Pens snap four-game losing streak

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Brandon Sutter picked the best time to score his first goal against his former team.

Sutter scored the game-winning goal in the final two minutes to lead the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins over the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 on Wednesday.

Sutter, acquired from the Hurricanes in a 2012 trade that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina, scored his eighth of the year, while Beau Bennett, playing for the first time in 16 games, set up both Penguins’ goals.

Chris Kunitz also scored his 11th for the Penguins, who snapped a four-game losing streak and avoided dropping back-to-back home games for the first time this season.

“It’s always fun playing against your old team, especially when you can beat them,” Sutter said. “It’s a good way to end the year.”

Eric Staal scored his ninth of the year and his second goal in as many games. The Hurricanes, who lost for the 11th time in their last 13 games, managed just 16 goals during that span.

Carolina, which suffered its 12th one-goal loss of the season, nearly won in Pittsburgh for the second time in a little more than a month despite having one of the worst road records in the league.

Marc-Andre Fleury, making a season-high eighth straight start, stopped 24 shots. Cam Ward made 37 saves for Carolina.

The Hurricanes pushed hard early in the third, trying to break a 1-1 tie.

Defenseman Justin Faulk hit the post during a power-play in the first two minutes of the period, and, moments later, Fleury denied Jay McClement with a sliding save during a two-on-one. He later stopped Elias Lindholm with a glove save on a partial breakaway during another Hurricanes’ power play.

“We had three turnovers and those were the big saves that [Fleury] made,” Penguins’ coach Mike Johnston said. “When we had a breakdown, which we had three big ones, (Fleury) was there for all of those.”

It also allowed Sutter to score the game-winner against his former team with 1:42 remaining. Bennett set up Sutter in the slot, who sent a wrist shot over Ward’s shoulder on the blocker side.

“Those ones always feel good,” said Sutter, who missed a couple games earlier this month while experiencing mumps symptoms. “Fortunately, it went my way tonight.”

Not much has gone Pittsburgh’s way lately.

The Penguins have experienced a depleted lineup the last several weeks while battling injury and a league-wide mumps outbreak, leading to their worst losing streak in three years. They had help on Wednesday after the return of Bennett and Craig Adams along with defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. Bennett, who has missed 90 of the Penguins’ last 118 games, was out the past 16 with mumps and a lower body injury, but his impact was felt on Wednesday.