Penguins Get on the Winning Side Against Carolina

Sidney Crosby did it all on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena, scoring Pittsburgh’s only goal in regulation before getting the game-deciding tally in the shootout to deliver a hard-fought 2-1 win over Carolina.

As the Hurricanes posted on their X account during the game, “We got Crosby’d.”

That was the ninth straight one-goal game between these teams, and Carolina had emerged victorious the majority of the time before tonight - winning five in a row and posting a 10-2 record dating back to February 2019. The Penguins captain acknowledged the significance of finally getting the desired result tonight.

“Divisional games are big and a team like that – this year, last year – looking at all the games, they all look very similar to that, and we didn't find a way to win them,” Crosby said. “Obviously against them, we’ve been on the losing side multiple times. So, to kind of get over the hump and get on the winning side, I think that's big. Hopefully, that'll boost our confidence in a tight game like that."

Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 24 of 25 shots to get his second win in as many starts. He’s gotten the nod in three of the last four games, with the Penguins riding the hot hand. Mike Sullivan said while they have two capable goalies and have the utmost confidence in Tristan Jarry, the coaching staff just felt like it was the right decision to go back to Nedeljkovic for this particular contest.

Sullivan felt like his goaltender performed well against his former team, as Nedeljkovic spent the first five seasons of his professional career in the Hurricanes organization.

“It's fun playing those guys,” Nedeljkovic said. “They're a good team. They play hard. They put a lot of pucks on net. They don't make it easy on you. I thought we did a great job matching their intensity tonight.

In the first period, Rickard Rakell came desperately close to his first goal of the season, when a backhand attempt slipped through the blue paint but went off the post and out of danger.

However, the Penguins winger - playing in his second game back after missing 16 straight due to injury - wouldn’t stay off the scoresheet for long. He helped Pittsburgh find that all-important opening goal against a stingy opponent, setting up Crosby for a one-timer that opened the scoring.

However, the Canes countered in the second. They came up with an extended offensive zone shift, trapping Pittsburgh’s skaters on the ice for over 90 seconds before Teuvo Teravainen got a fortunate bounce off of Kris Letang that tied the game.

With less than five minutes to go in the third period, Pittsburgh’s penalty kill shut down a Carolina power play that had scored seven times in their last five games. Nedeljkovic was impressed with the guys in front of him, listing out the keys to their success.

“Just hard work. Outwilling them, outworking them. We had a couple of bobbled pucks we maybe didn't get out, but we made up for it,” Nedeljkovic said. “We were in lanes, and we made it difficult for them to get comfortable and get set up and run any plays that you want to run on the power play.”

Pittsburgh’s power play had been nearly as hot as Carolina’s dating back to Dec. 12, with six goals in their last four games, but they couldn’t find a goal in five attempts tonight. They got a prime opportunity with 1:14 remaining in overtime, and had the fans on their feet as they did everything but score, with Evgeni Malkin banging one off the post during that 4-on-3.

“Would’ve loved to get one on the PP there, we had a number of them, especially in overtime,” Crosby said. “But we just stayed with it.”

Nedeljkovic sealed the win by stopping all three shootout attempts from his former team, with a lot more crowd support here at home compared to the 12-round shootout win he earned last week in Montreal.

“It was a lot better when they were cheering for us as opposed to booing me,” he said with a grin. “So, that was a lot more fun.”

Overall, it was a relatively low-event game, as expected. Pittsburgh was able to match Carolina’s patented tight pressure and fortitude. 

“We didn't give up any sort of dangerous odd-man rushes, 2-on-1’s, things of that nature. I thought we had numbers back for a lot of the night,” Sullivan said. “I thought in the second period, we had a few shifts where we had some extended time in our defensive zone. But other than that, I thought we were somewhat patient with our puck possession and just willing to play a north-south game. I think that's an important aspect of playing against a team like Carolina that defends the way they do.”