National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 6, Carolina 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, February 23, 2018
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Referees: Dave Jackson, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Brian Mach, Vaughan Rody
Attendance: 18180
Phil Kessel scored a pair of second-period goals after the Pittsburgh Penguins already had the lead in a 6-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.

Jake Guentzel, Olli Maatta, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin also scored for the Penguins, who have a six-game winning streak.

Kessel assisted on the game's first goal, so he had a three-point game. Guentzel, who assisted on both of Kessel's goals, and Malkin also both had three points.

It continued a special week for the Kessel family. The Pittsburgh right winger's sister, Amanda Kessel, was one of the standouts for the U.S. goal medal team in the Olympics.

Penguins goalie Matt Murray made 27 saves. He allowed only Teuvo Teravainen's second-period goal.

Carolina goalie Cam Ward stopped 33 shots. The Hurricanes have gone 0-3-1 across their last four games after they had moved into playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

This was the final of 10 February home games for Carolina, which went 4-4-2 in those games. The Hurricanes play their next three games on the road.

The Penguins have scored 29 goals in their winning streak. This was their third consecutive game with at least five goals.

Maatta stretched the Penguins' lead to 2-0 with a goal just 46 seconds into the second period.

Teravainen tallied for the Hurricanes 79 seconds later.

Kessel's two goals came within a 2-minute, 14-second stretch. He had gone the previous six games without a goal.

Crosby's goal came on a third-period power play.

Also Friday night, the Penguins announced the acquisition of forward Derick Brassard in a three-team trade with Ottawa and Vegas.

Pittsburgh traded defenseman Ian Cole, goalie Filip Gustavsson, a 2018 first-round draft pick and a 2019 third-round selection to the Senators. The Penguins sent forward Ryan Reaves and a 2018 fourth-round draft pick originally acquired from Vancouver to the Golden Knights.

The Hurricanes played without center Jordan Staal, a former Penguin, as he missed the game because of a personal/family matter.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Pittsburgh   Carolina
Phil Kessel 3 Points Teuvo Teravainen 1
Phil Kessel 2 Goals Teuvo Teravainen 1
Jake Guentzel 2 Assists Sebastian Aho 1
Sidney Crosby 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Matt Murray .964 Save Percentage Cam Ward .846
Matt Murray 27 Saves Cam Ward 33
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Pittsburgh 39 6 1-1 2-2 6 24
Carolina 28 1 0-2 0-1 14 34
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .464 after a win and .424 after a loss.
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Penguins have a W/L % of .543 after a win and .630 after a loss.