Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Hockey Night in Raleigh: Carolina Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Pittsburgh Penguins - Westgarth vs Engelland - PKS Consulting LLC
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Game Notes:

The Carolina Hurricanes host the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time this season at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. on Tuesday.


The Hurricanes won the first game back in February, a 4-1 decision.

Carolina returns Justin Faulk and Alexander Semin to the lineup after both were out with injuries.

The Penguins have already clinched a playoff berth, their seventh consecutive, and start a three-game road trip against Carolin.

Pittsburgh's lineup now includes former Hurricanes players, the recently traded Jussi Jokinen and Brandon Sutter.

Commentary for each period will follow on the hour.

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Before the puck drops:


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1st Period

The Hurricanes got on the board first with a power play goal from defenseman Joe Corvo at 4:06.

Jordan Staal won the faceoff to the right of Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Corvo's point shot made it through traffic and beat Fleury high and over his catching glove.

It didn't take the Penguins long to tie the game as defenseman Robert Bortuzzo's pinch to the top of the Hurricanes goalkeeper Justin Peters' crease allowed him to put the puck past him.

After winning the puck along the right boards, the work of Craig Adams and Pascal Dupuis paid off as the cross-ice pass to Bortuzzo finished the play just 92 seconds later..

Both teams continued to trade puck possession and rushes at both ends for another eight minutes until Brendan Morrow put Pittsburgh ahead for the first time in the game on a top-shelf shot that beat Peters.

Dupuis and former Hurricanes forward Jussi Jokinen were involved in the play that turned the puck over inside the Carolina blueline and Jokinen's no-look backhand pass found Morrow in the slot for the wide-open shot on Peters.

Trailing 2-1, Carolina tied the score with 4:27 remaining in the period as defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti unleashed a point shot and scored in the same area as Corvo did earlier in the period.

Captain Eric Staal won the faceoff to Fleury's right and received the assist after Sanguinetti's shot wove through five bodies and found the top left corner once again.

End of Period: Carolina 2, Pittsburgh 2

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2nd Period

Both teams skated to a scoreless period, still tied 2-2 with the Hurricanes outshooting the Penguins 9-8.

Key stops at both ends from both goaltenders during a period which tested the Hurricanes penalty killing unit twice with successful results in denying Pittsburgh the opportunity to score again during the period.

Carolina's closest chance to score came on a fanned shot by Eric Staal to Fleury's left post which the Penguins keeper smothered successfully.

End of Period: Carolina 2, Pittsburgh 2
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3rd Period


Tied 2-2 after two periods of play, the Hurricanes looked to be on their way to giving their fans a win to cheer about at home.


The anticipation crescendoed when forward Riley Nash score his fourth goal of the season just two minutes into the third period to give Carolina a 3-2 lead.

However, midway through the period, the Penguins needed only 13 seconds to not only tie the score, but to take the lead back and to keep it to win the game in regulation time, scoring an ENG with 1.9 seconds remaining.


Final: Pittsburgh 5, Carolina 3

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