Ward, Hurricanes hold off Penguins
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Cam Ward made 28 saves and the Carolina Hurricanes won their season-high fourth game in a row, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Friday night at PNC Arena.
Derek Ryan and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes (18-12-7), who have won seven of their last eight games.
Ward made 15 saves in the third period as he was under heavy pressure at times. He allowed only Brian Dumoulin's first-period goal.
Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry stopped 31 saves, but Pittsburgh (19-17-3) wasn't able to build off the momentum created two nights earlier with a riveting comeback victory over Columbus.
Ward (10-2-1) has played in the last four games for Carolina after not appearing in more than two consecutive games until this latest stretch.
The Hurricanes fended off a Pittsburgh power play early in the third period after Aho went off for holding.
Dumoulin, a defenseman, opened the scoring just 4:34 into the game. It was only his second goal of the season, with the other coming Nov. 11.
Ryan's goal came when he waited at the side of the net and the shoved the puck past Jarry after receiving a pass from Elias Lindholm.
Aho scored what proved to be the game-winner with 1:55 remaining in the second period. He scored four goals in Carolina's three-game homestand.
The Hurricanes started strong in front of an enthusiastic crowd with a strong Pittsburgh influence. Carolina racked up 26 shots across the first two periods. Almost 18,000 fans were on hand, a rarity with a close-to-capacity turnout.
NOTES: The Penguins played without RW Bryan Rust and D Chad Ruhwedel, who both exited Wednesday night's game with upper-body injuries. ... The Penguins were unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Carolina. ... The Hurricanes are 15-3-2 when scoring the first goal this season, but the opponent struck first for only the fourth time in their last 14 games. ... Carolina C Jordan Staal, a first-round draft pick of the Penguins in 2006, played in his 800th NHL game two nights earlier. ... The Hurricanes went five games without a power-play goal before a three-game stretch with four power-play goals. They were 0-for-2 on Friday night. ...Carolina plays Saturday night at St. Louis. ... The Penguins visit Detroit on Sunday.