Penguins Defeat Canes in First Meeting Since Trade

Pittsburgh and Carolina met for the first time since their big trade right before the deadline on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, with Michael Bunting and Jake Guentzel playing their former teams.

The Penguins came away with a 4-1 lead against their Metro Division rival, which felt particularly good after a tough road trip to Dallas and Colorado. Jesse Puljujarvi and Bryan Rust scored in the second period before Drew O’Connor and Sidney Crosby (1G-2A) sealed the victory with empty-netters late in regulation.

The captain now has seven points in his last two games after a four-point night against the Avalanche, who had rallied for a 5-4 overtime victory.

“I think the biggest (difference) tonight was we paid attention to the little things, the details a little bit more, a little bit better – especially as the game went on,” said Alex Nedeljkovic, playing against his former team, as he was drafted by Carolina and spent the first five seasons of his professional career with the Hurricanes.

The netminder got named the game’s First Star after making 39 saves against a Hurricanes team that has been red-hot on the road, entering tonight with at least a point in 10 straight games away from PNC Arena.

“He was awesome,” Rust said. “Just calm, cool in there. You saw, he made every save look easy. I think that gave the team a lot of confidence.”

The Penguins had a strong first period that was relatively low-event, save for them producing a huge penalty kill against the NHL’s third-ranked power play – capped off with a flashy glove save from Nedeljkovic. Carolina was shorthanded twice in the last 6:30 of play, but the Penguins couldn’t convert.

The video tribute for Guentzel – who went from a 2013 third-round draft pick to a bonafide superstar – played during a TV timeout in that opening frame, with the crowd giving the 2017 Stanley Cup Champion the ovation he deserved.

“It's special. You look back on all the memories you've had here. It's just a cool little touch that they do, so it's pretty cool," Guentzel said from the visiting locker room after the game. “It’s special to be back here. I kind of grew up here, so a lot of good memories in this rink, building, and city."

In the second period, Puljujarvi opened the scoring for the second game in a row. It was quite a shot from the 25-year-old forward, who earned a tryout and then a contract after double hip surgery, and is starting to find his game after a long journey back.

“I think he's playing the best hockey since we've got him in the last couple of games since we re-inserted him in the lineup,” said Mike Sullivan, with Puljujarvi being scratched for the six games prior to this most recent road trip. “Hopefully, he can build on it.”

When the Penguins first brought in the fourth overall pick in 2016, who recorded 51 goals, 61 assists and 112 career points in 317 NHL games with the Oilers before getting traded to Carolina at the deadline last season, Kyle Dubas said they weren’t looking for him to provide massive amounts of offense.

“But when he’s moving and he gets in on the forecheck, he uses his size and his physicality, I think he can be a real effective player,” Sullivan said. “I'm sure it's good for his confidence that he scores a couple of goals.”

But the Hurricanes responded well from there, tilting the ice and building a 14-3 edge in shots at one point. Nedeljkovic battled like the fierce competitor he is, with only one puck getting through on a deflection.

The Penguins netminder kept his teammates in it, allowing Rust to go the other way and score a timely goal - his seventh in the past 10 games - with less than two minutes to go in the middle frame.

“He quietly does a good job at helping us to control the game,” Sullivan said. “He catches pucks and gets results when we need him to. His ability to play the puck on the dump-ins, it helped us get out of our endzone. I thought he did a really good job in helping us settle the game down when we needed line changes and we got extended. Those are important elements of helping teams when goaltenders can help in that capacity.”

Pittsburgh then put together a solid third period where they were able to protect and build on the lead against a formidable opponent like Carolina, who had gone 9-1-1 in their past 11 games. It featured a fight from 23-year-old forward Jonathan Gruden, who slotted into the lineup for Emil Bemstrom, a healthy scratch.

He was one of a handful of younger Penguins players in this game, along with fellow rookies Valtteri Puustinen, Jack St. Ivany, and Sam Poulin – who earned his first call-up of the season after putting together an excellent year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He slotted in as center on the fourth line. Read more about how far the 2019 first-round pick has come in the last year after taking a break from hockey to focus on his mental health.

“I think they just brought some energy, some real good positivity and a little bit of excitement,” Nedeljkovic said. “I thought all of them today did a great job.”

Next up for the Penguins is a home-and-home with Columbus that starts here in Pittsburgh on Thursday.