Friday night’s matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins at PNC Arena pitted a team that’s won the past two Stanley Cups against one facing the spotlight of a playoff race and meaningful midseason hockey for the first time in years. It started as you might expect, but the Canes found their legs late, slowly taking command and closing out a 2-1 win to wrap up their 2017 home schedule and move to within a point of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Hurricanes came out looking like a team unsure of how to handle a game of such high importance.