Hurricanes rally past Penguins, gain in Metropolitan

RALEIGH, N.C. --The Carolina Hurricanes gained in the Metropolitan Division by rallying for a 3-2 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PNC Arena on Tuesday.

Dougie Hamilton scored the winner in the shootout after Justin Williams scored on a rebound in front to tie it 2-2 with 1:56 remaining in the third period and goalie Petr Mrazek pulled for the extra skater.
"We were looking to Dougie (off the face-off)," Williams said. "If he has a shot, then shoot it. If he doesn't, then I'll fan out. Luckily, he shot at the glove, it bounced right in front of me and I was there to tap it in."
WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Hurricanes highlights]
Brock McGinn scored, and Mrazek made 36 saves for the Hurricanes (40-25-7), who are 9-2-1 in their past 12 games and are two points behind the Penguins for third place with two games in hand.
"Goaltending was huge, that was evident tonight," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "Both guys played great. It was actually fun to watch. Obviously, our guy got the better of it at the end, so it was great."

Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, Kris Letang scored in his return, and Matt Murray made 37 saves for the Penguins (39-24-11), who have lost three in a row (0-1-2) and trail the New York Islanders by two points for second place.
"The third period was our best," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We controlled play the whole period. We scored the goal late to get a lead, they fought back. You've got to give them credit. They're a good team."
McGinn gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead at 9:38 of the second period. Justin Faulk gathered a loose puck in the neutral zone before feeding McGinn, who skated into the left hash marks and scored short side.
Guentzel scored 38 seconds later to tie it 1-1, taking a pass from Sidney Crosby in the high slot and beating Mrazek on a slap shot. The assist was Crosby's 60th, the sixth time he has reached that mark in the NHL.

Letang gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at 15:23 of the third period. Guentzel skated in on a 3-on-1 before sending a cross-ice pass to Bryan Rust, who quickly passed back to Letang for the goal. Letang missed the previous 11 games because of an upper-body injury.
The Penguins killed two penalties in overtime, and Jack Johnson made a save with his skate on Sebastian Aho's shot at an open net in the final minute.
"We were just in desperation mode there in the penalty kill," Johnson said. "We were doing whatever we can to keep the puck out of the net."
Mrazek, who is 7-1-0 in his past eight starts, made a number of key saves throughout the game, including two on Nick Bjugstad in the first period, and on Garrett Wilson, Joseph Blandisi and Matt Cullen in a flurry around the net in the third.
"He's phenomenal," Williams said. "He's a gamer and I love his enthusiasm in there. As a player on the bench, when he makes a big save and he gets jacked up like that, it gets you going."

Mrazek stopped Phil Kessel, Crosby and Guentzel in the shootout.
"We all know where Pittsburgh and we are, last games of the season," Mrazek said. "Everybody's trying to push hard. You just try and be positive in there, make as (many) saves as you can and give your team a chance to win."

They said it

"We'd like to think we can defend leads better. We have in the past and for a long time, and (we've) been very good at it. I know we're capable, but having said that, I thought it was a hard-fought point for us tonight." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan
"I don't feel (pressure) at all. Guys are enjoying it. Obviously, the stakes are high, but it's just a game. Nothing really changes in it. Our approach has been the same. It's all about competing and working. There's areas we've got to try and get better at, but I don't feel that really." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Need to know

Kessel played in his 320th consecutive game for the Penguins, passing Craig Adams for the longest in their history. … Letang led Pittsburgh with 26:45 of ice time. ... Carolina has won 40 games for the first time since 2010-11.

What's next

Penguins:At the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)
Hurricanes:Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TVAS, FS-CR, SUN, NHL.TV)