Carolina Hurricanes Deliver Disappointing Effort, Fall to the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Carolina Hurricanes delivered one of their most disappointing efforts in recent memory in loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
5. 92. 0. 109. Final
Scoring Summary
1st Period
PIT Goal (3:54) – Olli Maatta (5), assisted by Evgeni Malkin (23), Phil Kessel (14)
The Penguins broke the scoring early on in the 1st period. Sloppy play from Carolina in their own end opened up an opportunity for Maatta as he drove the net from the point, then he made a quick move and put the puck past Eddie Lack to make it 1-0.
PIT Goal (10:05) – Conor Sheary (2), assisted by Kevin Porter (3), Matt Cullen (9)
The Carolina Hurricanes failed to clear the zone, and the Penguins made them pay. Sheary was able to come right back in and put the puck past Lack after a defensive miscue to make it 2-0.
2nd Period
PIT PPG (19:23) – Sidney Crosby (13), assisted by Phil Kessel (15), Evgeni Malkin (24)
Carolina nearly escaped the 2nd period without allowing a goal, but Sid the Kid ruined that with just 37 seconds left in the middle frame. On the powerplay, Kessel lofted a cross-crease pass to Crosby, and Crosby deflected the puck in off his skate on the doorstep to increase the Pittsburgh lead to 3-0.
3rd Period
PIT Goal (6:55) – Sidney Crosby (14), assisted by Patric Hornqvist (12), Ben Lovejoy (5)
After killing off a penalty, the Pens came right back and put an end to Carolina’s hopes. Crosby came flying up the right wing, and he sniped it far side on Lack to make it a 4-0 game.
PIT Goal (13:36) – Trevor Daley (3), assisted by Patric Hornqvist (13)
The Penguins put another nail in the coffin in the late stages of the 3rd period. The Canes failed again to get the puck up ice, and Daley picked up the puck, swooped in, and put the puck past Lack.
Three Stars
1st Star – Sidney Crosby, C (PIT) – 2 goals, +2, 3 shots, 17:58 TOI
2nd Star – Marc-Andre Fleury, G (PIT) – 22 shots against, 22 saves, shutout, win
3rd Star – Olli Maatta, D (PIT) – 1 goal, +2, 2 shots, 2 hits, 19:52 TOI
Recap
The Carolina Hurricanes delivered one of their most disappointing efforts in recent memory on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
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It was a game that started slow for the Canes, and except for an early 3rd period charge, the Hurricanes could never really pick up the pace and get to playing the game that they want to play.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes couldn’t establish any offensive zone time at even strength due in large part to some very slow entries and sloppy play with the puck on their sticks. The Canes have prided themselves on great neutral zone play and prolonged periods of zone time. They got neither of those on a consistent basis on Sunday, and we saw a worst-case scenario for this team.
Pittsburgh took advantage of their opportunities. They were quick and focussed offensively, and they played a very solid team game all around. Defensively, they limited quality scoring chances and gave the Hurricanes very little to work with.
Sunday’s game was just the polar opposite of what this Hurricanes team has been doing over the past month. They were lazy and sloppy with the puck, especially at their defensive blue line, and they gave up some grade-A chances to the Pens.
It’s really though to peg one specific thing that went wrong in a game like this, because almost everything was off. The offense struggled to establish possession and get chances, the defense constantly turned the puck over and couldn’t make up for their mistakes, and Eddie Lack’s performance in goal was weak.
It was a tough loss against a team that they are neck and neck with in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The stakes were high, and the Canes couldn’t bring their best brand of hockey to the ice. Now, the Carolina Hurricanes need to just leave this game in the past and set their sights forward.
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The Canes will get the next 3 days off before hitting the ice again on Thursday night in Toronto.