Regular Season, Game 59: Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins

Less than 24 hours ago, the Canes took down the Philadelphia Flyers in the final meeting of the season. This afternoon, they'll be right back at it on the road for their final meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the third meeting in three weeks between the two teams that are fighting for the Metropolitan Divison crown. The Canes have gotten the better of both meetings with the Pens thus far, winning 4-3 in Pittsburgh on February 20, before Jordan Staal helped the team overcome a 2-0 deficit to force overtime and Andrei Svechnikov earned the second point with the winner on March 4 in Raleigh. Staal has three goals in the two meetings this season, while Antti Raanta has won both games in the net. Raanta is likely to get the start again today after Frederik Andersen returned from his injury to lead the team to a 3-1 victory over the Flyers yesterday. Steven Lorentz scored to break the ice in the second period, Jordan Martinook deflected a shot over the shoulder of the goalie late in the third, and Sebastian Aho added the empty-net goal to help earn Andersen his 30th win. With the win, Andersen broke the franchise record for the fewest games to 30 wins, passing Martin Gerber by reaching the mark in just 40 games. Derek Stepan returned to the lineup and recorded his 500th point with an assist on the Lorentz goal in his 800th game. Aho, with his goal, passed Jeff Skinner for 7th in point in franchise history. 

The Penguins have only played twice since the overtime loss to the Canes. They dropped a 4-3 decision to the Panthers at home on Tuesday night, with Rust, Guentzel, and Crosby providing the offense and Jarry taking the loss. Pittsburgh turned it around on Friday night and beat Vegas 5-2. They scored three times in the third period after it was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes. Five different Pens scored and Jarry stopped 40 of the 42 shots he faced to pick up the win. You know what to expect from this Pittsburgh team. They have a few very good goal-scorers that can score in bunches. Their goaltending, while better, is something you have to keep an eye on because you never know which side you're going to get. We've seen both Jarry and Casey DeSmith this season, but Jarry will get the start this afternoon. The Canes have opened up an eight-point lead on both the Penguins and the Rangers atop the division. This is Pittsburgh's last chance to do anything head-to-head, while the Rangers still have three more meetings with the Canes. I'm not sure which team we'll see on either side. The Canes could very likely be tired after their game yesterday, but we'll see. 

1st Period

Scoring

(PIT) 18:50- Brian Boyle (7) (assisted by Teddy Blueger (10) & John Marino (18))

Thoughts

The Canes were in control of this period until the Penguins scored with just over a minute left. They had more shots on Jarry and the puck had been on that end of the ice for most of the period. There were two bad penalties in the offensive zone, but the kill was excellent on both occasions. Jarry made some big stops when he needed to. Raanta wasn't challenged often but when he was, he was up for the challenge. He didn't stand much of a chance on the goal from Boyle. It was a great feed out front and Boyle was walking down Main Street to get to it. The Canes had their chances for sure and it didn't look like they were tired at all. This game is far from over. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(PIT) 11:14- Danton Heinen (13) (assisted by Mike Matheson (15) & Evan Rodrigues (20))

Thoughts

Despite the two-goal deficit, there isn't much to dislike about the Canes' game to this point. After the deflection goal from Heinen, the Canes were the better team and got some good chances in the immediate aftermath. The power play stalled some of that momentum, but they regained it in the dying second of the period. Raanta made a huge save on Rodrigues on a wrap-around and then kept the rebound out. If that had made it 2-0 and then Heinen scores, I think this game would be over. The SAT line was put back together, so the team is going to need them to get one. I really liked the fourth line in the period as well. They had some good chances on Jarry. The Canes have erased two-goal deficits plenty of times. They need to strike early to get themselves back into this one. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(CAR) 4:40- Brett Pesce (5) (assisted by Vincent Trocheck (25) & Brady Skjei (18))

(PIT) 18:21- Sidney Crosby (20) EN (assisted by Brian Boyle (5) & Kris Letang (45))

(CAR) 18:37- Sebastian Aho (27) (assisted by Jordan Staal (14) & Teuvo Teravainen (31))

(PIT)- 19:48- Zack Aston-Reese (2) EN (assisted by Jeff Carter (19) & Teddy Blueger (11))

Thoughts

The result might not have been the best, but this wasn't a bad effort from the Canes at all. Pesce broke through Jarry early in the period to bring it within one, then after the Crosby empty-net goal, Aho told people to stick around a little longer with his third goal in three games. It was a gutsy effort from a team that just ran out of gas at the end. A little effort from the empty net to keep the pucks out would have been appreciated. The defense was noticeable in the offensive zone. I can't be mad about this game even if the Penguins draw two points closer. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jordan Staal (Assist)

The minus-2 on the scoresheet is going to look a bit discouraging, but I thought the captain put together a strong game. He cracked the scoresheet with an assist on Aho's goal late and added five shots on Jarry and six hits. He was a horse on the kill as well, doing as he always does. His faceoff numbers were excellent as he played a strong all-around game. 

Second Star- Brady Skjei (Assist)

The defense was putting shots on Jarry from every angle this afternoon. Skjei had four shots of his own and added a secondary assist on the Pesce goal early in the period. I love seeing him jump into the play, especially since we know what he's capable of. He also logged the most time on the penalty kill, on the ice for 3:23 of the 6:00 the Canes had to kill. 

First Star- Brett Pesce (Goal)

It felt like Pesce was all over the place today. He scored the goal that got the Canes back into the game early in the final period and finished with a game-high seven shots. He's not someone I expect to jump into the play at the rate of Skjei or DeAngelo, but I like this side of his game. He could've had another goal or two with the amount of time he spent in front of Jarry. 

Final Thoughts

The big thing I saw in the lead-up to this game from the Canes' fans is that this game took place less than 22 hours after the Canes-Flyers game yesterday, which is not supposed to be allowed per the league's rules. Regardless of the time constraints, there is nothing about this game that I thought was especially bad. It's a tough way to end the season series, but there are some positives to look back at. Antti Raanta was very good again today in the loss. You'd love to win this one for him, but there's no shame in stopping 18 of 20 shots when you didn't have much of a chance on either of them. Aho pushes his goal-streak to three games and extends his team lead. I thought the fourth line played very well again today, they just couldn't get one into the net. Despite the loss, the Canes win the season series two wins to one, earning four points to the Pens' three. They don't play again, which means Pittsburgh won't have any more chances to gain grown on the Canes after today. The win for the Penguins pushes them to six points back while the Canes still have a game in hand. The Canes will have another break until Thursday before they play another back-to-back with travel. They'll head north of the border for their final meeting with Toronto before returning home the next night for a game against Washington. The road isn't getting much easier, but today shouldn't be seen as discouraging.