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Insert Obvious March Madness Comparison Here: Canes Beat Pens On OT Buzzer-Beater
Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Jamie McBain's tally with less than a second to play in overtime sent Carolina past Pittsburgh, 3-2, at Mellon Arena.
In the final 20 seconds of overtime, Chad LaRose hit the post on a 2-on-1 break, then followed up his own rebound and ripped a wrister that Marc-Andre Fleury stopped.
With Carolina still pressuring as time wound down, McBain tracked a loose, bouncing puck and lifted it over a prone Fleury for his first NHL goal with nine-tenths of a second to go.
“It’s just an unbelievable feeling. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, and you dream about it up until it does,” McBain admitted. “In this game, with this atmosphere, against that team, with the time left, it’s a pretty special feeling.”
Zach Boychuk and Joni Pitkanen scored in regulation for the Hurricanes, who have won two in a row and took three of four over Pittsburgh this season.
Justin Peters picked up the win by stopping 15 shots over the final 37-plus minutes. Starter Manny Legace left the game early in the second period after he was hit during a scrum in front of the Carolina cage after making eight saves.
“It looked like he was going to be okay,” said Peters of Legace. “But going in there is the backup’s job and to be ready whenever the opportunity arises. I was happy I was able to get the win.”
Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin hit the net for the Penguins, who had won two of three coming in but assumed a two-point edge in the Atlantic Division over New Jersey with the point beyond regulation. Fleury stopped 26 shots in defeat.
Boychuk’s baseball-bat-style deflection of a Pitkanen centering feed put Carolina on the board at 6:48 of the first period.
Pittsburgh didn't equalize until 17.5 seconds remained in the second period, as Alexei Ponikarovsky made a perfect dish to Staal for a one-timer at a sharp angle from the right wing to capitalize on a power play.
Malkin gave the Penguins a one-goal edge with 6:55 left in regulation, as he was alone in the slot to receive a Ruslan Fedotenko feed and slip it past Peters.
However, a Pitkanen slapper from the left circle with four minutes remaining tied the game.
“We played well but I felt we didn’t come out of the gate the way we usually should,” said Fedotenko. “We didn’t set the tone, and didn’t play how we can play and it came back to bite us.”
This marked the first time since 2006-07 that Carolina has won the season series over Pittsburgh...The Hurricanes have won three of their last four games at Mellon and swept a pair of games in the Steel City for the first time since 2005-06...Ponikarovsky picked up a pair of assists...The Hurricanes host Buffalo on Sunday and the Penguins travel to Detroit on Monday.
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