Recap: Hurricanes Top Penguins in Shootout

In dramatic fashion, the Carolina Hurricanes scored the game-tying goal late in regulation and then earned the extra point with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Justin Williams equalized the score at two with just 1:56 left in the third period, and Dougie Hamilton netted the deciding goal in the shootout, as the Canes move within two points of the Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Here are five takeaways from an electric Tuesday night of hockey at PNC Arena.

One
It was intense. It was competitive. It was emotional. It was exciting.
It was as big of a match-up as the Hurricanes have had in years and as close to a playoff game as the regular season can provide.
And, to top it all off, the Hurricanes came away victorious in dramatic fashion, no less.
"That's exactly what it was. The whole game was tight. Lots of scoring chances, but not a lot of goals," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Playoff games are always tight and always seem to come right to the end. We got a positive outcome. It was a good effort from both teams."
"It was a well-contested game by both sides. A lot of emotion, which is great," Williams said. "The fun part is, we're playing playoff hockey and it hasn't started yet."

Two
With 120 seconds left in regulation, Brind'Amour called his team's timeout, huddled the group around the whiteboard and scribbled instructions for the ensuing faceoff.
Sidney Crosby was credited with the win on that faceoff, but Nino Niederreiter hopped on the loose puck and swung it up to the point to Dougie Hamilton for the one-timer. Matt Murray made the initial save but couldn't control the rebound.
Enter Captain Clutch.
Williams was Justin-on-the-spot to bang the rebound in the empty net. Tie game.

"He's been doing this all year for us. It was great execution on that," Brind'Amour said. "Nice to get a bounce at the end to tie it up."
"You've always got to believe that you can do it. See it. Think it. Do it," Williams said. "If we're thinking it and believing it, then the next process is doing it. We've been pretty good with that this year."
This, after Jake Guentzal, Bryan Rust and Kris Letang went tic-tac-toe in transition to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead with 4:37 left in regulation.
Resiliency.
"It's deflating, obviously, but Rod always says you play all the way to the whistle. If it takes us 59:59 to get the equalizer to win the game, that's what we're going to do," Williams said. "Stick with it. Stick with our plan."
So, they did. And, it worked.
"I'm proud of the way we're playing, absolutely," Williams said. "You don't know how far you can go or how good you can play until you get out there until you do it. We're playing well, and we're going to see where it takes us and how good we can be."
Three
The Hurricanes earned their 40th win of the season - an even 20 and 20 split at home and on the road - with a 1-0 scoresheet in the shootout.
Hamilton was up first, and he got Murray moving before sliding the puck past him for the lone goal in the shootout. Murray denied Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin, but Petr Mrazek was one better at the other end of the ice.

Mrazek turned away the skilled trio of Phil Kessel, Crosby and Guentzal, gave an emphatic few fist pumps and then jumped into the arms of Hamilton in celebration.
"We were here for two points," Mrazek said. "We got those and fought hard."
Four
Mrazek's performance in the shootout was an extension of his body of work in the previous 65 minutes, really.
What more can be said about No. 34 in the crease? He was stellar yet again.
"Every game matters so much, but you just try to be positive and make as many saves as you can to give your team a chance to win," Mrazek said.
In the first period, Mrazek made an initial stop on a Nick Bjugstad shot, but the puck leaked through. Mrazek then whipped around to sweep away Dominik Simon's bid for the loose puck.

In the third period, with the score even at one, a mad scramble in front of Mrazek resulted in the puck popping out to the point where Brian Dumoulin let one fly. Mrazek made the save and then poked the rebound off the stick of Matt Cullen.

"He's phenomenal. He's a gamer. I love his enthusiasm in there," Williams said. "As a player on the bench, when he makes a big save and gets all jacked up like that, that gets you going. He's in your corner, and he's a great guy to have there."
Five
This game was evenly matched for the better part of the 65-minute running time. The first period was goalless, but there were chances and close calls either way.
The Canes broke the ice at the 9:38 mark of the second period when Justin Faulk made a move at the blue line to get around the reaching stick of Kessel and then dish a cross-ice pass to Brock McGinn, who finished with a well-placed wrist shot.
The lead didn't hold for long. Just 38 seconds later, Guentzel fired the puck through a screen, beating Mrazek blocker side for his 37th goal of the season.
"It was a great game all the way around," Brind'Amour said. "When you do it right and have a good foundation … you're never out of a game."
Up Next
The Hurricanes' five-game homestand continues on Thursday with a visit from the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have already clinched the Presdeints' Trophy as the league's top team.
"I don't know about the pressure. I don't feel that at all. The guys are enjoying it. Obviously, the stakes are high, but it's just a game," Brind'Amour said. "Our approach has been the same. It's all about competing and working."