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Penguins drop another Metropolitan Division game, losing to Hurricanes

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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Carolina’s Jordan Martinook (left) battles the Penguins’ P.O Joseph for a loose puck during the second period Sunday.
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Penguins players celebrate a goal by Michael Bunting during the first period against the Hurricanes on Sunday.
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The Penguins’ Michael Bunting celebrates after his goal against the Hurricanes during the first period Sunday.
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The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby controls the puck with Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin (74) heading to the bench during the first period Sunday.
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Hurricanes goaltender Dustin Tokarski fails to stop a shot by the Penguins’ Kevin Hayes during the first period Sunday.
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Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic catches the puck in front of Carolina’s Jordan Martinook as P.O Joseph defends during the second period Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins completed the first half of the 2024-25 season in a fashion that has been far too quotidian in their first 41 games.

A loss against a Metropolitan Division rival.

On Sunday, the Penguins were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3, in overtime at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.

Forward Sebastian Aho’s 13th goal of the season at 1:30 of the overtime period was the difference.

The result dropped the Penguins’ already marred record against Metropolitan Division foes to 3-7-2.

It was also the Penguins’ eighth consecutive road loss to the Hurricanes (0-4-4). Their last win in Raleigh was a 3-0 victory on Dec. 22, 2018.

Ex-Hurricanes goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves on 31 shots as his mark slipped to 6-6-4.

“Got beat three times clean high,” Nedeljkovic said to reporters in Raleigh via audio provided by the Penguins’ media relations staff. “A tough one to swallow.”

An unlikely source led to the opening goal 3:47 into regulation on Sunday when Penguins forward Kevin Hayes scored his third goal.

Along with linemate Drew O’Connor, Hayes pressured Hurricanes forward Jesper Kotkaniemi into a turnover on the Penguins’ left half-wall then took possession, generating a two-on-one offensive attack through the neutral zone with O’Connor. As Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield defended the sequence, Hayes gained the offensive blue line on the right wing, approached the cage and pumped a wrister from the right circle through ex-Penguins goaltender Dustin Tokarski’s five hole. It was Hayes’ first goal since Nov. 27. O’Connor had the only assist.

Former Hurricanes forward Michael Bunting’s 12th goal came only 81 seconds later.

Off a drop pass by Penguins forward Bryan Rust near Carolina’s left point, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson took the puck on his forehand and tapped it between his legs. Kicking the puck forward with his left skate, Karlsson surged up the boards into the left circle past Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook. From the lower rim of the circle, Karlsson flicked a brilliant backhand pass above the upper left hashmark where forward Michael Bunting gripped and ripped by Tokarski’s glove on the far side. Karlsson and Rust registered assists.

The hosts took a lead by putting up three consecutive scores in the second period, starting with forward Seth Jarvis’ 10th goal at the 4:15 mark.

From his own right circle, Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk attempted an ill-advised flip pass intended for Penguins forward Rickard Rakell at the far blue line. Aho read the sequence like a novel, intercepted the puck at the center red line and initiated a rush into the Penguins’ zone on the right wing. As Grzelcyk applied passive resistance, Aho slid a backhand pass to the slot where Jarvis swatted a one-timer by Nedeljkovic’s blocker. The lone assist was assigned to Aho.

Chatfield’s fourth goal tied the game at 12:45 of the second frame.

After Rust lost a puck in Carolina’s right corner, Jarvis took possession on the near half-wall and offloaded the puck to Aho who rushed up the left wing boards into the Penguins’ zone. Spinning away from Karlsson on the left half-wall, Aho fed a backhand pass to the slot where Chatfield scorched Nedeljkovic’s blocker with a wrister. Aho and Jarvis generated assists.

Jarvis’ second goal of the contest came at 16:18 of the second.

From his own right corner, Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson tried to deal a pass to the near point for Rust but Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns dashed those ambitions by hounding Rust and poking the puck up the near boards. Ex-Penguins forward Jordan Staal claimed possession and one-touched a pass to linemate Andrei Svechnikov in the right circle. Fending off pressure from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, Svechnikov dished a clever backhand pass between the lower hashmarks. Jarvis darted past Rakell to accept the pass, went backhand to forehand and lifted a wrister by Nedeljkovic’s glove. Svechnikov and Staal had assists.

The Penguins tied the game again, 3-3, via Karlsson’s fourth goal 111 seconds into the third period.

Collecting a rimmed puck in Carolina’s left corner, Rakell sashayed behind the cage and then shoveled a backhand pass to the right point. Grzelcyk took the puck, considered his options for a moment then slid a cross-ice pass to the far circle where Karlsson cranked a one-timer past Tokarski’s blocker on the near side. Grzelcyk and Rakell recorded assists.

The Hurricanes recorded all three of the shots in overtime, including on Aho’s goal.

Settling a puck at the Penguins’ right point, Aho allowed his teammates to make a change at the bench then fed a pass to the left circle where Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov ripped a heavy wrister that Nedeljkovic rejected with his right shoulder. The rebound bounced to the slot where Aho darted between Letang and Penguins forward Sidney Crosby before slamming home a forehand shot over Nedeljkovic’s glove. Orlov and forward Martin Necas had assists.

“We just got out-competed,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said to reporters in Raleigh. “They raised their level and we didn’t push back.”

Tokarski’s record improved to 3-1-0 after he stopped 16 of 19 shots.

Notes:

• Letang returned to the lineup after missing three games due to an undisclosed injury. Prior to the game, he was activated from injured reserve.

• The Penguins were swept in the regular season series by the Hurricanes. It marked the third time they were swept in a regular season series with the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise:

1986-87 - 0-3-0

2022-23 - 0-2-2

2024-25 - 0-2-1

(The Penguins lost their only meeting with the Hurricanes during the 2019-20 campaign. The final three games scheduled between the two teams that season were canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.)

• Penguins defensemen Ryan Graves and Ryan Shea as well as forward Jesse Puljujarvi were healthy scratches.

• Jarvis recorded his 100th career assist.

• Aho’s goal was his 600th career point.

• Aho’s goal was the 14th overtime score of his career. He broke a tie with former forward Olli Jokinen (13) for the most overtime goals by a Finnish-born player in NHL history.

• The Penguins’ last overtime loss to the Hurricanes came nearly a year ago. Defenseman Brett Pesce scored the winning goal in a 3-2 win at what was then called PNC Arena on Jan. 13, 2024.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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