Penguins aim for better road mark

They had won four games in a row before absorbing a 4-1 defeat Tuesday in Columbus and were just one point removed from a wild-card berth before games Thursday.

Although Carolina goalie Cam Ward was yanked from that Blues Jackets game after allowing four goals on 19 shots, his play is a primary reason the Hurricanes are flirting with a playoff spot.

So is their penalty-killing, which ranks first in the league, with a success rate of 89.1 percent.

To say nothing of a balanced offense and promising defense corps featuring the likes of Justin Faulk, Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin, all of whom are 24 or younger.

“They have a good young team,” Penguins defenseman Trevor Daley said. “They’ve been trending in the right direction. Their goalie’s playing well, having a really good season, and that helps a lot.”

The Hurricanes have been especially good at PNC Arena, where they are 14-1-1 in their past 16 and 15-4-1 for the season.

Even though taking two points out of Raleigh no longer is hockey’s equivalent of a gimme putt, the Penguins’ victory at the Bell Centre could provide a template for success in future away games.

They had good structure, forced the Canadiens to play a 200-foot game and consistently slowed them in the neutral zone.

It was efficient execution of a concept Sullivan had laid out a few hours before the game.

“Regardless of what rink we play on, we have to go out and try to dictate the terms,” he said. “When we do that, we’re a very good hockey team, and we can compete with anybody, regardless of whether we’re home or away.”

The ultimate objective, of course, is to win the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins have four of those, each time clinching the championship on the road.

Perhaps that’s a coincidence, at least to some extent — last June was the first time they got to play a potential title-winning game at home — but it does underscore the importance of being able to win away games.

Daley, for one, believes there’s no reason the Penguins can’t do that on a regular basis.

“Absolutely,” he said. “This team’s good. We should be able to win.”