The Pittsburgh Penguins are Atlantic Division champions.
Beau Bennett and Evgeni Malkin scored 13 seconds apart in the third period to erase a 3-2 deficit and push the Pens to a 5-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at PNC Arena.
With the victory, the Penguins (30-10-0) clinched the Atlantic Division crown, guaranteeing them one of the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference.
After Bennett scored his third of the season on a backhander, Malkin cleaned up the rebound of a Jarome Iginla shot. The play started when Iginla intercepted a pass by Alexander Semin in the neutral zone.
Carolina had taken a 3-2 lead two minutes into the third period on Riley Nash’s fourth goal of the season. Tuomo Ruuto and Chad LaRose set up the play with hard work below the goal line before Nash knocked in Ruutu’s rebound.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 stops to earn his 20th win of the season, tying him with Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild for the League lead. Justin Peters, who made an unscheduled start for Carolina, made 28 saves.
Pascal Dupuis scored an empty-netter and added two assists, while Craig Adams had two helpers for Pittsburgh.
In the first period, Carolina took advantage of a 4-on-3 to draw first blood. Jordan Staal won an offensive zone draw back to defenseman Joe Corvo, who sent a wrister past Fleury from the high slot.
Pittsburgh answered just 1:02 later with Robert Bortuzzo‘s second goal of the season. Dupuis carried the puck from the left boards to the corner, where he made a pinpoint pass to Bortuzzo charging to the far post. Craig Adams won a puck battle against Carolina’s Jeff Skinner to start the play.
Jussi Jokinen, in his second game with Pittsburgh since being traded by Carolina on April 3, set up the Penguins’ second goal. He gathered a loose puck and made a backhand feed to Brenden Morrow, who beat Peters over his blocker. The goal was Morrow’s first as a Penguin in his seventh game after joining the team from the Dallas Stars.
Hurricanes defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti tied the game at 2 with a wrist shot from above the left circle. The Penguins held an 11-8 advantage in shots after one period.
The pace slowed down in the scoreless second period, as each team limited the other’s quality chances. The Hurricanes nearly took the lead when Semin dished from the top of the crease to Eric Staal at the right post, but the puck jumped his stick. Pittsburgh’s best chance came when Dupuis slipped into the slot for a blast, only to have Peters swallow the shot.
The Hurricanes, who had lost 12 of 13 coming into the game, welcomed Justin Faulk back to the lineup after nine games recovering from a strained MCL. Semin also returned after a two-game absence with a lower-body injury.
NHL.com
Photo Credits: Getty Images
