Crosby was good creating some good chances, picking up a couple of assists and getting into some heated conversations with Stars center Jeff Halpern, whose job it was to check Crosby all night.

"I thought Halpern did a pretty good job," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "Crosby is a dominating player. His game is a dynamic game. You have to be aware of him. He can change the tone of a game with all his ability."

But the problem for the Stars on this night, and what limited them to one point instead of two, is that the Penguins have more than just Crosby.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, another one of the Penguins bright young stars, was superb. He came up big, especially in the third period, overtime and the shootout. The shootout was particularly impressive when he stopped Sergei Zubov, Jussi Jokinen and Mike Ribeiro.

"He's a good player. He's a good goaltender," said Stars coach Dave Tippett, adding that Fleury often gets lost when people talk about the Penguins because he's not an offensive player.

Then there's Mark Recchi, the Pens' elder statesmen. He had three goals in Pittsburgh's last game before the break. He scored two Friday night, including the game-tying goal in the third and that one also happened to be the 500th of his career.

Jordan Staal, another one of the Pens young stars, picked up a big goal in the second to tie the game at 1-1.

Evgeni Malkin didn't register any points, but he showed some flashes of brilliance. Defenseman Ryan Whitney, who played in the YoungStars Game Tuesday, often pinched in an attempt to keep plays alive or create scoring chances. He picked up an assist.

Throw in the return of Stars players Sergei Zubov, Philippe Boucher, Steve Ott and Halpern and it added up to an energetic and exciting game coming out of the All-Star break.

"Everybody comes back with lots of energy and having Sidney Crosby and young Penguins team that is very entertaining to watch helps. I think the players did their part," Tippett said. "It was entertainment all the way around."

Entertaining, but the Stars were up and down during the first two periods. They were stifling at times and at other times they had a hard time dealing with the young guns of Pittsburgh. The Stars were strong in the third period, but that's when Fleury was at his best.

"We were good at times but not enough to get the win,"  said Boucher, who had a pair of assists in his return. "We wanted this one badly but you always have to be on the go against a quick team like theirs."

The Stars may have lost a little of the momentum they built going into the break, but they did pick up a point. The gained ground on the idle Anaheim Ducks, whom they play Sunday, but they lost ground to San Jose, which blew out Edmonton Friday night.

The Stars next three games are against those two teams, with one in Anaheim and two in San Jose. That will be their first big test coming out of the break.

"We're still day-to-day with him but we've had a good couple days with him, which is encouraging," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We'll see where he's at tomorrow. He'll probably practice with the team tomorrow. If he keeps moving forward hopefully it won't be too much longer before he gets back."

There is a chance Modano could return as early as Thursday's game against San Jose.

"I'd like to thank the fans of Dallas," Recchi said. "It was a pretty neat feeling, what they did out there. It's pretty impressive. Sidney was talking before the game about how great the people are here in Dallas, and they showed it right there."

Crosby, who had plenty of nice things to say about Dallas fans during All-Star week, had more compliments after the game.

"To give Recchi a standing ovation after his 500th goal on the road, that shows a lot of class and that says a lot about the people here and the organization," said Crosby.

• Steve Ott played 10:09 in his return after missing 37 games with a fractured ankle. He had no shots, one hit and was a minus-one in the game.
   
• Jussi Jokinen's goal snapped a 13-game goal scoring drought. His last goal was on December 21 in a game against San Jose. 
   
• Stephane Robidas led Dallas with 12 hits on the night.

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