his second season.Atlanta led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter. The Mavericks pulled to 96-88 before second-year player Schroder hit a jump shot and two free throws for a 12-point lead with 1:08 to play.I thought Dennis was aggressive on both ends, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. He was good defensively. He made a couple big shots and found ways to get to the basket.Schroder shot 9 of 15 from the field and added six assists, three rebounds and a steal.The Hawks (20-7) won all three games on their road trip. The Southeast Division leaders have a four-game winning streak overall, and have won 13 of their last 14.All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures. Kyle Korver scored 18, Al Horford had 17, DeMarre Carroll put in 15 and Paul Millsap added 13 points and 12 rebounds.Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 18 points, 11 in a fourth quarter when they outscored the Hawks 39-23. Nowitzki scored 16, Charlie Villanueva 14, Rondo 13, Devin Harris 11 and Richard Jefferson 10.Rondo added 11 assists.Schroder scored five points in a 12-2 run that took Atlanta from trailing 6-4 to a 16-8 lead with 4:25 to play in the first quarter. He finished the period with 10 points, helping the Hawks to a 25-18 lead.In the second quarter, Horford scored eight points as Atlanta extended thhe lead to 52-38 at halftime.ddddddddddddtlanta was ahead 82-63 as the third quarter ended.I thought our bench guys in the second half got us going, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.The bench had reduced the deficit to 82-67 when the starters re-entered the game with 9:38 remaining.We did some good things when the starters went back in, but then you had a few mistakes, Carlisle said. A couple of unfortunate misses, some stuff with the officials. We just couldnt get over the hump.Two 3-pointers by Villanueva and one by Jefferson brought Dallas within three points as the game ended.TIP-INSHawks: Schroder was making his third straight start replacing PG Jeff Teague (strained left hamstring). Schroders previous high-scoring game was 16 points at Miami Dec. 3. ... Korver missed a free throw for only the third time this season. His 7 for 8 put him at 59 for 62 this season. ... Even before the game, Carlisle called the Hawks the most underrated team in the NBA, and Budenholzer the most underrated coach.Mavericks: For the second straight game, the Mavericks had their lowest-scoring first half. They had 42 points Saturday against San Antonio, and finished Mondays first half with 38. ... Dallas might have had 40 first-half points, but after stealing the ball, Ellis slammed a dunk off the rim in the final second.DOUBLE, NO TROUBLERondos double-double was his 10th this season, and his first in two games for Dallas since being traded from the Celtics on Friday.Millsaps double-double was his sixth this season.FOR THE OLD COUNTRYSchroder will play for Germany in the 2015 European championship, when Nowitzki could be his teammate.I hope hes going to play but he dont know if hes going to play or not, Schroder said.UP NEXTHawks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.Mavericks: At Phoenix on Tuesday. ' ' '