Hurricanes 2, Penguins 1

The Carolina Hurricanes scored two powerplay goals and Cam Ward made 37 saves as the Canes defeated the free-falling Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1 on Saturday night at Consol Energy Center.

The Canes went 2-4 with the man advantage for the night but did allow one powerplay goal to the home team before holding on for the win.

Jordan Staal opened the scoring against his former team with a cutting move to the net just 4:57 into the game.  He beat rookie goalie, Matthew Murray, who started his first career NHL game.

John-Michael Liles made it 2-0 with a blast from the point later in the period, which would close out the scoring for Carolina.  That was the first goal of the season for Liles.

Evgeni Malkin scored a powerplay goal for the home team with a nifty shot 1:59 into second.

Both teams battled back and forth the rest of the way and Ward was equal to the task as the Pens tried to ramp up pressure in the Carolina zone.

Things don't get easier for the Canes.  They will return home to take on the Capitals on Monday night.

Game Notes:

• The Canes were outshot 38-26 and were led by Victor Rask and Andrej Nestrasil, who had five shots each.
• Not only did Liles score the game-winning goal, he led the team with four hits.
• Brett Pesce had a team high three blocked shots.
• Event Summary