Penguins get 1st win against Hurricanes this season

Like everyone, the Penguins lost an hour of sleep Sunday.

But for the first time in 2021-22, they didn’t lose to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sunday’s 4-2 home win at PPG Paints Arena was the Penguins’ first triumph against the Hurricanes in the third and final meeting between the two Metropolitan Division foes this regular season.

The victory carried plenty of weight in the standings. Even with the win, a gulf remains between the second-place Penguins (36-15-9, 81 points) and the Hurricanes (41-13-5, 87 points). Though a clean two points — free of any overtime or shootout points for the Hurricanes — does restore some hope of a division crown.

But beyond that tabulation, this contest offered perhaps an even greater value that might not be measurable: assurance.

To be clear, the Penguins don’t lack confidence. They know they can beat just about any of the other 31 franchises in the NHL.

But it didn’t hurt to get a reminder.

“(Sunday’s) game is important but not only for the points and the standings,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. “We want to battle that team because they’re the top team, and they’re a good measuring stick for us.

“You want to go into the game, have a good impression of yourself and bring a tough challenge. … For me, it’s just getting the focus of playing that team because they are the best.”

It would be a stretch to say the Penguins were at their best Sunday. They were outshot by nearly a two-to-one margin (43-22). And the Hurricanes weren’t exactly fresh considering they had played less than 24 hours earlier in a 3-1 home win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Regardless, the Penguins weren’t particularly anxious over the circumstances in trying to beat the Hurricanes. They just wanted a win.

“They’re, obviously, one of the best teams in the league,” Penguins forward Danton Heinen said. “I don’t think we had our best the first two games against them. I don’t think we had our best (today) either, but it’s definitely nice to get over that hump and get a win against them.”

The Penguins took the first step in surmounting that hump late in the first period at the 18-minute, 50-second mark. After stealing a clearing attempt at the right point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman John Marino banked the puck off the end boards to Penguins forward Teddy Blueger. Emerging to the right of the cage, Blueger set up linemate Brian Boyle in the slot for his seventh goal of the season.

“I had an open net,” Boyle said. “Instead of a short-side play, (Blueger) got the goalie to open up. He does a lot of that work, and I got to be the beneficiary.”

Heinen was the beneficiary of some strong work in the offensive zone and collected his 13th goal at 11:14 of the second period.

After stealing a puck at the offensive blue line, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin surged up the right wing and dished a backhand pass to the right circle for linemate Evan Rodrigues. From there, Rodrigues moved the puck to the right half wall for Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson, who chucked a wrister at the cage. On a moving screen, Heinen deflected the puck through goaltender Antti Raanta’s five hole.

A goal by defenseman Brett Pesce — his fifth — 4:40 into the third period got the Hurricanes on the board, but that was offset by Penguins forward Sidney Crosby reaching the 20-goal mark with an empty-net score at the 18:21.

The Hurricanes persisted as forward Sebastian Aho, with Raanta still pulled for an extra attacker, cleaned up a rebound for his 27th goal only 14 seconds later.

Another empty- netter by Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese — only his second of the season — secured victory at the 19:48 mark.

Tristan Jarry was arguably the Penguins’ best player as he stopped 41 shots improving his record to 29-12-6.

“We had two really close games with them before,” Jarry said. “We wanted to make this one count. This was kind of our last crack at them. We didn’t want to lose a third one to them. It meant a lot just because we might play them in the playoffs.”