The Penguins blew another late lead last night, suffering a costly Metro Division loss to Carolina in a shootout. Dougie Hamilton scored the only goal during the shootout to lift the Hurricanes to a 3-2 win. Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, and Kris Letang scored the other Penguins goal late in the third period, but the ‘Canes tied the game on a Justin Williams goal with the goalie pulled and 1:56 left in the third period.
The Penguins have lost three straight games and their lead over Carolina is down to two points, but the ‘Canes have one more win than the Pens while having played two fewer games. Pittsburgh will visit Nashville tomorrow night. The tight Metro standings show the Capitals leading the division with 93 points, followed by the Islanders with 91, the Penguins with 89, and the Hurricanes with 87. The ‘Canes hold the first wild card for the playoffs, with the Columbus Blue Jackets a point ahead of Montreal for the second and final wild card.
It was the Pens’ second straight game without Evgeni Malkin, who was injured on Saturday against St. Louis and is listed as “week-to-week”. Defenseman Olli Maatta returned to practice yesterday, with a non-contact jersey. He’s been out since February 11th with a shoulder injury. Maatta is a plus-10 in 55 games this season. Zach Aston-Reese and Chad Ruhwedel are still not practicing.
Phil Kessel played his 320th game in a row with the Penguins, breaking a tie with Craig Adams for the franchise record for most consecutive games. His overall streak is at 766, dating back to the beginning of the 2009 season.
