RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said recently he was "just warming up." Turns out, he wasn't kidding.
Staal had a pair of goals Friday and Andrei Svechnikov scored in overtime as the Canes pulled out a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Svechnikov followed up a shot by Teuvo Teravainen with 1:46 left in the OT after Canes center Vincent Trocheck drew a slashing call against Pens defenseman Kris Letang. On the 4-on-3 power play, Teravainen got off a shot from the right circle and Svechnikov was in the position to pop the puck past goalie Casey DeSmith.
Goalie Antta Raanta, who had 22 saves, picked up the win for the Canes (38-12-5), the Metro Division leaders. Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel each had a goal and assist for the Pens (34-14-9).
In a matchup that had a definite playoff feel to it, the Canes rallied from a 2-0 deficit behind Staal. The big center scored in the low slot in the second period, then redirected an Ethan Bear shot in third.
The Canes killed off a Martin Necas slashing penalty to take the game into the final minutes of regulation. Trocheck and the Pens' Mark Friedman then dropped the gloves with 3:18 left in regulation to slug it out behind the Pens net.
Trocheck skated to the penalty box lifting his arms, asking for noise. He got it.
A minute later, the Pens were assessed with a penalty for too many men on the ice, setting up the Canes on the power play. But Pittsburgh killed it off and soon it was off to overtime.
The game marked the return to PNC Arena for former Canes forward Brock McGinn. He was recognized with a video tribute in the opening period and received a big ovation from both Canes fans and a large contingent of Pens fans in the arena.
After the loss in Washington, Aho stressed that the Canes would be after a much sharper start against the Pens. They didn't get it.
The Canes appeared stuck in the same malaise, a half-step slower than the Pens. They soon trailed 1-0, Guentzel scoring his 27th of the season after the Pens kept the Canes from clearing the zone.
It was 2-0 after the first as Crosby scored his 18th moments after a Pens power play expired. Guentzel had the primary assist as Crosby found a soft spot in the slot.
Then, the game began to turn. The Canes were quicker to pucks in the second period and their puck management much better as they produced 16 shots.
Maybe Staal is "just warming up," as the Canes captain said recently. It was Staal who scored the last goal for Carolina in their overtime loss at Detroit and Staal who got the Canes on the board Friday at 4:20 of the second with his fourth goal in seven games.
The Canes, cranking up the forecheck and intensifying the pressure, outshot the Pens 16-8 in the period had had two near-misses — Niederreiter and Ethan Bear each hit a post.
Staal's goal in the third tied it when a long-range shot from Bear at the right point deflected off the captain's stick in the high slot.
