Pens blow past 'Canes
PITTSBURGH — For more than 48 minutes, teenager Brandon Sutter's first career goal looked as though it would be a winner for Carolina. With scorers like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins can turn a game around in only a few seconds.
Crosby and Ruslan Fedotenko scored 32 seconds apart during Pittsburgh's four-goal third period and Malkin added a goal and an assist to help the Penguins rally for a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes Thursday night.
Sutter gave one of hockey's most famous families another milestone, scoring off a Pittsburgh giveaway to put Carolina up 1-0 in the first — a lead that held up for nearly 2Z\x periods. Sutter, a 2007 first-round draft pick and the son of New Jersey Devils coach Brent Sutter, is the ninth member of the Sutter family to play in the NHL.
The 19-year-old Sutter grabbed the puck after Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik whiffed on a pass and, skating in from the blue line, beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a backhander at 13:07 of the first to score unassisted.
"It's nice to get the first one for sure — I had a few chances the first couple of games," Sutter said.
Carolina backup goalie Michael Leighton made the lead stand up until the Penguins — known for their scoring flurries — needed only two shifts to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead.
"We did what we do, we kept working and working and kept putting pucks on the net. When you have guys like Sid and Geno (Malkin), you know it's going to go in," said Max Talbot, who also scored in the third.
Niclas Wallin's hooking penalty set up only the third power play, and Crosby took advantage by converting defenseman Dennis Seidenberg's turnover in the defensive end, barely getting his stick on Evgeni Malkin's slap shot from the right point at 8:15 for his second goal of the season.
On the Penguins' next shift, Fedotenko scored his first for Pittsburgh off a pass by Jordan Staal, the brother of Carolina star Eric Staal. Jordan Staal picked up only his third point in nine career games against his brother's team.
Talbot stretched the lead to 3-1 at 11:51 of the third with his first and Pittsburgh's third goal in less than four minutes. Malkin scored into an empty net in the final minute.
"We kind of wore them down a bit with the pressure we had and finally got some really good chances," Crosby said.
Fleury made 24 saves to improve to 4-2-1 as the Penguins won their third in a row.
