Carolina Hurricanes deny Pittsburgh Penguins third period rally to win 5-3 -NHL Match Update
Pittsburgh tried to make a comeback in the third and last period of regulation and succeeded in the levelling the match but the Carolina Hurricanes denied the Penguins attempt to win, 5-3, Saturday night, November 12, 2011, at the RBC Center in Raleigh,
North Carolina, United States.
The Hurricanes also snapped their four game losing streak, which had stunted them in the lower ranks of the Eastern Conference ever since the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season had kicked off.
Eric Staal was disappointed with his teams’ performance in the previous contests but concentrated on his future matchups instead of focusing on the past, which in the end did pay off.
"You can feel sorry for yourself or you can go out next shift and do your best", Staal said. "I felt like I did that, and I was I rewarded, which was nice".
Carolina’s rookie forward, Jeff Skinner, scored his seventh of the season only 1:22 into the opening period, giving the home team and early lead.
Tuomo Ruutu came out strong and scored two straight in the second period nearly four minutes apart in the final moments, giving Jeff Skinner back-to-back assists.
Jordan Staal answered back with two consecutive goals in the opening five minutes of the third period to put Pittsburgh back into the contest. His second of the night and eighth of the season came shorthanded as Arron Asham was booked for slashing with a
minor penalty, putting them down a man.
Chris Kunitz scored the equaliser at the 12:18 mark, putting the home crowd on the edge of their seats as the contest was headed into a potential overtime extension, but Eric Staal fired with the tie-breaker with less than five minutes and Chad LaRose secured
the contest nearly two minutes later.
"For me especially, it couldn't get worse", said Staal, who had been on the ice for all three of Pittsburgh's goals. "You're in that position, up 3-0, and all of a sudden it's 3-3. You can either shell up and call it a night or rear up and go after the next
goal. I think as a group we showed a lot of character".
Carolina Hurricanes host the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday while Pittsburgh Penguins head home to face the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
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