Rinse, Repeat - Penguins Fall in Overtime in Raleigh...Again

"The Penguins (get a point but ultimately) fall in overtime to the Hurricanes, (3-2)."

If you feel like you've heard that before, it's because that's the social media template for when the Penguins play the Hurricanes.

Here's one from a few years ago.

Oh, and here's a completely different one with the exact same caption.

And then this one is the one from last night. What a renaissance. Penguins social media is really getting creative with these ones.

Pittsburgh got out to an encouraging start with goals from Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting early in the first period. The Hayes goal didn't even warrant a reaction from the many Penguins fans in the Lenovo Center because it was in an out, but the Bunting goal got the black and gold faithful on their feet.

The problem with two early goals is exactly that: way too much time left, a two goal lead, and it's in a barn the Penguins haven't won in since the Bears last beat the Packers. Wait, I guess I can't use that comparison anymore.

The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers before the Penguins could win another game in North Carolina. Wild stuff.

The first period was all Penguins, but Rod Brind'Amour is not the type of coach to allow his team to be dominated for long. The Hurricanes came out with a flurry of shots and looked so much faster than Pittsburgh in the second frame.

Seth Jarvis put the Canes on the board with a point blank snipe, and then was followed by another point blank snipe by Jalen Chatfield later in the period on an odd man rush.

Jarvis struck again with under four minutes to go in the second period, and just like that the Hurricanes led 3-2.

The tale of two periods was the novel's name, but there was one more to play.

Right off the bat in the third period, Erik Karlsson blasted a bomb right past Dustin Tokarski to knot the game at three. From there, both side traded chances, and the Penguins even got a power play in the final three minutes of regulation. Unfortunately, all Penguins power plays on the evening looked like Hurricanes power plays. Not ideal.

In overtime, the Hurricanes won the faceoff and never gave up the puck. Sebastian Aho walked right down broadway and sniped Alex Nedeljkovic for the final time in the game, giving Carolina another overtime win at home against Pittsburgh.

For as bad as the second period was (and boy was it bad), escaping the North Carolina house of horrors with a point is a win. Blowing a two goal lead is never good, but again, it's Carolina. The unfathomable ways the Penguins manage to lose games in that building will confuse even the greatest hockey brains. MoneyPuck.com's famous "Deserve-to-Win-O'Meter" had Pittsburgh winning about 20% of the time with how the game events unfolded.

The acquisition of a point actually puts Pittsburgh alone in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins, Lightning, Flyers, all lost last night, meaning that Penguins are keeping pace in the playoff hunt.

Tuesday's matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets begins a long homestand, and it might be the most important game of the season so far. Columbus with a regulation win on Tuesday would jump the Penguins in the Wild Card race. Two huge points are on the line, and the Penguins need to snap this three game losing streak at home.

If you're interested in another good read, check out the most recent article below. The streak lives on, and it may never end.