Penguins turn to Alex Nedeljkovic again and finally beat Hurricanes

The Pittsburgh Penguins needed their best Thursday against one of their nemeses in the Metropolitan Division, the Carolina Hurricanes.

And with regard to their own crease, backup Alex Nedeljkovic was deemed a better option than starter Tristan Jarry.

That proved to be a sound decision as Nedeljkovic, starting for the third time in four games, made 23 saves on 24 shots in regulation and overtime, then stopped all three shootout attempts he faced as the Penguins claimed a 2-1 victory that snapped a five-game losing streak to the Hurricanes (0-3-2).

Forward Sidney Crosby scored in regulation and added the lone goal in the shootout.

The result boosted Nedeljkovic’s record to 5-2-1, a mark that includes three consecutive wins in as many starts.

Deferring to Nedeljkovic wasn’t necessarily rooted in any kind of dissatisfaction with Jarry, a two-time All-Star. The Penguins are simply sticking with a goaltender who is playing really well at the moment.

“He’s won a couple of games here for us most recently,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said after an optional morning skate Thursday. “We think he’s played extremely well. That weighs into a lot of the decision. Having said that, we have the utmost confidence in (Jarry) also. We think we’ve got two real capable guys. We’re going to keep them involved here. We’re going to rely on both of them to help us win games.”

The Penguins won this construction paper-thin game by being patient in what essentially became something of a staring contest.

Neither team seemed interested in making a mistake that could have turned into offense for the opposition.

“We did a good job (by staying patient) and we still generated chances with that,” Crosby said. “It wasn’t like we were sitting back. There were a few shifts where we got hemmed in a bit and we had to kind of grind it out. Besides that, I thought we made some really good plays and generated some good chances playing a game that didn’t give up a lot.”

Crosby opened the scoring with his 19th goal of the season 8:51 into regulation.

Chasing down a puck dumped into his own right corner, Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei tried to clear it off the near boards but had it intercepted by Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, who blocked the puck with his right arm and then backhanded a pass to linemate Rickard Rakell just above the near circle. Spinning to his right, Rakell ripped a backhanded pass below the circle for Crosby, who deftly deflected the puck by goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov’s glove on the near side. Rakell and Guentzel had assists.

Good fortune benefited the Hurricanes when they tied the contest 1-1 at 14:52 of the second period.

Corralling a loose puck on the right half-wall of the offensive zone, Hurricanes forward Jack Drury circumnavigated his way to the top of the left circle and fed a pass to linemate Teuvo Teravainen along the near wall. Going low to the goal line, Teravainen snapped a bad angle wrister that Nedeljkovic booted out with his left leg. The rebound scooted to the top of the crease and struck off the left skate of Penguins defenseman Kris Letang before deflecting into a mostly vacant cage. Teravainen was credited with his 12th goal off assists from Drury and defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

Both teams remained disciplined in the third period with the exception of Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson taking a holding penalty against Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook at the 15:18 mark.

What followed over the ensuing two minutes was a stout defensive display by the home team.

Facing a power-play unit that entered the day ranked ninth in the NHL with a conversion rate of 23.9%, the Penguins penalty killers – forwards Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Drew O’Connor and Reilly Smith as well as defensemen Ryan Graves, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel and Letang – yielded only one shot.

“Just being tight and just kind of sticking to our system,” Acciari said. “We switched up a couple of things for their power play. We were able to kind of just read that. It just worked out really well.”

“We watched a bunch of film on what they were looking to do. Fortunately, we were able to keep them to the outside. When they were getting shots, it was either getting blocked or wide. I don’t think we gave up too many (grade-A chances).

The Penguins’ power play wasn’t all that impressive, going 0 for 5, including a four-on-three sequence during the final 1:14 of overtime.

“Would have loved to get one on the (power play) there, a number of them, but especially in overtime,” Crosby said. “But I think we just stayed with it.”

Crosby claimed victory by scoring the only goal of the shootout.

Rakell and Letang were blanked on their shootout attempts while Nedeljkovic turned away forwards Stefan Noesen, Andrei Svechnikov and Teravainen.

“I try to not really think about (strategy in shootouts),” Nedejkovic said. “The more I think, the worse I get. I just try to read and react, take away their time and space and force them to make a decision when they don’t want to make them.”

The Penguins did not want another loss to the Hurricanes and were clearly happy to avoid making it a half-dozen in a row.

“Divisional games are big,” Crosby said. “This year, last year, you look at all the games, they’re all very similar to that and we didn’t find a way to win them. To kind of get over the hump and get on the winning side, I think that’s big. Hopefully, that will boost our confidence in a tight game like that. We’re going to see a lot of those.

“We’ve got to get a comfort level in playing that type of game.”

It may be premature to suggest the Penguins are platooning goaltenders at this juncture. But it’s clear they have a comfort level in turning to Nedeljkovic instead of Jarry no matter the circumstances.

“Those guys have been really solid for us for most of the year,” Sullivan said following a practice session Wednesday. “To have two guys that we can rely on that we feel confident we can put in the net and they can give us a chance to win is a good feeling to have as a coach. … They’re both quality goaltenders. They work extremely hard. They push one another to be at their best. They’ve been fairly consistent, (which) I think is an important aspect of that position in particular.

“Right now, it’s a good situation for both of them. They have a great relationship, but there’s also a healthy competition that exists.”

Notes:

• The Penguins’ most recent win against the Hurricanes was a 4-2 victory at home on March 13, 2022. Crosby scored the winning goal on an empty net.

• Penguins forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and defenseman P.O Joseph were healthy scratches.