Pittsburgh Penguins Shut Down Carolina Hurricanes
The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Carolina Hurricanes in a scramble for the last two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference. The ‘Canes sat seven points behind the Pens heading into the match-up.
Wearing their third jerseys for the second-to-last time this season, the Pens seemed a bit sluggish as the Hurricanes got on the board quickly. When an errant clearing pass was put right into the slot, Phil Di Giuseppe was there to intercept it and slot the puck through Matt Murray‘s five-hole just 42 seconds into the game.
A few minutes later, sitting behind the Pens net ala Wayne Gretzky, Jeff Skinner fed Riley Nash in front of the net, who easily put the puck into the net for a 2-0 Carolina lead. The Pens have been able to fight back from deficits previously this season, but it’s never good to get down by two so quickly.
The Pens were able to cut the deficit to one when the captain did what he does. Sidney Crosby took the puck alone from inside the Pittsburgh zone down the left side boards. He slid past a check, cruised in front of a defender en route to the net, and flipped the puck backhanded past Hurricanes’ goaltender Eddie Lack.
At 17:51 of the first, the ‘Canes got the first power-play as Bryan Rust of the Pens was sent to the bin for boarding on Brett Pesce. Luckily, there was no impact on the Pens as the scoreboard remained the same, 2-1, until horn sounded to end the first period.
As quick as the action got started in the first, things slowed down to a crawl in the second. About 12 minutes into the second though, Phil Kessel had an easy look at the net to tie the game up at two each. He took a kick pass from Carl Hagelin, and with Lack on the ice, he had a wide open net with which to shovel in the puck.
Jordan Staal later speared Bryan Rust in the groin, however the referees missed all but the slash which gave Staal two minutes in the bin. Rust for his part got two for charging, cancelling out the penalties.
At 17:59 of the second, the captain made a sweet play to earn his second goal of the game and 31st on the season. He went down to one knee and re-directed a slap pass from Ian Cole into the net to give the Pens the one-goal lead in the game, bringing them fully back from a two goal deficit.
In a period which had its fair share of penalties, we also saw Ryan Murphy get called for tripping on Carl Hagelin. And just like we saw Trevor Daley called for embellishment when he was tripped earlier this week, likewise Hagelin was given two for embellishment, in a call which seems to be all too common this season.
Matt Murray continued to perform well into the third period turning away all shots. As the game became chippy, with penalties piling up, the Pens were able to extend their comeback to a two-goal lead. Nick Bonino put the puck into the net on assists from Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin.
Pittsburgh was able to hold the Hurricanes at bay through the remainder of the third period and gain another two points with their fourth consecutive win. Sidney Crosby was outstanding in this game, leading the team’s comeback and playing well both offensively and defensively. Matt Murray, giving Fleury some rest, was also strong after the first period, enabling the Pens to hold on for the comeback win and keep their playoff position intact.