Recap: Aho, Hurricanes Blank Penguins

PITTSBURGH - Led by Sebastian Aho's three-point performance and Cam Ward's 21 saves, the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time in a week, 4-0.
Aho tallied two goals and assisted on another - all highlight reel plays - while Teuvo Teravainen and Jeff Skinner also contributed offensively.
Here are five takeaways from chilly Pittsburgh.

One
Against a team that held a 12-6-1 record at home this season, this was a dominant performance for the Hurricanes to begin a stretch of four consecutive games away from Raleigh against Eastern Conference opponents jockeying for playoff positioning. And, in a span of just six days, the Canes have outscored the Penguins 6-1 in two straight wins against them, creating some separation in the hyper-competitive Metropolitan Division.
"It was a big game," Ward said. "Playing a divisional opponent and a team that's chasing us for a playoff spot, the guys were ready to compete."
"Our division is a bit of a dog fight," head coach Bill Peters said. "We have enough maturity in the room with the veteran leadership and the addition of some of the guys we brought in this summer to recognize the importance of certain games."
Two
Last season, Peters relayed a ditty from a Penguins-Hurricanes game, in which he saw Sidney Crosby taking a glance at the back of No. 20's jersey wondering, "Who is this guy?"
Crosby likely knows now, and it's only a matter of time before the rest of the league learns about Sebastian Aho, who turned in a three-point performance (2g, 1a) tonight and has 10 points (6g, 4a) over a current six-game point streak.
"He's a hell of a player," Peters said. "Probably underrated around the league, but our guys in the room and us as staff know how good he is."
"He's not a big stature kind of guy, but he plays big on the ice. I think he's one of the tougher guys to get the puck off of him," Ward said. "He's very good on his skates. He can create a lot of individual plays with his high-end skill and speed."
That high-end skill and speed was showcased in the third period when Aho turned on the jets at the blue line and skated right around a flat-footed Justin Schultz. Aho got Matt Murray moving laterally before sliding the puck five-hole to stretch the Canes' lead to three.

"He took that guy out wide, put the jets on and finished it," Ward said. "He's a very good, young talent we have, and I'm extremely happy he's on our side."
Aho added another later in the third period when he redirected a shot off the stick of Teravainen. Aho now leads the Canes in points with 33 (13g, 20a).

"That line was real good tonight. I think they were all plus-3," Peters said of the Aho-Staal-Teravainen trio. "Jordo was hard to play against. He's a big part of what we do. When that line's going, they can drive the bus."
"Our line, I like to play with Jordo and Teravainen," Aho said. "They are really good players, and they help me a lot."
"He's playing with confidence," Ward said of Aho. "When he does, he's such a dangerous player."
Three
Aho's first goal of the game was a big one, too. Down 2-0 heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Penguins came out with a hard push. They fired off a quick handful of shots in the first five minutes or so of the third period and controlled play in the offensive zone. Aho's strike at the other end of the ice was the dagger.
When the Penguins did push early in the third, Ward had the answers, even though he didn't see much action for much of the night. He faced single-digit shots in each of the three periods, stopping 21 of 21 for his first shutout of the season and first in 32 career games against Pittsburgh.
"It's always great to get a shutout," he said. "It was a complete team effort. I thought our PK was really strong again. They have one of the top power plays in the league, and I don't think I even faced a shot. Kudos to the guys stepping in and making some big blocks at big times in the game."

"Really good," Aho said of Ward. "He's been huge for us for a while now."
"Good team effort. Wardo will be the first one to tell you. I thought he was solid. They pushed in the third when it was still a two-goal game. They pushed real hard for an extended period of time," Peters said. "We weathered that storm, and then the Aho goal helped us give us a little wiggle room. Wardo has been excellent this year. He's dialed in. He had a real good summer. It's well-deserved."
Four
It was certainly a top-to-bottom effort. The Penguins boast some of the most explosive offensive talent in the NHL with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but the Hurricanes shut them down. The team was hard on pucks and bodies and was dedicated to getting in passing and shooting lanes, limiting opportunities.
"I thought we made it extremely difficult on them with our pressure, especially on their top-end players. We didn't give them a whole lot of time and space. It seemed like we frustrated them throughout the night," Ward said. "We were so good with our sticks, I thought. The puck pressure was tremendous all night. You give those guys time and space, and they'll make you pay with the players they've got. To be quite honest, it was a relatively comfortable night for myself."
"They have elite players on their team. They're a really good team," Aho said. "We just tried to keep control and be above them."
"Guys were committed away from the puck," Peters said. "They did a good job coming back hard, reloading and giving our D a lot of support."
Five
Three weeks ago, the Hurricanes were getting regularly dominated in second periods. Recently, they've been able to reverse their fortunes in the middle frame, and tonight was one of their best second periods of the season. The Canes scored the first goal and then built their lead, all the while suffocating the Pens' offense at the other end of the ice.

Skinner hounded Ian Cole at the blue line, stripping the puck and skating in with speed. His quick wrister beat Murray glove side to give the Hurricanes the 1-0 lead.
Quite possibly the prettiest passing play of the season extended the Canes' lead. In transition, Jaccob Slavin slid a backhand, saucer pass over to Aho. He one-touched it through two Penguins' defenders to Teravainen in the slot, who banged the puck into the gaping cage.

"We want to play fast and high-paced," Aho said. "That's how we want to play."
Up Next
A "bomb cyclone" dropped a good bit of snow in Boston, so the Hurricanes will remain in Pittsburgh for an extra night and practice here on Friday before making their way northeast for their Saturday night match-up with the Bruins.
"We're playing the right way and playing with confidence. We're coming into games expecting to win. That's a growing confidence throughout the year," Ward said. "We see ourselves in the standings trying to fight for that playoff spot. Every game is so important, especially with us being in a very tough division. The standings can change very quickly. You take care of your business. We've been rolling, and we need to continue that."