The Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are both struggling as they head into their game on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.
Both teams have lost four of their last six games and are coming off recent defeats.
The Hurricanes were shut out 4-0 at home by the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, managing only 21 shots on goal.
“We’re so flat, we have no chance the way we’re going right now,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said during a bench interview in the game. “Zero.”
Carolina had just one shot in the first 12 minutes, even with a four-minute power play.
In the second period, while trailing 2-0, the Hurricanes thought they had scored when Jalen Chatfield’s shot deflected in off the skate of Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin. However, Minnesota coach John Hynes challenged the goal for being offside. After a review, it was determined that Jackson Blake was offside when trying to leave the ice during a line change, so the goal was overturned.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 23 saves for Carolina.
Center Jack Drury returned to the lineup for Carolina after missing 10 games due to a broken thumb.
As for the Penguins, they lost 3-2 in a shootout to the Florida Panthers on Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
Rickard Rakell tied the game at 2 with 40 seconds left in regulation with a power-play goal after goalie Tristan Jarry was pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage. This forced overtime and allowed Pittsburgh to secure at least one point.
“I thought we played extremely hard. It was another really good hockey game,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We had a lot of good opportunities to score.
I loved our compete level down the stretch. We got one with the goalie pulled on the power play at the end. I just love the compete of this group right now, I love the intentions. We’re trying to play the game the right way.”
Sidney Crosby also scored a power-play goal, and Jarry made 31 saves.
“I thought the guys did a great job,” Jarry said. “We were able to get a power play at the end and that really helped. The guys executed and did what we talked about. Learning from the last game — a 4-2 loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday — really helped us. I thought we brought a really good game tonight.”
Defenseman Owen Pickering returned after missing four games due to a concussion, getting nearly 14 minutes of ice time with a shot on goal. However, forward Philip Tomasino left the game in the third period with what looked like a lower-body injury after sliding into the boards.
Martin Necas leads the Hurricanes with 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists). Jack Roslovic has the team’s most goals with 17. Sebastian Aho is second in points with 40 and is tied with Andrei Svechnikov for third with 12 goals.
Crosby leads the Penguins with 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists). Rakell (18 goals, 14 assists) and Evgeny Malkin (8 goals, 24 assists) are tied for second with 32 points. Rakell is the team’s top scorer, and Bryan Rust is second with 15 goals.
