Something of a rarity occurred in the realm of Pittsburgh sports on Sunday.
For the first time in nearly 13 years, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Steelers played on the same day in the same state that was not Pennsylvania.
Each team played in North Carolina on Sunday.
At the PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., the Penguins were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2.
Earlier in the day (and two and a half hours to the southeast, roughly), the Steelers defeated the Carolina Panthers, 24-16, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The last time such a triviality occurred was Jan. 3, 2010, in Florida.
That day saw the Penguins lose to the Florida Panthers, 6-2, at what was then called the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.
Approximately 25 minutes away at what was then called Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, the Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins, 30-24.
• The Penguins’ loss on Sunday continued a streak of futility in Raleigh.
It’s been almost four years since the Penguins’ last road win against the Hurricanes. On Dec. 22, 2018, they claimed a 3-0 victory. Goaltender Matt Murray made 39 saves in the shutout.
Since then, they are 0-1-2 at Carolina. It should be noted, they did not play a road game against the Hurricanes in the 2019-20 or 2020-21 seasons due to the pandemic.
• The Penguins’ power play was 1 for 5 in Sunday’s contest and extended a streak of games with at least one power-play goal to a season-best eight.
Over that stretch, the Penguins’ power play is 11 for 32 (34.3%).
Forward Rickard Rakell, appearing in his 600th career game, scored on a power-play opportunity at 12:20 of the second period on Sunday.
