For the final time during the regular season, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins met, trying to put the division race in their favor once more before going their separate ways. Pittsburgh marked the second of three stops during the Hurricanes' ongoing three-game road trip, which began with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday night in Toronto.
For the fifth time this season, Frederik Andersen and Stuart Skinner faced off in the net. They met once while Skinner was still in Edmonton, before meeting all four times that the Canes and the Penguins have collided this season. The season battle stood at 2-2. The Hurricanes deployed the same roster from Friday's win, with Shayne Gostisbehere still absent due to an injury.
The Canes played a very strong opening period. Nikolaj Ehlers drew a trip just 25 seconds into the contest, and the power play converted. Sebastian Aho's shot from above the dot took a nasty redirection off Connor Dewar's stick, bouncing past Skinner for a goal in the opening minute. The Penguins didn't record a shot until late as the Canes maintained their 1-0 lead after 20.
The lead only grew during the second. It started with Ehlers stepping into a shot from the point that Skinner never saw, doubling the advantage. Then, Jalen Chatfield threw a shot from the point that eluded sticks and the netminder, earning him his second goal of the season. To close it, Ehlers made an unreal pass to Seth Jarvis between the dots, putting the Canes up 4-0 after two.
There was one blemish on the Canes' ledger this afternoon, but it didn't come until late in regulation. Egor Chinakhov beat K'Andre Miller to the front of the net, and he beat Andersen in tight to spoil the shutout. Otherwise, it was as dominant an effort as there could have been. Mark Jankowski did the honor of scoring into the empty net, finishing a one-sided 5-1 victory in Pittsburgh.
The power play set the tone and stayed hot
Despite scoring a goal on the power play in Toronto, I didn't think the Canes were very good with the man advantage on Friday. They clearly turned over a new leaf on Sunday because they were unstoppable through two periods. It starts with immediately drawing an advantage and getting the first goal in the opening minute on a good bounce.
They proved they weren't a one-hit wonder in the second, putting the game away with two more. We're used to seeing Alexander Nikishin uncork shots from the point, but Nikolaj Ehlers stepped into one, beating Stuart Skinner with an 87 MPH bomb. Ehlers added to it with a beautiful pass to Seth Jarvis, making it 4-0 late in the middle frame and putting the game to bed in spirit.
Frederik Andersen might be back after all
When you're the netminder for the Carolina Hurricanes, you grow used to not seeing a ton of rubber. Frederik Andersen knows that very well. For most of the season, things hadn't been going well for him. Lately, life has been much smoother. This was one of his best efforts to date, stopping 18 of the 19 shots that he saw this afternoon in Pittsburgh.
The defense deserves a ton of credit for making life easy for their goalie. However, when the Penguins got chances, Andersen was there to keep the door shut. He was beaten twice, both times by Egor Chinakhov. His first shot hit the post. The next one went into the net. Otherwise, Andersen played a quiet game, in a good way, earning his fifth straight victory.
Additional Thoughts
It was truly a full-team effort from the Canes today, but their stars shone bright. Seth Jarvis recorded points on all three power-play goals, putting him on the verge of another 30-30 season. Nikolaj Ehlers had two points, giving him seven in his last five games. Andrei Svechnikov had a helper, reaching 60 points for the third time in his career. In total, ten Hurricanes found the scoresheet.
Three wins over a division opponent in less than two weeks is great under any circumstances. When it's against the team in second place, it's even bigger. Heading into tonight's Blue Jackets-Islanders game, the Canes own a ten-point lead in the Metropolitan Division with 12 games left. They're in a great spot, though there is work to be done to check this box.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes wrap their road trip on Tuesday night, hopping back into Canada once more to face the Montreal Canadiens. The team takes a three-day break between games, coming home to host a weekend back-to-back at the Lenovo Center on Saturday and Sunday against the Devils and the Canadiens, respectively.