After roughly 60 and a half nail-biting minutes of hockey, the Carolina Hurricanes upped their win streak to seven with a 4-3 OT victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Arena.
Although admittedly marked by power play woes, a slow start and two crucial scratches, the Hurricanes (21-6-6) pulled themselves together to beat the Penguins (19-9-5) for the second time in five days.
“What a great group we got,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “They just work so hard, and they don’t get flustered, you know. Obviously, the way that second period went, when our power play basically gave the game back, we were going great and could’ve easily just thrown in the towel … and really, we had a really great third period.”
Thirty minutes before puck drop, Carolina Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff disclosed that star defenseman Brady Skjei would not be playing due to personal reasons. Fellow defenseman Dylan Coghlan took Skjei’s spot — big shoes to fill for the 24-year-old.
That being said, the Canes were off to a bit of a slow start. All-star Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby posted the first goal of the evening, taking advantage of Carolina’s first penalty.
Fifteen seconds later, however, the Hurricanes quickly turned the tide in their favor. Within 17 seconds, center Martin Necas and defenseman Jalen Chatfield nailed a 1-2 punch to put Carolina up 2-1, much to the chagrin of a packed Penguins crowd. In fact, Chatfield’s goal marked his first in the NHL.
“Chatty’s had so many chances to get [goals] this year — he’s been in the offense, it just hasn’t happened, so that was a big moment,” Brind’Amour said.
After that 17-second frenzy, the Hurricanes wouldn’t score again until late in the third period. In that time, the Penguins scored two goals — one shorty from left wing Brock McGinn, who spent six seasons with Carolina before moving in 2021, and a go-ahead goal from Pittsburgh right wing Bryan Rust. With that, the Canes had just around seven minutes to make up at least one goal in enemy territory.
It was center Jordan Staal who saved the day, scoring two and a half minutes later to mark his third goal in as many games. Captain Staal’s biscuit moved a tired Hurricanes squad forward, sparking some vigor to keep the Penguins from scoring a game-winning goal in the 4:26 remaining.
“I just saw [the puck] behind the net, and I wasn’t really sure where the goalie was that time, but I knew he’d have trouble getting back,” Staal said. “I got to the net as quick as I could.”
In the end, Pittsburgh never had a chance. Without letting the Penguins gain possession of the puck in overtime, defenseman Jaccob Slavin netted the winning goal 23 seconds into the extra frame. Defenseman Brent Burns’ assist marked his 800th career point, making him only the 17th defenseman in NHL history to reach as many.
“It’s nicer that it was a big goal,” Burns said. “To see Slavo put that in — you don’t realize it at the time, but it was nice to get that one after they went up [and] Staalsy scored a huge goal. He’s been getting big goals at huge times for us. And I feel like in overtime, we’ve had some tough luck in some games … and it was nice to get one to go in.”
Carolina will look to continue its winning streak in Raleigh on Friday, Dec. 23, as it prepares to face Metropolitan division rivals Philadelphia Flyers. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
