Although the Penguins earned the 6-5 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, they weren’t particularly happy with how they got there.
“It wasn’t our best game,” forward Drew O’Connor said. “I think we have to be a lot better defensively and help our goalies out a bit more, and I don’t think we did that throughout the entire game. Obviously, we got the win, but I think there’s definitely still areas we can continue to grow and focus on the details a little bit better.”
Related: Malkin And Crosby Hit Major Milestones As Penguins Defeat Sabres In Overtime, 6-5
And they’ll have to do just that Friday night when they face the division rival Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina has been giving Pittsburgh fits dating back a few seasons. The Penguins are 2-3-3 in their last eight games against the Hurricanes, with six of those contests being decided by one goal.
The Canes are a tight-checking, opportunistic, and defensively sound team, so the Penguins will need to get to their game early in order to give themselves the best shot to win.
“I think for the most part, they have tended to have a defensive DNA,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “And I also think the style of play that they play lends to that also. They might be the hardest man-on-man team in the league, and they try to play on top of teams. Their breakouts are very simplistic in form, they make a lot of space plays, high flips, hunt and hunt, and they chase pucks down. So, by nature of that, they’re trying not to spend a whole lot of time in their own zone.”
Related: BREAKING: Penguins Center Evgeni Malkin Notches 500th Career Goal
The Hurricanes have only played two games this season, and they are 1-1 with a minus-one goal differential. They currently sit last in the Metropolitan division, while the Penguins are in third.
As far as goaltending, the Penguins will ride the hot netminder in rookie Joel Blomqvist, who made 26 of 28 saves in relief of starter Tristan Jarry on Wednesday. Blomqvist is 2-1 with a 2.88 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. He looks to earn his second straight win.
Related: Penguins’ Crosby Scores 1,600th Point
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