Malkin, Neal lead Pens to shootout victory over Hurricanes

James Neal scored the game-winning goal in the shootout and the Penguins won their third in a row, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 at Consol Energy Center Tuesday night. Evgeni Malkin also scored in the shootout and added the lone Pens goal in regulation.

Marc-Andre Fleury helped to weather the Canes’ storm and Evgeni Malkin continued his stellar play in the Penguins 2-1 shootout win over Carolina. It was the Penguins third consecutive win after losing six games in a row from December 29 to January 11.

“Of course it’s unbelievable (to win at the Consol), because we haven’t won at home in a long time,” Malkin said after the game.

First period goals by Malkin and Carolina defenseman Jamie McBain kept the game tied at one through three periods and five minutes of overtime. Malkin and Pens forward James Neal scored in the shootout for Pittsburgh, and Fleury stymied Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner for the win.

Fleury’s final shootout save on Staal was not the only important one he made on the Hurricanes’ captain in the game. With time running out in the second period and Carolina on a power play, Fleury stuffed Staal’s close-range, backhanded attempt that would have given the Canes a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.

"That’s why he’s paid what he is,” Pens’ defenseman Brooks Orpik said of Fleury. “He’s a big part of the team. Sometimes when he’s not playing well we’ve got to pick him up and vice versa.”

Fleury and the penalty killers also kept the game tied after a questionable call in the third period. After a hard, shoulder-to-shoulder hit left recently concussed Hurricanes’ center Skinner crawling on the ice, Orpik was sent to the box for interference. It’s possible the call was a knee-jerk reaction to a star player possibly having another concussion, but Orpik was forgiving after the game.

"It’s tough to fault those guys when it happens in real time,” he said of the officials. “They’re just trying to do the right thing.”

Skinner, who struggled to get up after the hit and smacked his stick on the ground as he made his way down the runway and, one would assume, to a quiet room, returned to finish the game.

“Obviously we love the fact that we have him back,” Hurricanes’ Head Coach Kirk Muller said after the game. “We don’t want to lose him again. It was good to see him come back there. He’ll learn to be careful cutting across in the middle there, but it’s good that he came back. He’s a competitor.”

After his reaction to Orpik’s hit, it’s fair to say that how long the Hurricanes will have Skinner back is unknown.

The Penguins have competitors in their own lineup, though, and once again their best one stood out.

“I think in terms of the regular season (this is the best Malkin has been)… playing offensively, playing with the puck, playing defensively, faceoffs. He’s getting the lion’s share of the responsibilities right now in a lot of areas of play,” Bylsma said of Malkin.

Both Bylsma and Orpik believe that, excluding the 2009 post-season, this year has seen Evgeni Malkin at his best.

Although McBain put the Hurricanes on the board first, Malkin, who has had several highlight reel goals this year, added another when he tied the game with 1:22 left in the first period. After his initial, bad-angle shot eventually found itself bouncing on the stick of Eric Staal, Makin picked the Canes captain’s pocket, worked his way towards the crease and snapped a shot over Cam Ward for his 22nd goal of the year. With the goal, Malkin tied Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin for the league lead in points.

Bylsma also addressed the chippy nature of the game, which featured two fights.

“I just think you’re seeing our team play with an edge,” he said. “(We’re) playing with a bit of an attitude. That doesn’t always manifest itself out in (fighting) majors, but it has in the past four or five games for our team, and it’s an indication of where our guys are at.”

After gaining momentum by steamrolling through most of the Southeast division, next the Penguins will try to knock off the Eastern Conference leading New York Rangers, Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Three Stars
1) James Neal
2) Marc-Andre Fleury
3) Cam Ward

Scoring Summary
Goals:
PIT: Evgeni Malkin (22), James Neal (SO)
CAR: Jamie McBain (4)
Assists:
PIT: Matt Niskanen, Paul Martin
CAR: Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Skinner

Special Teams
PIT: 0-1
CAR: 0-3

In the Net:
PIT: Marc-Andre Fleury (W) 25-26
CAR: Cam Ward (L) 40-41