If the Pittsburgh Penguins have any chance of rising to the top in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division, they’ll want to make headway in the next couple of weeks.
The Penguins visit the Carolina Hurricanes for Tuesday night’s game in Raleigh, N.C. These teams occupy the division’s top two spots, and they’re scheduled to meet three times in a 13-day stretch. The Hurricanes hold an eight-point lead on the Penguins.
Pittsburgh has struggled at times in March, going 1-2-1 in its last four games. The Penguins are coming off Sunday’s 5-4 home overtime triumph against the Boston Bruins, and begin a five-game road trip that starts and ends in Raleigh.
Penguins coach Dan Muse said it was a much-needed result for a team that’s preparing to embark on a challenging stretch.
The Hurricanes are back from a West Coast road trip that yielded a 2-2-0 record. Carolina, which will play in Raleigh for the first time in March, holds an 11-game home-ice point streak.
The trip yielded a mixture of results.
“I thought the three games prior (to Saturday’s loss at Calgary) were really good,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We didn’t get the result in Seattle, but I thought we played really well. The other two games (Vancouver and Edmonton) were really, really good.”
Still, the Hurricanes became the first Eastern Conference team to reach the 40-win mark this season.
With defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere out again with a lower-body injury, the Hurricanes might tinker with the lineup. Meanwhile, Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker holds a career-best five-game point streak.
Also among Carolina blueliners, Alexander Nikishin has eight goals, matching Justin Faulk’s franchise record for a rookie defenseman.
“I tell him every time, ‘You got to shoot the puck,'” teammate Andrei Svechnikov said. “He shoots hard and that’s what he has to do.”
Both teams have added new faces since a week ago.
The Penguins, who’ve picked up points in seven of their last nine games (4-2-3), added forward Elmer Soderblom from the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. He made his Pittsburgh debut Sunday.
“It’s new systems and stuff like that,” Soderblom said. “But I tried to just play my game and I just don’t think too much and just play.”
Muse said Soderblom was disruptive on the forecheck and he expects the player to gradually become more comfortable.
“It’s a lot for a guy when you just get traded to a new team and first game, but I thought he did a good job,” Muse said. “I’m excited that he’s here.”
Forward Nic Deslauriers joined the Hurricanes for Monday’s workout after he was acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers late last week.
“I’ve really liked this guy for a long time because I know his character,” Brind’Amour said. “He’s a great teammate, first and foremost. He hasn’t played much, but we do know what he does bring when he’s in the lineup, and that’s that he’s super tough. He stands up for his group, and I think that’s something that we really look forward to having around.”
