"Back-and-Forth We Go": 2025-26 Regular Season, Game 68: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

If the Hurricanes were hoping for an easy ride back into town against the Penguins tonight, they'd be sorely mistaken. Last week, they barely squeaked out a shootout victory after blowing a multi-goal lead in the final three minutes. That was without two of the Penguins' top players in the lineup. Tonight, both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin took the ice for Pittsburgh, hoping to shrink the Canes' lead in the division further to close their road trip. The Canes didn't put together a great effort on Tuesday in Columbus, but they've been very good against the division and the top teams in the league this season, giving us a glimmer of something that they'd be able to turn it around tonight. For their sake, I certainly hope they can.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

CAR (9:36-SH)- Jordan Martinook (10) (Jordan Staal (13) & Jaccob Slavin (4))

2nd Period

PIT (9:57)- Sidney Crosby (28) (Rickard Rakell (20) & Erik Karlsson (43))

CAR (16:51)- Jackson Blake (20) (Taylor Hall (23) & Nikolaj Ehlers (34))

3rd Period

PIT (0:59-PP)- Erik Karlsson (8) (Rickard Rakell (21) & Evgeni Malkin (36))

CAR (3:27)- Taylor Hall (15) (Jackson Blake (22) & Logan Stankoven (18))

PIT (7:16)- Bryan Rust (26) (unassisted)

CAR (12:59-PP)- Logan Stankoven (14) (Nikolaj Ehlers (35) & Jackson Blake (23))

PIT (14:46)- Erik Karlsson (9) (Parker Wortherspoon (21) & Sidney Crosby (33))

PIT (15:09)- Ben Kindel (17) (Anthony Mantha (27) & Ilya Solovyov (7))

CAR (17:09)- K'Andre Miller (5) (Sean Walker (16) & Nikolaj Ehlers (36))

Overtime

CAR (4:31)- Sean Walker (7) (Sebastian Aho (45) & Seth Jarvis (26))

My Thoughts

These two might not be capable of playing a normal game. For the second time in eight days, overtime was required to solve things, and while it was just as crazy, the script was a little different. Like last week, the Canes scored first, and the Penguins scored the next one. However, instead of Pittsburgh needing a big comeback to force overtime, the Penguins went goal for goal with the Canes until they eventually took the lead. This time, the Canes needed to find a goal to force overtime. Fortunately, they got it before winning the game in overtime to avoid another shootout against the Penguins, though they might've been fine with that, considering they're very bad in the skills competition. It leaves a lot to the imagination about what Sunday could hold in Pittsburgh.

The best line on the ice for the Hurricanes tonight was their second group with Logan Stankoven, Jackson Blake, and Taylor Hall. Each member of the trio scored a goal tonight, combining for seven points. Blake led the way with three points, scoring the Canes' second goal shortly after a power play expired by powering it through Stuart Skinner's pads for the first 20-goal campaign of his career. Then, he helped get his linemates on the board. Hall's goal was a beautiful display of passing between the trio, with Blake getting the primary assist. Then, Stankoven struck on the power play as Blake picked up the secondary helper. However, there is one blemish on this group's ledger tonight. Blake had a pass turned away that ended up being the go-ahead goal for Pittsburgh late in the third. Otherwise, it's hard to be mad about their night.

The Canes did so much well tonight that it is going to be undercut by the sheer insanity of this contest. For starters, the special teams looked pretty good. Jordan Martinook got the scoring rolling tonight while short-handed, giving the Canes the lead just nine seconds after taking a penalty. While they allowed a goal at 5-on-3, they scored the aforementioned goal on the power play in the third. Nikolaj Ehlers set up that goal with his second of three assists in the game. He has assists in three straight and has moved into a tie for second in scoring with Andrei Svechnikov with 56 points. K'Andre Miller and Sean Walker had pretty good nights. Miller scored the tying goal late in the third, with Walker providing the primary helper. Then, Walker scored the overtime winner to secure the second point. Walker had a game-high seven shots, the final of which scored his first OT goal. The Canes don't get this win without the saves Frederik Andersen made in overtime. I thought he played a good game, but the third period did some considerable damage. Still, he was a brick wall in overtime, though he was a little loose with some of his passing. Regardless, Andersen earned his fourth straight victory.

It was a very weird game for the Canes' top line, especially Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. They each finished the game with five shots, but Jarvis had a few particularly dangerous chances in the game. He had a short-handed breakaway in the second period that Skinner barely got his pad on. Then, he rang the iron in the third. It would've been crazy if the two didn't find their way onto the scoresheet tonight, especially with how many goals were scored. In overtime, that's what they did. Jarvis picked up the secondary helper, while Aho directly set up the goal. In doing so, Aho recorded his 700th point, making him the third player in franchise history to reach that mark. It wasn't a very pretty game for anyone, but it's good to see everyone contributing in some way.

First Star of the Game: Jackson Blake

If you take the one bad pass out of his game, Jackson Blake was the Canes' most impactful player tonight. Anyone on his line has a legitimate claim to this spot, and I'd put Sean Walker into that conversation, too. Still, Blake picked his spots tonight. He officially became a 20-goal scorer with a smart play in the second period, and his role in Hall's goal was huge. 

Around the League

Pittsburgh: While not the result they wanted, the Penguins kept themselves in the second spot by earning a point while continuing to show how resilient they are.

New York (I): The Islanders will get a tired Ottawa group after the Senators lost to the Capitals in D.C. tonight, giving them a great chance to momentarily hop the Penguins with a win.

Columbus: Like Boston and Detroit, the Blue Jackets will play on home ice on Thursday, putting their ten-game point streak on the line against a suddenly hot Rangers squad.

Current Standings

Carolina: 92 Points

Pittsburgh: 84 Points

New York (I): 83 Points

Columbus: 81 Points

Next Up: It's time to hit the road again, spending the next three games away from the Lenovo Center. Their trip starts in Toronto on Friday, meeting the Maple Leafs for the first time since Auston Matthews' season-ending injury. Then, it's Sunday night in Steel City for the third meeting in under two weeks between the Canes and the Penguins, wrapping the season series. The final stop takes the group back across the border to Montreal, meeting newly minted 40-goal scorer Cole Caufield and the Canadiens. On the other side of the trip is a nice three-day break, the last long pause of the season as we head down the stretch.