RALEIGH, NC — Frederic Andersen Made 34 saves for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at PNC Arena.
The win was Andersen’s second straight after missing 29 games with a lower-body injury. He made 21 saves in a 6-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
“I will definitely take the two victories,” Andersen said. “You have to keep building on just feeling good. Anyone who’s been out for a long time will tell you they miss everything about playing and being part of a band, so it feels good to be back.”
Brady Skjei and: Jaylen Chatfield scored a goal for the Hurricanes (27-9-7).
Ricard Raquel scored for the Penguins (21-15-6), who have lost two straight and eight of 10 (2-6-2). Casey DeSmith made 34 saves.
“We’re trying to play the game the right way,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “There are different ways to create offense against a team like this. You don’t get rid of the rush, that’s a challenge when you play a team like Carolina.”
At 17:02 of the first period, Skjei gave Carolina a 1-0 lead with a wrist shot from the left side of the circle.
“If you can wait a little bit longer and see him come down, usually you can cut up the middle and try to make a play,” Skjei said. “Fortunately [DeSmith] little, and I got to the middle.”
Video: [email protected] Skjei puts the Hurricanes up 1-0
“I would definitely like to have that one. When he pulled it around the Raks, I took it. It hit the top of my glove, bent and just kind of dripped.
At 9:14 of the second period, Chatfield made it 2-0 with a one-timer off a pass from Sebastian Aho along the right side boards. He has four goals in his last 11 games after going scoreless in his first 66 NHL games.
“It was a beautiful performance,” Chatfield said. “[The pass] just in my wheels, got a good shot and it went in.”
At 7:48 of the third period, Raquel made it 2-1 thanks to a power-play goal. Andersen tried to jump after the catch Jake Guentzel,’s shot from the point, but Raquel cleared the goal.
“I was trying to get it out of the zone and not give up on the whistle, but obviously the worst case scenario,” Andersen said. “It doesn’t matter how you score, you have to recover and finish the job. The boys helped and we won.”
Video. [email protected] Chatfield scores with the 2nd slap shot
Raquel’s goal was her 15th this season.
“I saw him try to make a play on it. I just tried to get something out there,” Raquel said. “Obviously, he was quite lucky.”
Andersen made 23 saves, including two shutouts, in the second and third periods Yevgeny Malkin on a 5-on-3 power play late in the second.
“They did a great job of doing that, and obviously Freddie was great,” Carolina coach Rod Brind amour said. “It’s funny that they get a power-play goal and he gave it to them. But that was all he gave all night. It was a great performance.”
Pittsburgh outscored the Hurricanes 16-7 in the third period. Their best scoring chance came on a Malkin layup with 1:06 left, but Anderson again made a save on the left side.
“I thought we just played on our toes [in the third]“Captain of the Penguins Sidney Crosby said: “We had a good time and decent chances. We looked good and could have tied it.”
NOTES: Pittsburgh quarterback Marcus Peterson Missed his second straight game due to illness. … Aho extended his point streak to four games (one goal, five assists). … Skje has nine goals this season, his NHL career high. … Seven of Carolina’s eight goals in the last two games have been scored by its defensemen. … The Hurricanes swept the season series against the Penguins (4-0-0).
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