Hurricanes sink punchless Penguins in Raleigh
By Matt Gajtka
Jiri Tlusty and Eric Staal scored three points apiece as the Carolina Hurricanes dealt the sloppy Pittsburgh Penguins their second straight loss, 4-1 Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C.
The Penguins scored first at PNC Arena when Chris Kunitz connected in the first period, but the Hurricanes drew even in the final minute of the frame on Staal’s 10th of the season. Tlusty netted a pair of goals in the second, sandwiching a Jeff Skinner tally.
Pittsburgh poured on the offensive pressure in the final minutes, hitting the goal frame twice, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent the Pens from falling to 13-8. They remain two points ahead of New Jersey for first place in the Atlantic Division, even after being outscored 10-5 so far on a road trip that wraps up Saturday in Montreal.
February 28, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Jiri Tlusty (19) scores his 2nd period goal past Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) at the PNC center. The Hurricanes defeated the Penguins 4-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
The Hurricanes (10-8-1) finished the evening two points up on Tampa Bay for first in the Southeast. Carolina evened its home record at 4-4 by defeating the usually road-ready Penguins, who entered the game 8-3 in the traveling whites.
Carolina outshot Pittsburgh 29-28, including 13-9 in the first, but Kunitz beat ‘Canes goalie Cam Ward at 13:14 to nudge the visitors ahead. Matt Niskanen and Sidney Crosby earned assists, with the latter putting the puck on a platter for Kunitz’ one-timer. Now at 31 points (9g, 22a) Crosby remains tied with the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos for the NHL scoring lead.
The game was billed as Jordan Staal’s first game against his former team, but big brother Eric started his big night by tying the game with 25 seconds left on a deflection. Linemates Tlusty and Alex Semin assisted, and the Hurricanes’ primary forward trio would strike again four minutes into the second when Tlusty buried his eighth from Staal.
Skinner nailed his eighth less than two minutes later when Patrick Dwyer set him up, as the third-year center beat Marc-Andre Fleury, who deserved a better result for his 25-save effort. The Penguins repeatedly lost battles close to their net, leaving Fleury on an island for several golden Carolina chances.
Both Brandon Sutter and Pascal Dupuis hit posts in the period, keeping the Penguins behind by two. With 11 seconds remaining before intermission, Tlusty capped the three-goal period from point-blank range, with Semin and Staal earning helpers on the play.
Each team went 0 for 5 on its power-play opportunities. For the Penguins, it was the first time in 12 games they didn’t record at least one man-advantage goal. The last time Pittsburgh came up empty was Feb. 2 in a 5-1 win over New Jersey.
The Penguins will look for a more thorough performance at 7 p.m. Saturday when they hit the Bell Centre ice to face the Canadiens. Under former Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien, Montreal unexpectedly leads the Eastern Conference with 29 points, one up on Boston in the Northeast Division.