2023-24 Regular Season, Game 17: Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (Postgame)

After one of their worst games of the season on Wednesday night, the Hurricanes welcomed another division opponent to PNC Arena on Saturday night. Sidney Crosby, Erik Karlsson, and the Pittsburgh Penguins visited Raleigh on the heels of a loss on Thursday that snapped their five-game win streak. With both teams needing a win, the Canes and Penguins were set for a heavyweight battle in the Metropolitan Division. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

PIT (10:40)- Sidney Crosby (11) (assisted by Jake Guentzel (14) & Erik Karlsson (12))

2nd Period

CAR (13:06)- Sebastian Aho (5) (assisted by Teuvo Teravainen (2) & Seth Jarvis (6))

3rd Period

CAR (2:46)- Brent Burns (4) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (6) & Andrei Svechnikov (5))

PIT (9:16)- Sidney Crosby (12) (assisted by Kris Letang (8) & Bryan Rust (7))

CAR (11:52)- Seth Jarvis (6) (assisted by Jaccob Slavin (7) & Brent Burns (4))

CAR (19:22)- Seth Jarvis (7) PP-EN (assisted by Sebastian Aho (10) & Teuvo Teravainen (3))

My Thoughts

For about 30 minutes, this felt like Philadelphia, Part 2. The Hurricanes had four great chances to score a goal in the first ten minutes. Stefan Noesen missed wide on a breakaway, Jordan Martinook's baseball swing batted the puck off the crossbar, Sebastian Aho had two chances from the top of the crease that he shot right into Tristan Jarry, and Brady Skjei hit the crossbar. Instead, Pittsburgh scored first. While it wasn't 1:50 into the game like Owen Tippett's on Wednesday, it was deflating with how well the Canes started the game. Add a power play where the best chance was Bryan Rust hitting the post and the crossbar in the final minute, and it made the first period a tough one to swallow, even with shots even at 11. 

The turning point of the game might've been Carolina's kill early in the second period. The tripping call on Jack Drury was a weak one, giving the Penguins a chance to double their lead. Instead, the Canes got the two great chances, and Antti Raanta made an attacking save on Reilly Smith to help get the job done. From there, it was a matter of time before the team broke through Jarry. That moment would come late in the period with the top line on the ice. Sebastian Aho begins the play in the neutral zone, then gets help from his linemates before Teuvo Teravainen drops the puck to a soft spot for him to snap it past Jarry to tie it. The Canes weren't out of the woods yet, getting a huge defensive play from Brady Skjei to deflect Smith's chance high on a wide-open net, then another from Jack Drury to Noel Acciari to keep the game tied going into the final 20 minutes. 

While the shot chart shows 12 each in the third period, the Canes clearly had the edge. Both Jarry and Raanta made big saves early, but Brent Burns broke the stalemate with a blast from the point shortly after the Canes failed to convert on their second power play. Andrei Svechnikov thought he scored his first of the season a few minutes later, but Martin Necas was declared offside after Pittsburgh challenged. Naturally, it led to Crosby scoring his second of the night 44 seconds later to tie the game. This could've been the momentum swing that killed the Canes. Instead, they responded to regain the lead. Jaccob Slavin made a great play, finding Seth Jarvis' stick at the top of the crease without a Penguin around him for an easy redirection to make it 3-2. A late tripping penalty on Erik Karlsson helped put the game away as Jarvis scored into the empty net on the power play to net the Canes two more points with a 4-2 decision over Pittsburgh. 

Despite the score remaining tight all night, the Canes outperformed the Penguins in every area. The top line of Aho, Jarvis, and Teravainen combined for seven points, while the Penguins' star forwards after Crosby were quiet. Burns and Slavin were both +3 for the Canes, picking two points each. Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson both had assists but didn't have the impact the Canes' top pair had. The Canes won the special teams battle, killing both of their penalties while adding an empty-net goal on the power play. They out-hit and out-blocked the Penguins, too.

Most importantly, the Canes won the battle between the pipes. Both Raanta and Jarry were exceptional. Jarry was busier, making 30 stops, compared to Raanta's 26. However, the timing of Raanta's biggest saves put him over the edge. He made two crucial saves on Reilly Smith when the game was 1-0 Pittsburgh and 3-2 Carolina and a breakaway stop on Noel Acciari with the Canes on the power play in the third period that stands out for their timeliness. Raanta is tough to beat at PNC Arena since becoming a Hurricane. There's an added sense of satisfaction when the Canes beat a northeastern team with a significant road presence whenever their team plays in Raleigh. I don't have anything against people from or who support a team from the northeast. I just like when they lose in our building. 

My Three Stars of the Game

3rd Star- Jaccob Slavin- 2 assists

It's hard to have a better night than Burns and Slavin had tonight. Slavin recorded primary assists on two goals in the third period. His assist on Burns' goal wasn't anything spectacular, but his pass to Jarvis on the eventual game-winner was beautiful. 

2nd Star- Seth Jarvis- 2 goals, 1 assist

I didn't realize that Jarvis hadn't scored since the Canes played the Rangers at the beginning of the month. He'd gone five games without a point. This was a great way to break out of that funk. He recorded a secondary assist on Aho's goal in the second period before closing out the scoring with the game-winner and empty-netter. 

1st Star- Antti Raanta- 26 saves

He hadn't played since the Florida loss, and that was a challenging game for Raanta. Tonight, he made some timely stops to keep the Canes in the game, then helped them stay ahead late in the third period. This was arguably Raanta's best start of the season, even better than his shutout win over San Jose. 

Up Next- The next chance to build on this win won't come until Wednesday night when the Edmonton Oilers are in town. This will be the third game of the five-game homestand. From this point on, the Canes will be playing every other day for the rest of November.