Penguins lose ground to Hurricanes in overtime loss

A lot of the success the Penguins have enjoyed in 2021-22 has been predicated on discipline.

To be specific, they don’t take a lot of penalties.

In fact, they entered Friday with an average of 6:48 penalty minutes per game, the lowest such figure in the NHL.

They maintained that discipline throughout most of their highly anticipated meeting with the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday.

In all, they only took three penalties that led to opposing power-play opportunities.

But the timing of that third penalty was simply crucial.

Veteran defenseman Kris Letang, one of the Penguins’ unquestioned leaders, was assessed a slashing minor at 2:47 of overtime. Less than half a minute later, Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov took advantage of a four-on-three power-play scenario and scored his 23rd goal of the season to give his team a 3-2 comeback victory.

In the immediate aftermath of the goal, several Penguins players protested to referee Jean Hebert, the official who sent Letang to the penalty box at such a critical juncture of the game.

Following the game, the Penguins said relatively little of substance over the penalty.

“They’re going to call it the way they see it,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “I saw it differently.”

This game appeared to be headed to a different conclusion based on its beginning. The Penguins’ top line blitzed the Hurricanes in the first period and staked a 2-0 lead.

Penguins forward Jake Guentzel put his team up, 1-0, 4:28 into regulation. Winning a puck battle on the offensive end boards, Crosby emerged to the left of the cage. As he slipped to the ice, Crosby was able to one-hand shuffle a backhand pass to the right circle. From there, Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson immediately chopped a pass to the right of the cage for Guentzel, who deflected the puck past goaltender Antti Raanta’s left skate on the near side for his 27th goal of the season. Pettersson and Crosby had assists.

It became a 2-0 contest at 13:53 of the first period. Racing up the left wing of the neutral zone, Guentzel chipped the puck to the offensive blue line for Rust. With Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce in poor position, Rust backhanded the puck back to an onrushing Guentzel. From the left circle, Guentzel slid a pass past sliding defenseman Brady Skjei to the slot for Crosby, who leaned down and lifted a wrister past the glove of a helpless Raanta for his 18th goal. Guentzel and Rust registered assists.

In addition to a lead on the scoreboard, the Penguins also had an edge in possession metrics as they outshot the Hurricanes, 11-10.

That changed quickly almost as soon as the second period started. During the middle frame, the Hurricanes controlled the puck for the most part and controlled shots by a 2-to-1 margin (16-8).

“They come hard,” Pettersson said. They play an in-your-face game and they activate their defensemen a lot. We battled. Maybe we can hold onto pucks a little bit more in the (offensive) zone. We were a little bit disconnected in the second (period).”

That disunion on the Penguins’ behalf resulted in ex-Penguins forward Jordan Staal putting his current employer on the scoreboard 4:20 into the second period.

After Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel lost a puck battle behind his own net, Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter maintained possession to the left of the crease and put a shot attempt off the right post. With Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith scrambling out of position, the puck deflected to the slot where Staal swept in an easy wrister for his seventh goal. Niederreiter netted the lone assist.

Staal scored again at 9:48 of the third period. After Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen failed to claim and clear a puck from his own right half wall, Hurricanes defenseman Ethan Bear corralled it at the right point and chucked a wrister towards the cage. Staal was positioned in the slot and redirected the puck through Ruhwedel’s legs and past DeSmith’s blocker. Bear logged the lone assist.

In overtime, Letang and Hurricanes forward Vincent Trocheck, a native of Upper St. Clair, got tangled up in the Hurricanes’ left wing corner. As play moved up ice, Trocheck threw a right punch that grazed the back of Letang’s head. Letang responded with a cross check, a spear and a punch of his own, the latter of which prompted Hebert to raise his hand and send Letang to the penalty box.

Sullivan suggested Trocheck should have also received a penalty but acknowledged, “Kris has to keep his cool.”

On the ensuing power-play situation, Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho controlled the puck at the high slot then slid a pass to the right circle for forward Teuvo Teravainen, who swiped a one-timer on net. DeSmith made the initial save but allowed a rebound to the slot that Svechnikov cleaned up with a forehand shot. Teravainen and Aho had assists.

“It’s a tough one,” Guentzel demurred when asked how the contest concluded. “I don’t really know what to say about that.”

There was plenty to say about DeSmith, who offered one of his stouter effort of the season. He stopped 39 of 42 shots as his record fell to 6-3-3.

“Phenomenal,” Guentzel said of DeSmith. “He played an outstanding game. He kept us in the game the whole time. Really happy to see him play that well. Wish we could have got two points for him.”

Getting two points Friday would have complemented the Penguins’ 5-1 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Instead, they settled for one point as the first-place Hurricanes (38-12-5, 81 points) increased their lead in the Metropolitan Division over the second-place Penguins (34-14-8, 77 points).

“Obviously, having the lead going into the third (period) …” DeSmith said without completing the thought. “I guess a point (in the standings) is good. The loss stings for sure.”

Notes

• Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had a seven-game scoring streak snapped.

• Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman and Trocheck were assessed fighting majors late in regulation at 16:42 of the third period.

• On Friday, Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson was placed on injured reserve. He has missed the past four games due to an undisclosed ailment.

• Penguins forward Kasper Bjorkqvist and defenseman P.O Joseph were healthy scratches.

• The Penguins’ last overtime loss to the Hurricanes came during a 3-2 defeat at PNC Arena on Jan. 12, 2016. Forward Jeff Skinner scored the winning goal against goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

• Staal’s goals were his third and fourth in 26 career games against the Penguins.