Penguins snap 7-game losing streak
Panthers shut out Hurricanes
WASHINGTON, Nov 10, (AP): Already down two defensemen to injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in desperation mode when Jeff Petry skated off in pain and left them with just three healthy players at the position.
Veteran forward Jeff Carter to the rescue. Carter skated a shift on defense in his 1,313th NHL game Wednesday night to fill the void before Petry returned and the Penguins pieced enough together to beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 and snap their seven-game losing streak.
“Couldn’t have more confidence in Carts,” said goaltender Casey DeSmith, who made 24 saves for his first win of the season. “Monkey off the back. Obviously the team win means everything. Safe to say we needed it, and we earned it.”
The Penguins earned it by going a perfect 4 of 4 on the penalty kill against an opponent that was 4 of 5 on the power play in its last game. They also took advantage of Darcy Kuemper’s struggles in net, getting soft goals by Jason Zucker and Brock McGinn on shots that squeaked through.
It could have been a bad night for Pittsburgh after losing Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Jan Rutta to injuries in the second period. Instead, No. 1 defenseman Kris Letang skated a game-high 28:28 and the Penguins won for the first time since Oct. 22, ending the organization’s longest skid since losing 10 in a row in 2006, during Sidney Crosby’s rookie season.
The Penguins were relieved Petry, who beat Kuemper clean on a shot from just inside the blue line for the third goal of the game, returned after a brief absence because, as Marcus Pettersson said, being down to three defensemen is a lot different than four. Coach Mike Sullivan in the meantime was just looking for a forward who could skate backwards and chose 37-year-old Carter for the cameo appearance.
Sullivan said Rutta, who was leveled by Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, was being evaluated for an upper-body injury and Joseph for a lower-body injury.
Ovechkin’s point streak ended at six games and his goal streak at three. Missing several key players because of injury, Washington lost for the sixth time in eight games.
Panthers 3, Hurricanes 0
In Sunrise, Spencer Knight made 40 saves in his first shutout of the season and the third of his career, leading Florida past Carolina.
Nick Cousins, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett scored for Florida, which handed Carolina its second straight loss following a four-game winning streak.
The game was played as Broward County was under a hurricane watch due to the approaching Hurricane Nicole.
Carolina goalie Antti Raanta (3-1-1) made 33 saves in the loss.
Canadiens 5, Canucks 2
In Montreal, Kirby Dach scored two goals and Samuel Montembeault made 30 saves, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Dach, who was traded from Chicago to Montreal last summer at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, said that he’s finding chemistry with Cole Caulfield and captain Nick Suzuki on the Habs’ top line.
“It’s been a ton of fun,” the 21-year-old Dach said about playing with Suzuki and Caufield. “We hang out a lot off the ice and at the rink, we’re always talking and letting each other know what each one sees on the ice and maybe different plays we can run.
“The chemistry’s been great, it’s been there right away.”
Veteran forward Brendan Gallagher is impressed with Dach just 14 games into the season.
“You can see the talent that he has, he works at it,” Gallagher said. “He has a big body, he enjoys being a part of a competitive atmosphere, he enjoys everything the city’s bringing to him and he’s having fun.
“He’s playing his game and that’s what you want. It’s exciting to see him, Cole and (Suzuki) work together.”
Nick Suzuki, Arber Xhekaj and Dach gave Montreal (7-6-1) a three-goal lead in the first period. Mike Hoffman also scored for the third time in two games.
“I really liked our first period, I think it was one of our best periods from start to finish,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis sasid. “It’s never easy to play a third period up by four goals because the most dangerous person is the one that has nothing to lose, so they take a lot more chances.
“They were dangerous in the third.”