Recap: Special Teams Shine As Canes Win In Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH - The Carolina Hurricanes conceded early but responded with four unanswered goals to knock off the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena on Friday night.

GAME SUMMARY | BOX SCORE | UPCOMING HOME GAMES

The Canes went 2-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill en route to their second consecutive victory. Frederik Andersen finished with 25 saves on 26 shots to notch his first win of the season.

After netting the game-winner for his first career goal on Tuesday, Jackson Blake was once again noticeable in the opening stages and bagged a key tying tally just 1:04 after Drew O'Connor's opening strike for Pittsburgh. The rookie took an Eric Robinson pass in the right circle and wired a quick wrister past Joel Blomqvist to send the teams to the first intermission tied at one apiece.

Carolina's power-play then went to work in the second to open up a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes. Martin Necas posted the eventual game-winner with a top-shelf laser from the left circle at 6:52, and Shayne Gostisbehere doubled the lead on a seeing-eye shot from the blue line at 17:13.

Pittsburgh's strongest push came in a 15-shot third period, but the Canes held strong, killing three penalties and picking up an insurance tally through Jack Roslovic's first goal with the club 11 minutes into the frame to cap off the victory.

Stats & Standouts

• For their first road test of the year, the Canes passed with flying colors. A four-goal showing could have been six or seven with a little more puck luck off the post, and Carolina's identity shone through in all three zones for 60 minutes as they heavily outshot their opponent while stifling opportunities going the other way. The next test? Do it all again in fewer than 24 hours.
• The Canes have largely built their aforementioned identity on 5-on-5 play, but winning on the road is difficult without the power play clicking. After going 0-for-5 through two games at home, it was key for Carolina's man-advantage units to set the tone for the road trip with a potent performance in Pittsburgh.
• Make it back-to-back games with a goal for both Jackson Blake and Shayne Gostisbehere, who have each come flying out of the gates to start the season.
• Frederik Andersen was solid on opening night but wasn't rewarded with the win. He got his reward in Pittsburgh with another strong outing, shutting the door on the Penguins after they found twine early. They say your goalie has to be your best penalty-killer, and it's safe to say the Canes don't go perfect on the kill without #31 standing tall.

They Said It...

Rod Brind'Amour's discussing what made the win possible...

"I thought the mindset coming in was right again. It's two games in a row that we knew how we have to play. It's hard. The way we play is really hard. Guys bought in tonight right from the start, all four lines. I thought we were pretty tight most of the way, we didn't give them a lot of room. We actually probably deserve better, we had a lot of scoring opportunities that hit posts and some things, but I like how we stuck with it."

Jack Roslovic on tonight's performance and how it sets the tone to start the trip...

"That's six good periods we've put in in a row. We're rolling lines, rolling them over. The penalty kill and the power play obviously showed up. The penalty kill was great. It was a game to build on for five more games."

Shayne Gostisbehere elaborating on the team's success on the power play tonight...

"I think we had a direction and a sense that we were going to have quick puck movement. We were going to see our plays. We knew they weren't an overly aggressive penalty kill, so for us (we had to) to feel the puck out there and find our spots, find the chemistry. To get rewarded with a few (goals), it's pretty nice."

What's Next?

The Canes fly to St. Louis immediately post-game and are set to compete in their first back-to-back of the season on Saturday at Enterprise Center.

Next Game: Saturday, October 19 at St. Louis

Next Home Game: Thursday, October 31 vs. Boston | HALLOWEEN NIGHT | Tickets | Parking