Raanta makes 31 saves, Hurricanes hold off Penguins

PITTSBURGH --Jesper Fast and Sebastian Aho scored in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Antti Raanta, who was making his second start since Jan. 29, made 31 saves for the Hurricanes (34-11-4), who are 2-0-1 in their past three games.
"They've got a great squad," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. "We play a fair amount against each other the next few weeks, in the division. It's a lot of fun. Two good teams going at it. First one is always good."
Raanta was starting the first game of a back-to-back. Frederik Andersen will start against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Monday.
"A lot of games now coming up, and not a lot of rest," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Once we get past tomorrow, maybe a three-day break and that's it the rest of the year. We're going to be playing every other day. We're going to need them both."
Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist, and Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored for the Penguins (31-13-8), who have lost two in a row following a four-game winning streak. Tristan Jarry made 26 saves.
"It was about attention to detail and execution," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "For me, in some instances there, we self-inflict with some of the opportunities that we gave them. It's hard to beat a team that's as good as Carolina is if we do that."
Fast gave Carolina a 3-2 lead nine seconds into the third when he beat Jarry from the right face-off circle to end an 11-game goal drought. Aho made it 4-2 with a one-timer on a power play at 14:18.
Rodrigues, who hadn't scored in 18 games, cut it to 4-3 on the man-advantage with 1:12 remaining.
"You try not to think about it when the puck's not going in," Rodrigues said. "You just almost try to shoot your way through it. Try to stay confident and positive throughout it."
Crosby had a chance to tie the game as time expired but couldn't corral a rebound before sending a shot off Raanta's right pad.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi put the Hurricanes ahead 1-0 at 15:18 of the first after the puck slipped away from Jordan Martinook while he battled with Kasperi Kapanen and Rodrigues.
The goal was Kotkaniemi's 11th of the season, matching his NHL career high set in 79 games as a rookie for the Montreal Canadiens in 2018-19. He's scored in two straight games following an eight-game drought.

"Just try to do the same thing every night, work as hard as I can," Kotkaniemi said. "It's been fun to get a couple of goals the last [two] games. Always brings the confidence up. It's good."
Staal made it 2-0 nine seconds into the second when Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter lifted a clearing attempt off him in the slot before it slipped past Jarry.
Rust cut it to 2-1 at 14:43 with a backhand off a shot from Kris Letang. It was Rust's 17th goal in his past 19 games.
"I think when things aren't going well, [going to the net is] definitely a way to turn it around," Rust said. "Simplify. Get a little hungrier around the net. I think that's definitely a way we can score some more goals there."
Crosby tied it 2-2 at 17:59 with his 15th goal of the season with a shot from the left face-off circle.
NOTES: Carolina is the first team in NHL history to score a goal within the first 10 seconds of two consecutive periods. ... The Hurricanes said defenseman Brendan Smith was transported to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for evaluation and imaging after taking a shot to the head from Penguins forward Danton Heinen at 10:37 of the first. He is in stable condition and was released to travel with the Hurricanes to Philadelphia, where he will continue to be monitored by Carolina's medical staff. … Carolina forward Vincent Trocheck had two shots on goal, five hits and two blocks in 13:57 of ice time after being a game-time decision with an upper-body injury. … Penguins forward Brock McGinn had two shots on goal in 13:25 of ice time in his first game against his former team since signing a four-year contract with Pittsburgh on July 28. He scored 106 points (51 goals, 55 assists) in 345 games for Carolina, including 13 (eight goals, five assists) in 37 games last season. … Jarry made an NHL career-high 39th NHL start. His previous high of 38 came last season. … Letang has 41 assists in 48 games this season after getting two Sunday. He required the fewest games by a Penguins defenseman to reach 40 assists since Sergei Zubov (43 games in 1995-96).