Penguins 3, Hurricanes 1
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jayson Megna scored his first NHL goal in the third period to go with an earlier assist, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 Monday night at PNC Arena.
Megna, a 23-year-old center playing his second NHL game, tallied at 7:11 of the third period, with Sidney Crosby picking up his second assist of the game. Crosby sent the puck toward Hurricanes goalie Justin Peters, and the puck redirected off Megna and into the net.
Tanner Glass and Chris Kunitz also scored for the Penguins, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Brooks Orpik provided three assists.
Carolina (4-5-3) lost its third game in a row, all since goalie Cam Ward was hurt last week. Nathan Gerbe scored the Hurricanes' lone goal on a first-period power play.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves for Pittsburgh (8-4-0).
Peters, playing due to injuries to Ward and Anton Khudobin, is winless in three outings this season. Peters recorded 26 saves.
The Penguins broke a 1-1 tie when Kunitz outreached Carolina's Jordan Staal for Crosby's pass with 3:36 left in the second period.
In the first period, Glass blasted in a rebound of Megna's shot less than nine minutes into the game. Both of Glass' goals this season are against Carolina.
The Hurricanes drew even when Gerbe scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 3:57 to go in the first period. Two of Gerbe's four goals this season are against Pittsburgh.
It took the Hurricanes almost 12 minutes to register their first shot. Pittsburgh recorded the first nine shots of the game, scoring once.
In the second period, the Penguins were without a shot for the first 8 1/2 minutes.
Pittsburgh's Joe Vitale and Carolina's Brett Sutter exchanged punches in a first-period scuffle. It was the first fighting major for both players this season.
NOTES: The Penguins entered the game with their first three-game losing streak since a six-game slump from Dec. 29, 2011-Jan. 11, 2012. ... Pittsburgh D Rob Scuderi missed his first game of the season, sitting out with a lower-body injury suffered in the first period Saturday at Toronto. Scuderi had played 276 consecutive games, the team's longest active streak. ... D Robert Bortuzzo was in the lineup in Scuderi's place. ... Hurricanes LW Jeff Skinner missed his second game with an undisclosed upper-body injury. ... D Tim Gleason played in his first home game of the season and his second game overall after missing the start of the season with an injury. ... The Penguins return home for a Wednesday night game against the Boston Bruins. ... The Hurricanes stay home for a Friday night matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
