Crosby extends point streak to nine, Penguins defeat Hurricanes

PITTSBURGH --Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to nine games, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

Crosby gathered the puck below the goal line and shot it the length of the ice for an empty-net goal that put the Penguins ahead 3-1 at 18:21 of the third period. He's scored 12 points (six goals, six assists) during the streak.
Tristan Jarry made 41 saves, and Brian Boyle had a goal and an assist for the Penguins (36-15-9), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games and six points behind the Hurricanes for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
"We had two really close games with them before, and I think we wanted to make this one count," Jarry said. "It was kind of our last crack at them, and we didn't want to lose a third one to them. It meant a lot, just because we might play them in the [Stanley Cup Playoffs]."
Sebastian Aho and Brett Pesce scored, and Antti Raanta made 18 saves for Carolina (41-13-5), which had won four in a row and defeated Pittsburgh twice in the previous 21 days. The Hurricanes won 4-3 on Feb. 20, and 3-2 in overtime on March 4.
"Guys play hard. They never stop playing hard," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "That's what I appreciate the most, really. We're down in that game. On the next shift, guys just come out and try, play our game. I thought we stuck with it for the 60 minutes. It didn't work out."

Fourteen seconds after Crosby scored his empty-net goal, Aho tucked a shot inside the right post to cut it to 3-2 at 18:35.
However, Zach Aston-Reese scored another empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.
"We had a good effort, guys worked hard," Aho said. "That's the thing. What we build on, guys are working hard. Effort was there, but obviously, have to be a little bit sharper. We had scoring chances. ... Just a little bit sharper in the details. Have that killer instinct when you have a scoring chance."
Boyle put the Penguins ahead 1-0 at 18:50 of the first. Teddy Blueger skated behind the net before sending a backhand pass through the crease to the right face-off circle, where Boyle took it and skated in for a wrist shot.
"I think we can beat any team really, look what we've done this year," Boyle said. "I think there's a confidence in our group. When we're playing the way we're capable of, we're a tough team to beat."

Danton Heinen made it 2-0 at 11:14 of the second, deflecting a shot from Mike Matheson five-hole on Raanta.
Evan Rodrigues nearly extended the lead on a wraparound earlier in the second, but Raanta got a piece of it with the handle of his stick before stretching for a pad save against the left post at 8:26. The call stood after a review determined the puck did not completely cross the goal line.
"We have the ability to be opportunistic," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We have some guys that compete hard and have the opportunity to finish. I don't think we had a significant amount of opportunities (22 shots on goal), but we had enough to find the back of the net."

Pesce pulled the Hurricanes to within 2-1 on a shot from the high slot at 4:40 of the third, when Carolina outshot Pittsburgh 20-4.
"It's just the way the game played out," Pesce said. "I honestly thought we played a good game. Obviously, we didn't get the bounces. We had plenty of opportunities to win that game. Sometimes, it just is the way it is."
NOTES:Pittsburgh last won without Crosby scoring a point on Jan. 23, a 3-2 shootout victory against the Winnipeg Jets. … Carolina played for the third time in four days. It won 2-0 against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday before defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Saturday. … Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen had two shots on goal in 10:40 of ice time in his 300th NHL game. He returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in a 5-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. … Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin had two hits and two blocks in 18:27 after being sidelined with an illness unrelated to COVID-19 on Friday. … Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov was held without a point for the fifth time in seven games. He has one goal and one assist in that stretch and has scored one goal in his past 11 games.