In a Metropolitan Division matchup between teams sitting on opposite spectrums of the standings, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes tangled for a midweek game. The Hurricanes fed off the strong player of netminder Pyotr Kochetkov (36 saves), along with Jack Roslovic tallying two goals, to pull off a 5-1 win and push their win streak to eight games.
Game Recap
It did not take long for the Hurricanes to jump out to a lead, with Jordan Martinook being on the receiving end of a slick pass by Jordan Staal to find him for a backdoor goal to beat Alex Nedeljkovic less than a minute into the game. While the Penguins’ offense buzzed around the Hurricanes zone quite a bit in the period (outshooting them 10-4), Kochetkov stood tall when challenged and helped preserve a one-goal lead until Roslovic continued his strong start to the season with his eight of the campaign on a three-on-one caused by a misplay by Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson in the neutral zone. At the end of 20 minutes, the Hurricanes found themselves with a 2-0 lead.
The second period was more of the same, with the Penguins continuing to get their fair share of chances on Kochetkov but coming up empty. The Hurricanes got more chances on Nedeljkovic throughout the period, thanks to their relentless play in the offensive zone on the forecheck and then took advantage with smooth puck movement around the zone. Roslovic was once again able to get on the board, adding his second of the game to push the lead to three before Jaccob Slavin took advantage of a friendly-fire screen by the Penguins on Nedeljkovic, scoring his first goal of the season and pushing the Hurricanes to a 4-0 lead heading into the final frame.
A slower, less exciting period compared to the first two (at least for the Hurricanes) saw both teams tally a goal a piece. The Hurricanes widened their lead even further on a goal from Erik Robinson off yet another slick pass from a teammate, this time from Martin Necas, which pushes his point streak to eight games. The lone Penguins goal came five minutes into the period and off the stick of Blake Lizotte after off a couple of saves by Kochetkov before Lizotte cashed in on a rebound. There was no comeback from the Penguins, though, as the Hurricanes pushed their way to a 5-1 win even though they were outshot 36-19 in the game.
The Hurricanes move to 10-2-0 on the season and hit the ice again on Nov. 9 when they travel to Colorado for a faceoff with the Avalanche. On the other hand, the Penguins fall to 5-8-2 and have to quickly shake off the loss as they play on Nov. 8 in Washington against the Capitals.
