Pens…Five Road Games Without a Loss

If the first two weeks are any indication then the young Pittsburgh Penguins will not fall victim to the ever- dreaded Stanley Cup hangover. The Stanley Cup Champion Penguins who shocked the hockey world last spring by defeating the Detroit Red Wings made franchise history on Wednesday night when they beat the Carolina Hurricanes in a thrilling shootout to run their unbeaten road record to five games. When Penguins forward Chris Kunitz scored the shootout winner it eclipsed the old record of four, which was set two years ago. Pittsburgh who are off and running with a 6-1 record on the season made this one interesting as Kunitz was the 12^th shooter in what was an eventual 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. “It’s really important just to establish the way we want to play,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said of the undefeated road record. “Early on in the season, you’re trying to work things out and adjust, and for the most part, everyone knows what they need to do here.. It’s nice that we’re seeing some results here early.” The only red flag for the Penguins who got goals from Evgeni Malkin and Michael Rupp in regulation is that they suffered a third period lapse as they couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead. “We were 4-0 on this road trip,” Rupp said. “But the reality of it was we weren’t perfect by any stretch.” Pittsburgh who are coming off a seven day four game road trip were facing the Canes for the first time since dominating them last spring when they outscored them 20-9 and in the process pulled off a sweep in the Eastern Conference Finals. Carolina goalie Cam Ward was stellar in this game with 36 saves including a couple of highlight stops off of Malkin and Crosby. Still the Canes couldn’t stop their hex against the Penguins as they have now won three straight at the RBC Center dating back to last spring. “When your number’s called,” Kunitz said, “you try to go up and make a good move and put the puck on the net.” Despite the loss Carolina Coach Paul Maurice was encouraged by how his team played. “Tonight I think was really our first game where I thought we got back to looking like the team that plays the style of game we want to play,” Maurice said.