The Carolina Hurricanes, making the most of every opportunity, capitalized on all three of their power plays in the first two periods to secure their 20th road win of the season.
The Hurricanes’ (44-19-6) three-goal period in the second led to a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins (35-18-16). A late defensive lapse in the third allowed the Penguins to capitalize and prevented the Canes from getting the shutout, but the win was effectively already in the books.
Winger Nikolaj Ehlers, with a standout performance, netted the second goal and the game-winner early in the second period. After defenseman Samuel Girard was sent to the box for a cross-checking penalty, the Canes went to work. A series of passes throughout the zone kept the defense moving and opened up lanes. Center Seth Jarvis sent the puck near the top of the zone to Ehlers, who fired a one-timer past goaltender Stuart Skinner.
Getting things moving for Carolina, center Sebastian Aho jumped to catch the puck and keep it alive in their offensive zone. After settling it and passing to Jarvis, he repositioned himself away from the defense to create a clear lane to the net. Reading Aho’s movement, Jarvis found him at the top of the zone, where Aho fired a rocket into the back of the net to score the opening goal.
“[Aho’s] hops, he might’ve touched 15 inches there,” Jarvis said. “He got up there pretty good and kept the play alive. From there, we talked about trying to get the middle, especially the guy that’s at the top. I just tried to get as far as I could to open up enough space, and I don’t know how it quite went in, but we’ll take it.”
After the goal from Ehlers, winger Mark Jankowski kept the momentum rolling and tried to tally a goal from out wide. Kicked away by Skinner, winger Eric Robinson collected the puck in the corner and passed to defenseman Jaylen Chatfield up top. With plenty of space, Chatfield slapped it into the net, scoring the first even-strength goal.
“I saw a lot of guys in front,” Chatfield said. “Our guys got in front and are doing a good job. That’s what you need. You need bodies in front to screen the goalie, and we have that mentality on the back end. If you have a lane, get it to the net. That’s all I was thinking, just get it on net.”
Just over five minutes away from a shutout, the Canes made a soft pass that center Sidney Crosby cut off and took possession of. He quickly moved the puck to winger Bryan Rust, who skated it towards the net. Winger Egor Chinakhov crashed the paint and finished the play with a one-timer underneath the pads of goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Finishing off the scoring for the Canes, Jankowski received the puck from winger Jackson Blake and slipped it into an empty net.
The Hurricanes finish off their three-game road trip in Montreal on Tuesday, March 24, at 7 p.m. against the Canadiens.
