Hurricanes at Penguins
Matt Murray rejoined the Pittsburgh Penguins for practice on Monday, marking the first time that the two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender has done so since the death of his father. Murray could be back between the pipes on Tuesday as the Penguins begin a four-game homestand against the Metropolitan Division-rival Carolina Hurricanes.
"Hockey definitely took a back seat for a couple days, but when you're out there it's kind of a sanctuary," said the 23-year-old Murray, who last played on Jan. 7. Coach Mike Sullivan said he'll take it "day by day" with Murray as Pittsburgh hopes to reverse its fortunes after dropping two of three during its road trip through California. The Penguins had won their previous seven meetings with Carolina before sustaining a 2-1 setback on Dec. 29, with Cam Ward making 27 saves in that outing and turning aside all 21 shots he faced in a 4-0 triumph against Pittsburgh on Jan. 4. The 33-year-old hasn't fared as well since the latter contest, yielding 14 goals on 112 shots as Carolina has dropped five of its last seven games - including a 5-1 setback versus Vegas on Sunday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Carolina), AT&T Sports Network-Pittsburgh
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (21-18-8): Carolina has scored just 26 goals en route to dropping seven of its last 10, with Jaccob Slavin netting his team's lone tally in a failed bid to help the Hurricanes crawl out of an early deficit. Fellow defenseman Justin Faulk collected five points (one goal, four assists) in his previous six games before being held off the scoresheet against the Golden Knights. "We've played well against Pittsburgh this year ... but you know they're playing well and we can't just go in there thinking because we've played well before that it's going to happen again," Faulk said.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (25-21-3): Sidney Crosby extended both his assist and point streak to seven games (three goals, 12 assists) by setting up Conor Sheary's goal 3:18 into Saturday's contest. Prior to that scoring outburst, Crosby was limited to just one assist in four games - with zero points resulting in the pair of contests versus Carolina. Fellow former Hart Trophy recipient Evgeni Malkin has also come up empty in two games against the Hurricanes, although he has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his last seven outings.
OVERTIME
1. Carolina LW Sebastian Aho, who is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, scored in the first encounter against Pittsburgh and followed that with two goals and an assist in the second.
2. Penguins F Bryan Rust returned to practice on Monday after sitting out the last 11 games with an upper-body injury.
3. Hurricanes C Derek Ryan, who scored in the first meeting versus Pittsburgh, has been held off the scoresheet in six straight games.