Hurricanes 5, Penguins 2
Captain Eric Staal scored to reach the 20-goal plateau for the ninth time in his career and added two assists as host Carolina snapped its four-game winless streak (0-2-2).
Andrej Nestrasil scored a power-play goal while defenseman Ryan Murphy, Alexander Semin and Jay McClement also tallied for the Hurricanes, who split the four-game season series with Pittsburgh. Brad Malone notched two assists, former Penguin Jordan Staal added one and Cam Ward finished with 27 saves in his return from a five-game absence due to the flu.
Brandon Sutter and defenseman Ian Cole scored for Pittsburgh, which has mustered just nine goals en route to dropping six of its last seven (1-5-1) and remained two points behind the second-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division. Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 23 shots as the Penguins' lead over Washington for third in the division dwindled to one point.
Victor Rask chipped the puck ahead to Malone, who wired a sharp feed from along the edge of the left faceoff circle that Murphy one-timed home from the slot at 8:27 of the first period to give Carolina a 2-1 lead. Malone set up McClement's sharp wrist shot from the right circle that doubled the advantage 11:38 into the second and Semin tallied over three minutes later to put Pittsburgh on its heels.
Captain Sidney Crosby stripped Jordan Staal of the puck in the offensive zone to set up Sutter's backhanded swipe from in front 3:54 into the first period to open the scoring. Jordan Staal atoned for the miscue just 71 seconds later, intercepting a pass by Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi before feeding his brother in front.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Eric Staal has recorded 44 points in 42 career meetings with Pittsburgh. ... Penguins C Evgeni Malkin (lower body) and RW Patric Hornqvist (undisclosed) missed their sixth and fifth straight games, respectively. ... Carolina Ds John-Michael Liles and Justin Faulk each registered six hits. ... Musician Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish fame was in attendance at PNC Arena.