Sidney Crosby scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 41st career shutout in the Penguins' 5-0 win against the Hurricanes at Consol Energy Center. Crosby scored a power-play goal with 36.3 seconds left in the second period to make it 3-0. Phil Kessel sent a pass to the right of the crease where Crosby dropped to a knee for the puck to deflect off of his skate and into the net. Carolina challenged the goal, but it was upheld.
Crosby scored again 6:55 into the third period when he sent a snap shot past Carolina goalie Eddie Lack's blocker for his 14th goal of the season. Trevor Daley scored Pittsburgh's fifth goal with 6:24 remaining. Fleury made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season.
Pittsburgh, which killed all four Carolina power plays, has earned at least one point in seven of the past eight games. The Hurricanes were 4-0-1 before Sunday. The Penguins scored twice in the first period after a slow start.
Pittsburgh was trapped in its own end through the first period's first few minutes, but Olli Maatta took advantage once the Penguins were able to break through the neutral zone with his fifth goal of the season. Evgeni Malkin dropped a pass to Maatta, who beat Jeff Skinner to the bottom of the right circle, where he roofed a wrist shot into the top left corner 3:54 into the game.
Conor Sheary extended the lead to 2-0 at 10:05. Sheary left the puck for Kevin Porter, quickly took it back, then split two defensemen and stumbled forward while sending a snap shot past Lack. The goal was Sheary's second in 12 NHL games.
The Hurricanes' best chance came early in the second period, when they had a 5-on-3 for 43 seconds after Ben Lovejoy and newly acquired Carl Hagelin were called for hooking 77 seconds apart. But the Hurricanes didn't manage much during the two-man advantage or the 5-on-4 power play.
The Penguins played without Kris Letang, who sustained an undisclosed injury during the second period of their 5-4 overtime loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. Pittsburgh entered Sunday 1-7-1 this season without Letang.
David Warsofsky exited the game at 6:58 in the third period after an official fell and slid into him, causing Warsofsky to hit his head on the ice. Sullivan said Warsofsky was being evaluated following the game. More on his status should be known Monday, before the Penguins visit the St. Louis Blues.
Pens Quotes
Sidney Crosby: "I had one right on my tape last game that I missed a wide-open net on, so I'll take them any way they come right now. It was a good look from Phil there and I just tried to get something on it and I was happy to see it go in."Marc-Andre Fleury: "[The five goals] was a good cushion. We played well defensively too. Everybody contributed and special teams too. Our penalty kill was good. So, it was a good game all around."
Mike Sullivan: "I think the players deserve a lot of credit for the way we're playing right now. They're playing hard. They're playing with emotion and I think this game is about emotion. It's about passion. It's about energy. It's about being more determined and I think when you bring that level of conviction and determination, you're going to give yourselves a chance to win most nights. I give our players a lot of credit. I think it starts with our leadership and they set the standard, and they set the example, for this group."
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