PENGUINS EDGE ‘CANES IN SHOOTOUT

The Carolina Hurricanes almost pulled off a potential season defining comeback against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC on Wednesday night.  Almost, but not quite.  Down 2-0 heading into the third period, the Hurricanes rallied to tie the game and send it to overtime.  Pittsburgh would eventually prevail in a shootout, however, to win the game by a 3-2 final score.  The defending Stanley Cup champions are off to a great start, and the victory improved their record to 6-1-0.  More impressive, perhaps, is their 5-0 record on the road.  Carolina’s record stands at 2-3-1 after their first shootout loss of the NHL season.

NHL hockey betting devotees who laid -140 with the Penguins as road favorites cashed their tickets with the Penguins’ shootout triumph, though Carolina did come through for puck line players who took either +1/2 or +1 ½ with the home team.  Despite their 6-1 start, the Penguins have only covered one game against the puck line.  The 5 goals scored went UNDER the posted total of 6.  Pittsburgh has gone UNDER in 4 of their 7 games this season, while Carolina has split their O/U record at 3-3.

Michael Rupp, who opened the scoring for the Penguins with his goal late in the first period, spoke of the need of improving the team’s already high level of play:

"We were 4-0 on this road trip but the reality of it was we weren't perfect by any stretch.”

Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby added:

"It's really important just to establish the way we want to play. Early on in the season, you're trying to work things out and adjust, and for the most part, everyone knows what they need to do here. It's nice that we're seeing some results here early."

After Rupp’s goal to open the game, Pittsburgh made it 2-0 on Evgeni Malkin’s tally early in the third.  Ray Whitney scored both of Carolina’s goals in the third period to tie the game.  Both goaltenders came up big in the shootout, and it took a total of twelve shooters to eventually decide the outcome with Chris Kunitz beating Cam Ward for the winner.

Despite the loss, Carolina coach Paul Maurice was pleased with the way his team played:

"Even if we lost the game tonight, you have some confidence going forward. Tonight I think was really our first game where I thought we got back to looking like the team that plays the style of game we want to play."

Carolina will hope to emulate some of the Penguins road success as they go out for a trip starting Saturday night in New Jersey and continuing with games against the New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche next week.  Pittsburgh, conversely, will begin a home stand on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  They’ll welcome the St. Louis Blues and Florida Panthers to the Mellon Arena next week.