It was another crazy, back-and-forth game, but the Carolina Hurricanes got back in the win column Wednesday night with a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The win got the Canes back into the win column and helped to build on their division lead. Here are five takeaways from the win: Sean Walker postgame (3/18/26) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. A HISTORIC BACK-AND-FORTH According to the NHL, Wednesday's game featured four third-period, game-tying goals, which matches the most ever in a single game in league history. The game went from 2-1 heading into the third, to a 5-5 game after the 20 minute frame, so it was certainly a wild one. "Going into the third it was 2-1 and then it ended up 6-5," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "You would never have thought that the way the game was going." Fans certainly got their moneys worth and in the end, the Canes still won anyway. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, SEAN WALKER CALLED GAME IN OT Sean Walker has played a good bit of overtime hockey throughout his career. The 31-year-old defenseman has just under 60 total minutes of career, 3v3 OT experience under his belt, but before Wednesday, he had never once scored beyond regulation. However, that all changed last night though as he put home a Sebastian Aho feed for his first career OT goal. "Walks getting that OT winner, you love seeing that for guys that maybe don't get them all the time," said Jordan Martinook, who himself has never scored at OT winner. "Those ones feel a little better sometimes." It was also, in fact, Walker's first game-winning goal as a Hurricane and just the third total of his career. On that note though, Hurricanes assistant coach Tim Gleason actually holds the record for the most career games played (727) without a single game-winning goal. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. JACKSON BLAKE HITS THE 20-GOAL MARK Ain't no sophomore slump for Jackson Blake it seems. In Year 2, the 22-year-old winger has continued to take big steps in his development, already setting new career highs in goals, assists and points with still 14 games to go in the year. And last night against the Penguins was just another example of his ability to take over a game. Blake had three points in the win, contributing on three straight go-ahead goals for the Canes. He also registered his 20th goal of the season, becoming the team's fifth 20 goal scorer this season and also just the second Hurricanes fourth-round or later draft pick to ever register 20 goals in a season (credit Cory Lavalette for that stat [https://x.com/corylav/status/2034433950114807952?s=20]) His line with Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall has been Carolina's best since returning from the Olympic break. "Those two are unbelievably good players and they came up big for us tonight," Blake said on his linemates. "I love playing with those guys because you know what you can get from them. It's awesome. We've had chances, but tonight, fortunately they went in." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. PENALTY KILL STEPS UP Since returning from the Olympic break, the Hurricanes' penalty kill has really struggled, operating at just around a 70% success rate. And after giving up two against the Columbus Blue Jackets the day before, Carolina knew they needed to be better against the Penguins. Well, you can't draw up any better of a start to the penalty killing then scoring a goal nine seconds into your very first opportunity. After winning the opening draw, Jordan Staal got to a loose puck and sent it up the boards to a streaking Jordan Martinook, who then ripped it past Stuart Skinner. Overall, the Canes did very well on the PK, killing off around seven minutes of shorthanded time. The only time they got burned was when Pittsburgh was handed a 5-on-3 power play, but those scenarios are very challenging for any team. "When you go down 5-on-3, it's tough to kill that one off, but I think we battled hard," Martinook said. "They have dynamic players over there. But I felt like we were on it pretty good. When you go down 5-on-3, it's tough, but overall, we were pretty good out there." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. GOALTENDING Even though he gave up five goals, I really liked Frederik Andersen's game. He made quite a few big saves for the Canes, including a huge stop on Ben Kindel in overtime right before Sean Walker's winner. I get that fans are going to be upset at any netminder when they see goals go past them, but you have to look at these things with a bit more context. Of Pittsburgh's five goals, two were from breakaways, one was a backhander by Sidney Crosby alone in front of the net, one was a post-and-in rocket at 5-on-3 through a screen and the fifth one was also a top corner snipe through heavy traffic. The Penguins are a good finishing team and the expected goals at the end of that game for them was over four, so, in my opinion, Andersen wasn't poor by any stretch. He's been pretty good overall since returning from the Olympics and it seems that that event was a good reset for him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECENT ARTICLES Sean Walker: The Carolina Hurricanes Unsung Hero [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/players/sean-walker-the-carolina-hurricanes-unsung-hero] After Slow Start, Mark Jankowski Picking Up Game At Perfect Time For Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/players/after-slow-start-mark-jankowski-picking-up-game-at-perfect-time-for-hurricanes] 'We Didn't Find Deals That Made Sense For Us': Eric Tulsky On Quiet Deadline, Hurricanes Approach [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/we-didn-t-find-deals-that-made-sense-for-us-eric-tulsky-on-quiet-deadline-hurricanes-approach] Seth Jarvis No Longer A Kid; Emerging As Vocal Leader For Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/players/seth-jarvis-no-longer-a-kid-emerging-as-vocal-leader-for-carolina-hurricanes] K'Andre Miller Has Been As Advertised For Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/players/k-andre-miller-has-been-as-advertised-for-carolina-hurricanes] Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/2fc97c03-6cff-45e8-ae59-23b0632dfa24.jpeg] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! 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