12/31/14

Bennett's Return Keys Penguins' Victory

The Pittsburgh Penguins had some good new going into their final game of 2014. Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and forwards Beau Bennett and Craig Adams were all given the go to return to the Penguins' lineup. The Penguins faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes at Consol Energy Center. The Penguins, looking to snap a (0-3-1) streak, gave Marc-Andre Fleury the nod between the pipes. Cam Ward opposed him for the Hurricanes. At 9:12 of the first period, the Hurricanes drew first blood when Elias Lindholm found Eric Staal, who fired the puck past Fleury to give the Hurricanes a 1-0. The score remained the same until late in the period. With 22 seconds left, Beau Bennett found Chris Kunitz in front of the net, who fired the puck past Ward's glove to tie the game at 1-1. After one period of play, the score was tied at 1. The Penguins were out on a mission in the second period of play. They had a total of 17 shots on goal and had two power plays in the period. Even though this was a strong effort, the score remained a 1-1 deadlock after two periods of play. The Hurricanes went on the power play at 0:51 of the third period when Penguins' defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was called for a two-minute boarding penalty. The Hurricanes were unable to capitalize. The Hurricanes went on the power play again at 6:33 when Penguins' forward Chris Kunitz was assessed a two-minute slashing penalty. The Hurricanes were again unable to capitalize. At 18:18, Penguins' forward Brandon Sutter haunted his former team when he fired a shot past Ward to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. The score held true and the Penguins won 2-1.