RALEIGH, N.C. — This article originally appeared on PGHHockeyNOW.com.
Five times in the last nine games, and now six times in 10 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ (34-18-16) and Carolina Hurricanes (43-19-6) went to overtime at the Lenovo Center. The Penguins remained winless in those games (0-4-6), but in keeping with the script, a wild third period went to overtime.
After a low-scoring two periods, four more goals followed Bryan Rust’s third-period tying goal as the teams combined for seven goals in the third, as Carolina yielded a pair of leads, but the Penguins also gave up a lead.
The back-and-forth fight ended when Carolina defenseman Sean Walker scored with 28 seconds remaining in overtime.
The Penguins finished their five-game road trip, which also began in Carolina, with a 2-1-2 record and a three-point lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets for a playoff position.
While the Penguins registered 12 shots in the first period, no set of eyes in Raleigh would agree they deserved a better fate than trailing 1-0. In fact, that small deficit was its own victory.
Somewhat fittingly, Carolina quickly scored just 10 seconds into the Penguins’ first power play. After an offensive zone draw, the Penguins over-committed, and Jordan Martinook saw the opportunity. Martinook broke for center ice and former Penguins center Jordan Stall easily set him up for a long shorthanded breakaway goal at 9:34 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.
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