The Pittsburgh Penguins headed to Raleigh, NC, on Sunday in hopes of snapping a two-game losing streak and earning their second consecutive win against the Metropolitan Division.
Unfortunately, a familiar foe was too much for them yet again.
The Penguins fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime, 4-3, after squandering a 2-0 lead and coming back to tie the game in the third period. Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting put Pittsburgh on the board early, while Erik Karlsson netted the tying goal in the third period.
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 28 of 31 shots, and the Penguins had another second period to forget – which has been something of a pattern recently.
They weren’t particularly happy with their effort after coming out strong in the first period.
“We just got outcompeted,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “They raised their level, and we didn’t push back.”
Here are some notes and observations from Sunday’s game:
– The Hurricanes are just a terrible, terrible matchup for the Penguins.
They have now lost nine of their last 11 games against the Canes, and they have been been outscored, 34-23 – five of which have gone to overtime and seven of which have been decided by one goal.
Carolina typically takes over for large stretches of games, and they skate circles around the Penguins in the offensive zone. The Penguins aren’t fast enough to keep up with their forecheck, and the Canes’ stingy defense gives them fits.
I’m sure they’re not upset that this is the last time they’ll see these guys in the regular season.
– Erik Karlsson had a standout game for the Penguins on both sides of the ice.
Defensively, he was the second-leading defenseman behind only Marcus Pettersson in penalty kill time with 3:09. He also blocked two shots and had a few nice one-on-one defensive reads. So far, he has proven to be a revelation for the Penguins on that PK unit.
And offensively? He was doing Erik Karlsson things. He made Bunting’s goal happen with a gorgeous play to elude Carolina’s Jordan Martinook:
And then, he later scored a third-period goal to bring the game back to a tie, and that tally gave him 845 points in his NHL career to move into the top-15 all-time in points among defensemen:
Karlsson has nine points in his last nine games and is playing very well for Pittsburgh right now.
– Owen Pickering was very good tonight.
He made an excellent pass that didn’t result in a goal. He made some good reads in the defensive zone, and he is advanced beyond his age.
I saw some sentiment on socials that Pickering reminds some of prime Brian Dumoulin with more offensive upside.
I tend to agree. He’s steady out there.
– As good as the Penguins’ first line has been offensively, they’ve been dreadful in their own zone. And it’s becoming a bit of a problem.
Rickard Rakell – who has been one of the Penguins’ most reliable defensive forwards since his arrival in 2022 – was especially dreadful against Carolina. He finished the night at a minus-3, and although he wasn’t credited with any giveaways, his decisions certainly led to some changes of possession, and there were a few failed clears.
This line sees the other team’s top players on most nights and eats a ton of minutes, and I get that. But, on the season – for reference – Rakell is a minus-6, Sidney Crosby is a minus-13, and Bryan Rust is a team-worst minus-20. Rust 4.55 on-ice goals-against per 60 minutes is also the fifth-worst mark in the league among all skaters.
When you consider how much offense this line is generating, it’s a bit problematic that their plus/minus numbers are as awful as they are. They are sacrificing a lot to make things happen offensively – especially Rust.
– Good on Hayes for getting that goal.
The game on Friday against the Florida Panthers was his first since Dec. 10, and he’s been good in both games. His line with Drew O’Connor and Anthony Beauvillier were generating some offensive opportunities throughout the night.
I’m still of the belief that Blake Lizotte should be this team’s third-line center. But – through two games – Hayes is doing well in that role.
– Despite being on a three-game losing streak, the two overtime loss points the Penguins have collected in the past two games – against two of the East’s better teams – have proven big ones, as they’ve taken sole possession of the second wild card spot in the East. And with a Tampa Bay loss, they’re just one game out of the first wild card spot.
There’s still a lot of season left, and everyone has games in hand on the Penguins. But banking these points is still important, and – in the grand scheme of things – two out of four points against Florida and Carolina isn’t bad at all.
– The Los Angeles Kings placed forward Arthur Kaliyev on waivers earlier on Sunday.
With Philip Tomasino out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, if I’m Kyle Dubas, this is a guy I’m taking a flyer on.
The 23-year-old right winger has struggled to find a regular role in the Kings’ lineup over parts of four seasons, but – like Tomasino – he has shown flashes of brilliance. He has yet to play an NHL game in 2024-25, as he was injured to start the season and just recently returned from an AHL conditioning stint.
Kaliyev is only on the books for this season at $825,000. He fits the bill for the exact kind of player Dubas has been targeting for upside.
We’ll see if anything happens before the waiver wire closes tomorrow.
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