Hurricanes’ Power Play Ups Big with 4-1 Win vs. Penguins – Hockey Writers – NHL News

On October 18, the Carolina Hurricanes (2-1-0) improved their record with a road victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-3-0). Although the Hurricanes haven’t been on the ice yet, now tied for the fewest games played in the NHL, they sure aren’t playing like they should—they beat the Penguins 4-1.

Pittsburgh got on the board first courtesy of Drew O’Connor. The six-goal forward extended his scoring streak to two games with assists from Lars Eller and Jesse Puljujarvi. The latter is having a strong season for the Penguins, trying to re-enter the top-six days of his past.

Red-hot Evgeni Malkin (11 points heading into this one) and the Penguins were kept off the score sheet the rest of the game, however. Hurricanes rookie Jackson Blake scored the second goal of his season—and career—on assists from Eric Robinson and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Related: Evgeni Malkin Records 500-Career Goal

Carolina took the lead in the second period on a power play goal by Martin Necas. He notched his first goal of the season while Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho got their first assists.

Neci’s first season of the season was fantastic 🎯 pic.twitter.com/aevVHjPGWl

– Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) October 19, 2024

Late in the period, Shayne Gostisbehere added to the fun with his power play stats. Andrei Svechnikov and Necas stopped him.

To add some insurance, Jack Roslovic got his first goal (and point) in a Hurricanes uniform to make it 4-1. Kotkaniemi’s key assist made it a two-point night and Dmitry Orlov made it a two-game hitting streak with his second assist. There were nine minutes left in the game at this point, but both strikers closed the door until the final horn.

Speaking of the nets, the Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen turned away 25 of the 26 shots he faced. Giving up four goals isn’t fair, but 22-year-old rookie Joel Blomqvist made 35 saves on 39 rubbers that found their way to his net.

Next, the Hurricanes will go from two games in the first two weeks of the season back to back. They will visit St. Louis Blues and aim to extend their winning streak to three games. As for the Penguins, they won’t be back in action until Oct. 20 when visiting the undefeated Winnipeg Jets.