The Carolina Hurricanes blew a multi-goal lead, but held strong in overtime and forced a shootout. Winger Jackson Blake, third in the rotation, found the back of the net and secured the extra point.
The Canes (41-17-6) dictated the pace and held possession in the first and final period against the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-17-15), but fell out of rhythm in the second, spending almost half the period a man down with four penalties. Both teams combined had a total of 12 penalties throughout the game, bringing the physicality typically seen in the postseason.
“It’s a playoff-style matchup out there,” winger Mark Jankowski said. “Two good teams going at it, so you can’t be afraid to be physical and get in there.”
After the Penguins forced overtime, the Canes’ main penalty killer, defenseman Jaccob Slavin, headed to the box for slashing. The special teams for Carolina had to come up big and fill the shoes of their teammate to take the game to a shootout. After a miss and a goal for the Canes, Blake stepped up and wasted no time skating the puck down the ice and put it in the back of the net past goaltender Stuart Skinner for the win.
“Right when I got the puck … I just looked around everywhere,” Blake said. “It’s only what, a couple seconds [after] you get [on the ice], so you have to think of it quick. I tried to sneak one in five-hole, and luckily it went in.”
Going into the third period, Pittsburgh was up 2-1. But their lead quickly evaporated and turned into a deficit.
With three different Hurricanes players tallying a goal and five tallying an assist, the Canes built a 4-2 lead before the Penguins’ two late goals. Just under three minutes into the period, Jankwoski tied the game on a follow-up from his own shot. 59 seconds later, Jarvis outskated the defenseman, capitalizing on a breakaway opportunity.
A 5-on-3 opportunity and quick passing from the Canes allowed defenseman Alexander Nikishin to record the final goal in regulation for the Canes. The pass across the goal from center Sebastian Aho assisted Nikishin in his ninth goal of the season and broke the franchise record for most goals by a rookie defenseman.
“Offensively, he’s always had that confidence,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We know he’s got a big shot. Even tonight, after he got the one, he was kind of hesitant. He needs to just keep shooting that thing, so we’ll keep on that with him, but his game is growing. There’s no doubt about it…He’s going to be a good player here for a long time.”
The Penguins didn’t let off the gas, keeping the pressure high until the final whistle. A little over two minutes left to go in regulation, center Noel Acciari won the face-off and positioned himself in front of Andersen, blocking his view. Getting the puck from out wide, he placed it top shelf to cut the deficit to one. With an empty net and 36 seconds left on the clock, winger Bryan Rust found the net for the second time, giving his team a chance in overtime. But the Penguins were unable to secure the second point.
The Hurricanes take on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, March 12, with a 7 p.m. puck-drop at the Lenovo Center.
