The attack was great, the defense was strong and the goal scoring was fantastic. It was the perfect storm.
The Carolina Hurricanes were on their game on Sunday afternoon and handed the Pittsburgh Penguins a shocking 5-1 loss. Carolina played the entire game and took advantage of Pittsburgh's deficiencies in what appeared to be an off-game for the home team.
Heading into the 3:00 p.m. game, the Penguins topped the league standings in penalty kills with a penalty kill success rate of 84.2, but the Hurricanes' power play (ranked 12th leaguewide) managed to crack not just once, but three times in less than 40 minutes.
Carolina's first three goals were extremely similar in where they came from and how they reached the net. First, Sebastian Aho drew a tripping penalty on Ryan Graves by Nikolaj Ehlers just 47 seconds into the game.
A long-range wrist shot between the faceoff circle and the blue line, through a screen provided by Jordan Staal.
Next, in the second round, the man also came on advantage. Once again, through another screen at the same distance, Ehlers sent a slapshot that echoed into the back of the net.
Then, near the halfway point of the game, Jalen Chatfield slapped a layup through another screen from the same distance to put the Hurricanes up by three.
Later, the pattern ended as Ehlers sent an incredible pass through the legs of Parker Wotherspoon into the slot and onto the tape of Seth Jarvis for another power play goal. It was Jarvis' first match back after a five-game drought.
In the third period, the Penguins finally got a goal on the board thanks to Egor Chinakhov, but the Hurricanes' defense – and defense through offensive pressure – helped hold Frederik Andersen to a single goal allowed in the entire contest.
After a few missed attempts, including a blocked blast by Anderson towards the empty net, Mark Jankowski scored on an empty net goal to make the score 5–1.
Hurricanes successful in key areas in final game with Penguins of regular season
Throughout the game, the Hurricanes' biggest advantage was their effective use of screens on Stuart Skinner. When it comes to those screens, it's hard to expect a goaltender to stop what can't be seen. They cannot use force (even though sometimes it seems they might).
Their defense was something else, as they held the Penguins without a shot for nearly 12 minutes early in the game.
Special teams were one of the biggest things for Carolina, going two-for-two on the penalty kill and three-for-five on the power play. It also didn't hurt that the calls actually went their way for once.
And last, but certainly not least, Anderson played exceptionally well – he has improved significantly since returning from the Olympics. Despite the Penguins' late offensive start, they still managed to put 19 shots on net. Furthermore, 15 of those were high-danger scoring chances – five more than the Hurricanes produced.
It was a great game for the Hurricanes, who took the sole lead of the Eastern Conference.
(Hey! This game was with another team covered by the national Hockey Now Network - hide behind enemy lines once again and watch Vince Comunale's recap from the Penguins' perspective!)
