Penguins at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes went into Pittsburgh owning the league's worst road record and came away with a surprising 4-2 victory on Friday. Now they will have a chance to prove it was not a fluke when the Penguins visit Carolina on Saturday night in the second leg of the home-and-home. "We knew we were going to need a complete effort to be successful against this team," goaltender Cam Ward told reporters after making 20 saves for the win. "It could arguably be one of our most complete games thus far."
The Penguins had won eight of the previous 10 matchups against the Hurricanes, including six of seven in Pittsburgh, but tied their season low with 22 shots and were outplayed from start to finish. “We just didn’t play well,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “They work hard. They pressure the puck and they just outbattled us, but they did the right things and we didn’t play well at all.” Pittsburgh has lost three of its last five games and each of the victories has come in overtime.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN Carolina
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (15-5-2): Following a stretch he which he produced two points in six games, Crosby is heating up with seven points over his last three games to boost his league-leading total to 33. Pittsburgh owns the league's top-ranked power play, converting on one-third of its chances, but the frequency of those opportunities has diminished over the past 2 1/2 weeks. The Penguins had at least four chances with the man advantage over the first 13 games of the season, but they have converted 3-of-17 over the past nine games and haven't gone on the power play more than three times once in that span.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (7-12-3): Carolina converted twice with the man advantage in Friday's win, the first time it had multiple power-play goals since the second game of the season. The Hurricanes, who have killed off 15-of-16 short-handed situations over the past 16 games, are aware they can't afford a drop-off in any area in Saturday's rematch. "It's a big game, and we know that. We have to come back with the same effort," captain Eric Staal said. "You have to think they are going to be a little bit better (Saturday), and we're going to have to match and exceed that."
OVERTIME
1. Hurricanes leader scorer Riley Nash exited Friday's game with an injury following a collision with Crosby.
2. Crosby has points in 12 straight games versus Carolina.
3. With Ward starting all five games on the road trip, Anton Khudobin (0-4-2) could be in net seeking his first victory.